Sir Elton John

In the early 1990s, Elton embarked on songwriting collaborations with lyricist Tim Rice, resulting in the soundtrack to the Walt Disney Pictures 1994 animated feature The Lion King. At first, though, Elton wasn’t too sure of success: “I sat there with a line of lyrics that began, ‘When I was a young warthog,’” John said in 1995, “and I thought, ‘Has it come to this?’”

Ron Logan

From a starting point of simple marching bands and costumed characters, Ron Logan delighted Disney Guests with spectacles, fireworks, music spectaculars, and Broadway-style stage musicals, all within the gates of Disney.

Joe Ranft

“Joe was really a major part of Pixar’s soul. He was one of the key players who made all the films what they are.”—Pete Docter, director of Monsters, Inc. and Up, once said.

Roone Arledge

Don Hewitt, the producer of 60 Minutes at CBS, and the only executive in network news whose longevity and influence rivaled Roone’s, said, ‘‘Just about everything that’s good in television has a Roone Arledge trademark on it.’’

Walt Peregoy

“To this day, Walt Peregoy’s color styling in One Hundred and One Dalmatians remains a fine example of how color can be used creatively in animation while serving more than a merely decorative function.” —Amid Amidi, modern animation authority

Burny Mattinson

“Storyboards are as close to direction as you can get. You’re telling cameras where to go, what’s happening on screen, where to cut, and really making a blueprint for the film.” —Burny Mattinson

Bob Booth

“The similarly innovative, creative, and fascinating work of our manufacturing and production entities—and the work of steadfast guys like Bob Booth—often gets lost to the limelight. But without them, the dreams of the designers would never see the light of practical application.” —Marty Sklar, former Imagineering ambassador

Dorothea Redmond

Dorothea remained at WDI to work on the Walt Disney World project in Florida, where her work was varied and prolific, including moody studies for Fantasyland, renderings for an architecturally opulent Main Street, and Adventureland area development that communicated a feminine and ethereal mood of exotica.

Neil Gallagher

“Every project leader wanted Neil on their team because he always solicited ideas and new solutions from his co-workers,” Marty Sklar once reflected. “Neil understood that leadership requires trusting and empowering your teammates.”

Al Dempster

Disney has had several superstar background artists: Sam Armstrong, Maurice Noble, Claude Coats, Walt Peregoy, Ralph Hulett, Thelma Witmer, Eyvind Earle, Frank Armitage… and Al Dempster.