I Wan'na Be Like You

I recently saw Waking Sleeping Beauty—a documentary about Disney's animation studio from 1984-1994 (e.g. age 11 to the year before I graduated from college). I went in as a patron of the artists ... and left having revisited the entirety of my adolescence through the lens of fantasy and imagination without any other cultural references. What an amazing revisitation. I was stupefied by the flashbacks, and emotions it conjured. It was unique to remember moments and people, but not all the other stuff. I love contradictions and this was a great one: to feel simultaneously connected to this magical realm, and yet to have had a completely objective review of that most bizarre period of life—adolescence.

It was equally unique to review my career decisions that led me away from animation. When I think of the journey of an artist and all the motivations and inspirations juxtaposed against our changing culture ... I can't say I'm sorry. I'm really happy with my life in it's present state. But it's always heartening to have cinema and animation available. Catharsis, fantasy, escape, and ultimately—confronting reality—all seem implicit parts of the viewing experience. Spectating is rarely a passive experience.