Who were the Nine Old Men?
Q: Who were the Nine Old Men?
A: The Nine Old Men were a group of animators who worked for Disney and included Les Clark, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman, John Lounsbery, Eric Larson, Ward Kimball, Milt Kahl and Marc Davis.
Q: What was the reference to Franklin D. Roosevelt in Walt Disney's name for the group?
A: Walt Disney called them Nine Old Men as a reference to Franklin D. Roosevelt calling the US Supreme Court nine old men.
Q: What work did Les Clark do at Disney?
A: Les Clark joined Disney in 1927 and was best known for animating Mickey Mouse as he was the only one of the Nine Old Men to work on that character from its start with Ub Iwerks. He also did many scenes throughout his years at Disney up until Lady And The Tramp before moving into directing and making animated featurettes and shorts.
Q: What book did Ollie Johnston write with Frank Thomas?
A: Ollie Johnston wrote The Illusion of Life with Frank Thomas. This book is considered an important resource for animators today.
Q: What characters did Frank Thomas animate?
A: Some of the characters that Frank Thomas animated include the wicked Stepmother (in Cinderella), Queen of Hearts (in Alice In Wonderland), Captain Hook (in Peter Pan) and Sir Hiss (in Robin Hood).
Q: Who directed all of Disney's movies after Walt's death until his retirement?
A: Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman directed all of Disney's movies after Walt's death until his retirement in 1985. His work includes Crocodile (in Peter Pan), Dragon (in Sleeping Beauty) and Rat (in Lady And The Tramp).
Q: Who trained new talent at Disney during the 1970s?
A: Eric Larson was given the job to spot and train new animators at Disney during the 1970s due to his ability to train new talent well. Many top talents at Disney today were trained by him during this time period
