In 1937, Mel arrived at Disney, contributing to Fantasia (1940), Bambi (1941), and The Wind in the Willows, which later became a segment in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).

“Of the early Disney employees I met, Floyd was probably the greatest gentleman of them all.”—Disney Chief Archivist Emeritus Dave Smith.

“I tried to keep the thing very, very simple and create the atmosphere, the feeling of the forest.”—Tyrus Wong

As a result of her adept skill at guiding camera movement for animated films, in 1952 Ruthie was invited to join the International Photographers Union, Local 659 of the IATSE. She was one of the first three women to be admitted into the Hollywood camera union.

“Retta had an astounding ability to draw powerful animals. She seemed to have a keen understanding of their moods and attitudes.”—Disney Legend Frank Thomas

“Grace was quite a professional lady. She was class.”—Disney Legend Bon Broughton

“We had to mix the paints so they were exactly the same color as what was being used in an animated scene. One time, just before I retired, a computer was brought into the lab to check the colors that I had approved. To my great relief, the computer confirmed that every color matched perfectly.”—Dodie Roberts

“The people were what made my years at Disney special, and in that position, I met many. And we were all working together toward the same goal—making magic.”—Becky Fallberg

Ham’s ability to develop an easy-to-follow step-by-step system for planning a scene made him a natural teacher of younger animators and, under his guidance, many new artists were developed.