Disney's Nine Old Men

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Disney's Nine Old Men were the core animators (some of whom later became directors) that created the Disney studio's most famous work, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs onward to The Rescuers. Walt Disney jokingly called this group of animators his "Nine Old Men", referring to what Franklin D. Roosevelt called the nine judges of the US Supreme Court, even though the animators were in their thirties and forties at the time.

They were:

Les Clark (November 17, 1907 - September 12, 1979), who joined Disney in 1927. His specialty was animating Mickey Mouse as he was the only one of the Nine Old Men to work on that character from its origins with Ub Iwerks. Les did many wonderful scenes throughout the years, animating up until Lady And The Tramp. He moved into directing and made many fine animated featurettes and shorts.

Ollie Johnston (October 31, 1912 - ), who joined Disney in 1935, first worked on Snow White. He went on to author the animator's bible The Illusion of Life with Frank Thomas. His work includes Mr. Smee (in Peter Pan), the Stepsisters (in Cinderella), the District Attorney (in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad), and Prince John (in Robin Hood). According to the book The Disney Villain, written by Johnston and Frank Thomas, Johnston also partnered with Thomas on creating characters such as Ichabod (in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad) and Sir Hiss (in Robin Hood).

Frank Thomas (September 5, 1912 - September 8, 2004) joined Disney in 1934. He went on to author the animator's bible The Illusion of Life with Ollie Johnston. His work included the wicked Stepmother (in Cinderella), the Queen of Hearts (in Alice in Wonderland), and Captain Hook (in Peter Pan).

Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman (June 26, 1909 - May 22, 1985) joined Disney in 1935 as an animator and director. Directed all the Disney films after Walt's death until his retirement. Some of his work included the Crocodile (in Peter Pan), the Dragon (in Sleeping Beauty), and the Rat (in Lady and the Tramp).

John Lounsbery (March 9, 1911 - February 13, 1976) started in 1935 and, working under Norm 'Fergy' Ferguson, quickly became a star animator. Lounsbery, affectionately known as 'Louns' by his fellow animators, was an incredibly strong draftsman who inspired many animators over the years. His animation had a squashy stretchy feel that was really unique. Lounsbery animated Ben Ali Gator in Fantasia; Father in Peter Pan; Tony, Joe, and some of the dogs in Lady & The Tramp; The Kings in Sleeping Beauty; The Elephants in Jungle Book; and many, many others. In the 1970's, Louns was promoted to Director and co-directed Winnie The Pooh And Tigger Too and The Rescuers. Sadly, Rescuers would be his last film.

Eric Larson (September 3, 1905 - October 25, 1988) joined in 1933. One of the top animators at Disney, he animated many great characters like Peg in Lady & The Tramp; the Vultures in Jungle Book; Peter Pan's flight over London to Neverland; and Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear (in Song of the South). Because of Larson's demeanor and ability to train new talent, Larson was given the task to spot and train new animators at Disney in the 1970's. Many of the top talents at Disney today were trained by Eric in the 70s and 80s.

Ward Kimball (March 4, 1914 - July 8, 2002) joined Disney in 1934. His work includes Lucifer, Jaq and Gus, (in Cinderella), and the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat (in Alice in Wonderland). His work was often more 'wild' than the other Disney animators and was especially unique.

Milt Kahl (March 22, 1909 - April 19, 1987) started in 1934 working on Snow White, and was one of the best animators to ever work at the studio. His work included Shere Khan (in The Jungle Book), Edgar the butler (in The Aristocats), the Sheriff of Nottingham (in Robin Hood), and Medusa (in The Rescuers).

Marc Davis (March 30, 1913 - January 12, 2000) started in 1935 on Snow White, and later he went on to develop/animate the characters of Bambi and Thumper (in Bambi), Maleficent and the raven (in Sleeping Beauty), and Cruella DeVil (in One Hundred and One Dalmatians). Davis was responsible for character design for both the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland.

By the time Robin Hood was released, only four of the nine were still animating at Disney. They were Milt Kahl, John Lounsbery, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, although Eric Larson was still working for Disney as a talent scout and trainer, and Wolfgang Reitherman was by that point directing and producing films. Lounsbery died in 1976, Kahl retired the same year and died in 1987. Thomas and Johnston retired in 1977, and both later enjoyed cameos in the Brad Bird-directed films The Iron Giant (Warner Bros., 1999) and The Incredibles (Pixar, 2004). Thomas died shortly afterwards, in 2004, leaving Johnston as the last surviving "Old Man".

The Nine Old Men also refined the 12 basic principles of animation: