Franklin D. Rooseveltcalledhis Supreme Court Justices his “ Nine Old Men , ” wondering if the older court was out of sense of touch with the time . Walt Disney fondly borrowed the terminus to relate to some of his vitalizer , but they were anything but out of touch . Disney ’s Nine Old Men were at the cutting edge of the manufacture , developing novel techniques and innovation with every film they worked on .
You may not know them by name , but the collective whole caboodle of these animators plausibly defined your puerility — and your parents ’ childhoods . Meet Disney ’s Nine Old Men :
1. LES CLARK
There ’s no doubt that Les Clark ’s talent landed him a job at Disney Studios , but his courage played a middling large part as well . As a high school student , Clark worked at a luncheon buffet where Walt and Roy Disney frequently din . While he was look on them one day , Clark asked Walt for a job ; Disney was amazingly biz , asking to see some of his body of work . “ So , I copy some cartoon and show them to Walt . He said I had a good strain , and why do n’t I come to work on Monday , ” Clarkrecalled . Clark fine-tune that Thursday , then went to work for Walt Disney four Clarence Day later . Hehelpedanimator Ub Iwerks on the first Mickey Mouse short , Plane CrazyandSteamboat Willie .
Characters he work on : Pinocchio , Snow White ’s dwarfs , Ichabod Crane fromThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow , Alice , Peter Pan , Sorcerer Mickey , Cinderella .
You also know him for : The scene inTheSkeleton Dancewhere one skeleton plays another skeleton ’s rib like a xylophone ( starts around 3:45 ):
2. MARC DAVIS
In 1935 , Marc Davis was see for a job as a newspaper cartoonist when he happen tonoticethat Disney Studios was hiring . Though he had no background in animation , Disney was impressed with his sketches of animal soma and social movement and hired Davis as an apprentice animator forSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs .
Characters he worked on : Snow White , Bambi , Tinker Bell , Princess Aurora , Maleficent , Cruella de Vil , Mr. Toad , Brer Rabbit fromSong of the South
You also know him for : Animatronic character pattern from the car park . Davis ’ many drive contribution include the Jungle Cruise , the Haunted Mansion , Pirates of the Caribbean , The Enchanted Tiki Room , and the Country Bear Jamboree .
3. OLLIE JOHNSTON
Joining Marc Davis as a Disney Studios newbie in 1935 was Ollie Johnston , who wasalsohired as an apprentice vitalizer . One of his earliest undertaking was a Silly Symphonies brusque calledThe Tortoise and the Hare , which won an Oscar for Best Short Subject .
character he play on : Sir Hiss and Prince John fromRobin Hood , Mr. Smee fromPeter Pan , the three respectable fairies fromSleeping Beauty , Thumper fromBambi .
You also know him for : Getting Walt Disney interested in trains . Disney was well be intimate as a backyard train hobbyist , and he catch the hemipteron thanks to Johnston . Johnston had just begun work on his own backyard steam engine in 1946 when Walt caught fart of the project andaskedto see it ; several month after , he start build his own .
4. MILT KAHL
Like Marc Davis , Milt Kahl had hop to find body of work as a cartoonist . He dropped out of high shoal to crop at theOakland Post - Enquirerand theSan Francisco Bulletin , but after Kahl saw Disney’sThree LittlePigsshort at a local movie theatre , he decided to strain his hand at animation . He washiredat Disney in 1934 as an adjunct vitaliser for shorts likeLonesome GhostsandThe Ugly Duckling .
character he worked on : Cinderella ’s Fairy Godmother , the hounds and dodger inMary Poppins , Pongo and Perdita in101 Dalmatians , Ludwig von Drake , most of the characters inThe Jungle BookandRobin Hood , Madame Medusa fromThe Rescuers .
You also have sex him for : You’re probably also pretty familiar with the work of Kahl ’s protégé , Brad Bird . Bird ( who has won Oscars forThe IncrediblesandRatatouille ) wasjust 13 years oldwhen he sent his first animate film to Disney for review — it was a remaking ofThe Tortoise and the Hare , with the race culminating in a five - way tie . doll ’s parent apprize him to transmit the film to the biggest name he could observe , and that bump to be Milt Kahl . Impressed , Kahl mentored Bird from then on .
5. WARD KIMBALL
Ward Kimball may have been at the same matinee Milt Kahl attended , because he was also inspire to switch from mag illustration to animation after seeing Disney’sThree Little Pigsshort . After graduating from the Santa Barbara School of Art , hefound a jobwith Disney Studios in 1934 and worked on most of their vivify flick until his retirement in 1972 .
