A Brief History of Important
Animators and Their Filmsby Melissa Wilkinson
Winsor McCay (1869-1934)
Self-taught in comic art
Worked in vaudeville
Started animating “Little Nemo” on a bet
Did almost all work himself
Thousands of drawings
Winsor McCay (1869-1934)
“Gertie the Dinosaur” (1914)First character animationLive interaction
Walt Disney (1901-1966)
Started in comic art
Studied at Kansas City Art Institute
First character: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Created Mickey Mouse after loss of rights to Oswald
Walt Disney (1901-1966)
Mickey & Minnie debuted in “Steamboat Willie” (1928)
First sound-synch cartoon
“Snow White & The Seven Dwarves” (1937)
First animated feature film
Walt Disney (1901-1966)
Didn’t originate practices, but refined them
Always looking for ways technology could help storytelling
Multi-Plane Camera
“Caricature of both life and action”
Live models for animals
Walt Disney (1901-1966)
Mostly managerial, oversaw studio of other animators: Ub Iwerks
◦ Walt’s first business partner, did most of the animation work◦ Helped design Mickey Mouse, Walt created the personality
“Nine Old Men”◦ Walt’s right-hand team◦ Les Clark, Marc Davis, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, Eric
Larson, John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman, Frank Thomas◦ Reitherman directed all animated films after Walt’s death, 1966-1981
Chuck Jones (1912-2002)
Started art career selling pencil portraits for $1 on the sidewalk
Worked as a cel washer for Ub Iwerks
Hired by Warner Brothers to work on Looney Tunes
Created Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, Pepe LePew, Marvin the Martian, and Michigan J. Frog
Chuck Jones (1912-2002)
Directed 10 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons◦#1 – “What’s Opera, Doc?” (1957)◦#2 – “Duck Amuck” (1953)
“How The Grinch Stole Christmas” (1966)
Won 3 Oscars, Lifetime Achievement Award
Richard Williams (1933)
Created “The Animator’s Survival Guide” textbooksTeaches sold-out animation masterclassesAcademy Award for “A Christmas Carol” short
adaptation in 1971Animated titles for the Pink Panther moviesDirected animation for Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Richard Williams (1933)
“The Thief & The Cobbler” project started in 1964 Incredibly detailed, scenes redrawn constantlyFailed to complete the project on time, film was
handed over to substitute animatorsHeavily edited, unnecessary dialogue addedReleased as “Arabian Knight” in 1995, poorly receivedFan-made “Recobbled Cut” available on YouTube
Hayao Miyazaki (1941)
Studio Ghibli called “The Japanese Disney”Films all hand drawn, less than 10% computer effectsLupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984), adapted
from his own manga seriesMy Neighbor Totoro (1988)Princess Mononoke (1995)Spirited Away (2002), won Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
Hayao Miyazaki (1941)
Gorgeous natural backgroundsDetailed character mannerismsDelicious-looking foodStrong, fierce heroinesRosy-cheeked youngstersFlight, avation, transportationMorally gray villainsProtection of natureMagic, wonder, innocence
John Lasseter (1957)
Voted “Best Artist” by his senior high school classSword in the Stone inspired him to work at DisneyGraduated from CalArts Character Animation programWas fired from Disney after his experimental projects
didn’t work out Joined the Lucasfilm computer graphics team that
would eventually form Pixar
John Lasseter (1957)
Brought character animation skills to a technical teamEarly short films: The Adventures of Andre & Wally B,
Luxo Jr, Red’s Dream, Tin ToyReceived Special Achievement Academy Award for Toy
Story, first computer-animated feature filmRe-worked Toy Story 2 nine months before releaseCurrently serves as Chief Creative Officer for both
Disney and Pixar
If you want to learn more…
Visit my blog at cartoonology.tumblr.com!
