Walt Disney once said, “it takes people to make the dream a reality.” The Nine Old Men are “The Walt Disney Studios’ most celebrated artists.” If you don’t know them, you know their work. They animated such classics as Pinocchio (1940), Bambi (1942), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959). Aside from their fantastic personal contributions, many of them mentored the next generation of Disney Animation. Interviews from Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, and more are found throughout this display. On our first visit to The Walt Disney Family Museum, Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men: Masters of Animation was a wonderful first exhibition to experience . I was so inspired from the moment we walked in that I took notes for myself and turned it into this blog post and review. The Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men: Masters of Animation exhibition will be on display through January 7th, 2019 at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California.
Who are Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men?
Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men are a special group of animators who worked with Walt Disney directly, worked on many of the studio’s founding classic films and built the foundation of Disney Animation. They created the standard of excellence under Walt Disney himself and influenced today’s Disney film makers. By name they are Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, Ward Kimball, Wolfgang Reitherman, Marc Davis, Eric Larson, John Lounsbery, Milt Kahl and Les Clark.
Ollie Johnston
I knew this would be an impactful experience on my current need to turn Disney’s historical excellence into modern motivation. Seeing Ollie Johnston’s drawing of Sleeping Beauty’s Flora, Fauna and Merriweather really nabbed my attention. It was perfect. It was perfect because it’s the real thing. Ollie Johnston also animated Mr. Smee and my husband pointed out how great he was at “round and bouncy” characters. Ollie was Interested in people and their emotions and animated feelings and that comes across in his work.
Frank Thomas
Connecting this gallery to the last was a small collection of photos of Johnston with fellow animator Frank Thomas, These two were known to be best pals. Frank Thomas animated Captain Hook in incredible detail. Growing up in the nineties, Peter Pan was my favorite movie and my dad rewound and replayed the VHS tape most of our Saturday mornings together. I know this character and his mannerisms so well but was still able to appreciate new nuances on this visit.
Ward kimball
Ward kimball is one of the most notable of Walt’s Nine Old Men with his outlandish clothing style and comical facial expressions. He drew characters from the Mad Hatter to Jiminy Cricket. It’s such a happy thought to imagine him and others swapping gag drawings. I also learned when Walt would call him on the weekends he’d ask, “Walt who?” and receive the reply, “Dammit, Kimball, it’s Walt Disney.” Ha! I loved learning about their interests outside of art. I feel like it’s important to have interests unrelated to your creative work. Ward had a band called the Firehouse five Plus Two with two other animators. Also Kimball noted the Three Caballero’s running in and out on different sides of the screen, though it didn’t make sense, gave it flavor. He brought the exact kind of silly we need.
Wolfgang Reitherman
I really enjoyed learning about Wolfgang Reitherman’s slapstick comedy ways. He had a great knack for that sticky kind of comedy when someone is trying to get away and can’t. Think the hunk from the Icabod movie dancing with the chubby girl or Goofy trying to escape from.. himself. Reitherman served in the military and remained an aviator all his life. He originally wanted to be a water colorist which reminded me sometimes flexibility leads us toward our greatest successes.
Marc Davis
Marc Davis was extremely dedicated to art, enjoying it outside work often. He was around early and cleaned up on Snow White. He later became one of the most influential Imagineers.
Eric Larson
Eric Larson was noted for having a sympathetic ear and giving good advice. It’s incredible how this group of men formed a team and played different roles.
Milt Kahl
Milt Kahl talked about aiming high. He was best friends with Marc Davis though quite the opposite of him in that he was not interested in drawing outside of work. He said he really loved it for the end product. Milt was celebrated as the greatest draftsman and a natural talent with an uncanny ability to concentrate. “Maybe I just work a little harder,” he said.
John Lounsbery
John Lounsbery had the strength of comedic timing. He was behind the gator and hippo ballerina dance from Fantasia. Lounsbery had a working ranch while animating. He was quite shy, proving creatives are all kinds of people.
Les Clark
Les Clark worked in a candy store near the Hyperion Studio and met Walt there. He later asked for his job right out of high school because Walt had admired some art he did at the candy store. Clark was great at Mickey Mouse and used clothing like sorcerer Mickey’s cloak in a remarkable way. He had a flowing musicality in his animation and a long career at the company starting around Ub Iwerks time and staying through Lady and The Tramp.
It can be hard to appreciate the work of these men without really knowing what they did. Seeing their individual work, learning about them personally and how they contributed to Disney Animation overall was the perfect way to celebrate this legendary group. Find out more information on this exhibition and the museum at WaltDisney.org.