Thomas Schumacher

A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.

Documentary of the making of the groundbreaking Disney/Pixar animated hit movie.

Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.

The Story Room: The Making of Lilo & Stitch is a 2005 documentary that provides an in-depth exploration of the creative process and production behind Disney's 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch. The documentary offers insights into the film's development, featuring interviews with the creators and showcasing concept art and storyboards.

A career overview of tv/film composer Billy Goldenberg.

Go behind the scenes of Broadway as shows reunite, rehearse and re-stage for their long-awaited reopening nights while the theater industry learns how to turn the lights back on after its longest hiatus in history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A documentary about the making of the cult classic Disney Movie Atlantis.

Trudie Styler, a documentarian, had been allowed to film the production of 'Kingdom of the Sun'/'The Emperor's New Groove' as part of the deal that originally brought her husband Sting to the project. As a result, Styler recorded much of the struggle, controversy, and troubles that went into making the picture on film (including when producer Fullmer called Sting to inform the pop star that his songs were being deleted from the film). Styler's completed documentary, The Sweatbox, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 13, 2002. Disney owns the rights to the documentary and has not released it on home video or DVD.

Behind the scenes look at the creation of the stage musical. Filmed in the UK, France, and the United States, it features a series of conversations with many of the show's creators including producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher, composers George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, Richard Sherman (who co-wrote music and lyrics for the original film), and set and costume designer Bob Crowley. The documentary also features a roundtable discussion at Sardi's restaurant between Schumacher and actors Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee, who originated the roles of Mary Poppins and Bert in the Broadway production.

A three-part series exploring how the British musical became a driving force behind musical theatre around the world — a tale of shows, daring, rivalries, talent and fortunes are set in just a single square mile.