Disney's Nine Old Men

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 as his "Nine Old Men", referring to the nine judges of the US Supreme Court, even though the animators were in their thirties and forties at the time.

Related Topics:
Animator - Director - Disney studio - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - The Rescuers - Walt Disney - US Supreme Court

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They were:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Les Clark, who joined Disney in 1927. His specialty was animating Mickey Mouse.
• Ollie Johnston, who joined Disney in 1935, first working on Snow White. 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 Villian, 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 joined Disney in 1934. 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 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 started in 1935.
• Eric Larson joined in 1933. He helped in creating characters such as Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear (in "Song of the South").
• Ward Kimball joined Disney in 1934. His work includes Lucifer (in "Cinderella"), and the Chesire Cat (in "Alice in Wonderland").
• Milt Kahl 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"), the Butler (in "The Aristocats"), the Sheriff of Nottingham (in "Robin Hood"), and Medusa (in "The Rescuers").
• Marc Davis started in 1935 on Snow White and later he went on to develop/animate the characters of Bambi and Thumper (in Bambi), Maleficiant 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.