From 1984 to 1994, a perfect storm changed the face of animation forever.

This is the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits—The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King—over a wild decade. The documentary was conceived by two
insiders over a latte, when they recalled the euphoria and horror of that time.

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers (the likes of Tim Burton and John Lasseter) hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. This produced a series of box office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending.

Director Don Hahn was one of the Young Turks at Disney who produced some of its biggest sensations. Producer Peter Schneider led the animation group during this amazing renaissance and later became studio chairman. Their film offers a fascinating and candid perspective of what happened in the creative ranks set against the dynamic tensions among the top leadership, Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Roy Disney (Walt’s nephew). Using rare “outlaw” footage shot by a young John Lasseter despite strict Disney rules, Hahn explains “I wanted to transport the audience into the ... eye of the storm. We see these guys – Tim Burton, Ron Clements, John Lasseter, Glen Keane – operating at the very beginning of their careers.”