Disney's Nine Old Men

Disney's Nine Old Men were the core animators (some of whom later became directors) at The Walt Disney Company who created some of Disney's most famous works, 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 Robert S. Allen and Drew Pearson's 1937 book, 'The Nine Old Men,' about the nine justices of the US Supreme Court in 1937, most of which were over the age of 70 at the time. (The animators, however, were in their thirties and forties.)

All members of the group are now deceased (the latest being Ollie Johnston, who died in 2008) and all have been acknowledged as Disney Legends.

Members of Disney's Nine Old Men

History

By the time Robin Hood was released, only four of the Nine Old Men (Kahl, Lounsbery, Thomas, and Johnston) were still animating at Disney, although Eric Larson was still working for Disney as a talent scout and trainer, Wolfgang Reitherman was by that point directing and producing films, and Marc Davis was helping to create Disney theme park attractions. Lounsbery died in 1976, Kahl retired the same year and died in 1987. Thomas, Johnston and Davis retired in 1978, and Thomas and Johnston 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, and Johnston (who was by that point the last surviving "Old Man") died in 2008.

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

  1. Squash and stretch
  2. Anticipation
  3. Staging
  4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
  5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
  6. Slow In and Slow Out
  7. Arcs
  8. Secondary Action
  9. Timing
  10. Exaggeration
  11. Solid Drawing
  12. Appeal

References