Woolie once said about animation, “It was a romance from the start. The minute you know you can make a drawing move, the static drawing loses its appeal: movement is life. Animation represents the greatest breakthrough in 20th-century art.”
See more
Ollie valued his own relationship with the characters he animated, including Thumper from Bambi, Mr. Smee from Peter Pan, and the trio of fanciful fairies from Sleeping Beauty. “They were all good friends whom I remember fondly,” he once said.
See more
Because Milt was so good at his craft, he was often assigned the toughest of Disney tasks: animating human characters, such as Peter Pan, Alice of Alice in Wonderland, and the Prince from Sleeping Beauty.
See more
While in high school, Les Clark worked a summer job at a lunch counter near the Walt Disney Studio in Hollywood. Walt and Roy Disney used to eat there, and, one day, Les got up the courage to ask Walt for a job. He recalled Walt’s reply, “‘Bring some of your drawings in and let’s see …
See more
John Lounsbery had his own special way of looking at things, according to fellow animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. In their book, Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, they wrote that no matter how bad a situation might be, John could always make “some funny observation to lighten the situation.” And while shy by …
See more
Animator Frank Thomas instilled vivid personality into his characters. He drew some of Disney animation’s most memorable, as well as touching, moments, including the Dwarfs crying at Snow White’s bier, Bambi and Thumper learning how to ice skate, and the charming spaghetti-eating sequence in Lady and the Tramp. To Frank, personality was always the key …
See more
Toward the end of his enduring career at The Walt Disney Studios, animator Eric Larson became a gentle and devoted mentor to the next generation of up-and-coming Disney artists. Former student Andreas Deja, who animated such Disney characters as Jafar from Aladdin and Scar in The Lion King, remembered Eric as “the best animation teacher …
See more
“Fred MacMurray,” director Billy Wilder once said, “gives people the feeling that he’s kind to dogs, children, mothers and widows.”
See more