Characters he worked on : Tweedledee and Tweedledum , the Cheshire Cat , the Mad Hatter , Jiminy Cricket , the Three Caballeros . He also helped write the story and script forBabes in Toyland .
You also know him for : Kimball was notable for his sense of humor — for exemplar , he give himselfextra fingersduring his Disney Legend handprint ceremony . He also got a kick out ofperpetuatingthe rumor that Walt Disney was cryogenically stock-still : “ I always severalise people that if anyone was travel to be cryogenically freeze , does n’t it seem like something Walt would be concerned in ? Knowing Walt , he was always concerned in experiment , always interested in scientific discipline . He was always interested in the ' newfangled ' affair . He was that type of personality . Was he frozen ? I would n’t put it past him and that ’s my reply . I like to keep it floating out there . "
CBS Radio via Wikimedia Commons//Public Domain
Kimball also had a second career as the trombone player in a Dixieland jazz band call The Firehouse Five Plus Two , which let in several other Disney Studios employees . They register 13 album and occasionally performed with bighearted name such as Bing Crosby and Teresa Brewer .
6. WOLFGANG REITHERMAN
Wolfgang “ Woolie ” Reitherman had beenintenton a career as an aircraft applied scientist when he suddenly became enrapture with watercolors . He switched from Pasadena Junior College to the Chouinard Art Institute in L.A. , and encounter an teacher who also happened to teach category at the Walt Disney Studio . Reitherman become a job there in 1933 .
character he worked on : The crocodile inPeter Pan , the dinosaurs inFantasia , the Headless Horseman , the Magic Mirror inSnow White , the whale Salmon P. Chase scene inPinocchio .
You also know him for : Reitherman earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for serving in the Air Force during WWII , fly missions in India , China , Africa , and the South Pacific .
7. FRANK THOMAS
When Frank Thomas was just nine age old , heaskedhis father how he could make money drawing pictures . Whether he was life history - orient at a youthful age , or just strangely prophetic , Thomas calibrate from Stanford and then went on to hit the books at Chouinard . A fellow student told Thomas that Disney was engage , and on September 24 , 1934 , he started work on a short calledMickey ’s Elephant .
persona he worked on : Cinderella ’s stepmother , scenes inBrave Little Tailor , the famous spaghetti scene inLady and the Tramp , King Louie fromThe Jungle Book , the dancing penguin inMary Poppins , and Captain Hook .
You also know him for : Co - authoring , along with Ollie Johnston , The Illusion of Life : Disney Animation , which is widely regarded as “ the bible ” for fibre animators . you could see cameos by Thomas and Johnston in Bird ’s movieThe Incredibles :
8. ERIC LARSON
Eric Larson attend the University of Utah for journalism , and as he became more involved in the campus magazine , he regain himself interested in sketch as well . After freelance for a year post - graduation exercise , Larson decided to mail some of his survey to Disney on the advice of a friend . When heretiredin 1986 , he had one of the long tenures in the company ’s history under his belt—52 years .
lineament he worked on : Lady , Tramp , Wart and Merlin fromThe Sword in the Stone , Roquefort and Scat Cat fromThe Aristocats , Pegasus and Centaurs fromFantasia , Kanga and Roo fromThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh .
You also fuck him for : His recruitment preparation broadcast . His Disney recruits include John Lasseter , Brad Bird , Don Bluth , Tim Burton , Glen Keane , Henry Selick , Andreas Deja , and Ron Clements , among many , many others .
9. JOHN LOUNSBERY
John Lounsbery ’s tale is a pile like his fellow Old Men : he graduated from an art institute ( Denver ) and then head to L.A. to seek work . While he was attend some illustration courses at the Art Center School of Design , an teacher there thought he would be well - suit to Disney and channelise him toward the charter studio . Lounsberyjoinedin 1935 , specializing in Pluto shorts .
Characters he worked on : Willie the Giant , Jasper and Horace from101 Dalmatians , the hippos and the gator fromFantasia , Dumbo and Timothy Mouse fromDumbo , the flowers fromAlice in Wonderland , King Leonidas and the soccer players fromBedknobs and Broomsticks .
You also screw him for : You probably do n’t . Lounsbery was the quietest of the Old Men and kept a very low profile . “ I was n’t very articulate in narration meetings , ” he oncesaid . “ Walt and I had an agreement : He judged me on what I bring forth and did n’t carry me to be a talker . ”
