Dream on Silly Dreamer

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On March 25, 2002, more than 200 Disney artists working at the studio's legendary Feature Animation Department in Burbank, were told that their services were no longer needed by the company. It took only one uncomfortable gathering with the president of Feature Animation, now dubbed "The Tom Meeting", to kill 75 years of a beloved animated tradition. A similar series of events soon played out at Disney's other animation studios in Paris, Tokyo and Florida. Doors were closed for good and in total nearly 1300 skilled artists and craftsmen were fired. The company, best known for it's handcrafted animated features, no longer wanted artists to draw for them. DREAM ON SILLY DREAMER is the new animated documentary, from director Dan Lund and producer Tony West, that tells this tale. It features interviews recorded only seconds after the now infamous "Tom Meeting". You will hear what was said, the reasons offered by the company and feel the emotional responses from those being affected at that moment in time. In this documentary , you will meet a handful of these artists, hear their side of the story and share in their recollections of "the good old days". One of the most surprising revelations comes as we see the artists, who did nothing but give their all to the studio, question how much they may have contributed to this sad state of affairs. Told as a modern-day fairy tale, DREAMER pays homage to the classic Winnie The Pooh shorts. An artist's sketch book becomes the viewer's window into this documentary realm with original, animated vignettes helping to tell a side of the story that the world has never heard. This film will touch anyone who has ever dreamed, believed in fairy tales, wished upon a star or shared in a special Disney moment.