John Lounsbery had his own special way of looking at things, according to his fellow animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. In their book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, they wrote that no matter how bad a situation might be, John could always make “some funny observation to lighten the situation.”
And while shy by nature, John’s animated characters were anything but. Thomas and Johnston wrote, “Hardly subtle, John’s characters were always fun to watch.”
In fact, John once said that one of his all-time favorite characters, which he animated, was the bold and unabashed Ben Ali, the dancing alligator, who starred in the “Dance of the Hours” sequence of “Fantasia.” Other memorable characters he animated include, the “less-than” Honest John in “Pinocchio,” faithful Timothy the mouse in “Dumbo” and the ever-so-jolly Tony the cook in “Lady and the Tramp,” to name just a few.
The youngest of three sons, John was born March 9, 1911, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and… read more
John Lounsbery had his own special way of looking at things, according to his fellow animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. In their book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, they wrote that no matter how bad a situation might be, John could always make “some funny observation to lighten the situation.”
And while shy by nature, John’s animated characters were anything but. Thomas and Johnston wrote, “Hardly subtle, John’s characters were always fun to watch.”
In fact, John once said that one of his all-time favorite characters, which he animated, was the bold and unabashed Ben Ali, the dancing alligator, who starred in the “Dance of the Hours” sequence of “Fantasia.” Other memorable characters he animated include, the “less-than” Honest John in “Pinocchio,” faithful Timothy the mouse in “Dumbo” and the ever-so-jolly Tony the cook in “Lady and the Tramp,” to name just a few.
The youngest of three sons, John was born March 9, 1911, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Colorado, where he enjoyed winter sports, drawing and summer trips to the mountains. After graduating from East Denver High School, he enrolled in the Art Institute of Denver, where he received his diploma in 1932. That same year, John moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a freelance commercial artist, while attending illustration courses at the Art Center School of Design. One of the school’s instructors spotted John’s talent and pointed him in the direction of The Walt Disney Studios, which was searching for artists at the time.
In 1935, John joined Disney’s animation team and for several years, he specialized in “Pluto” shorts, such as “Pluto’s Playmate,” “Pluto at the Zoo” and “Private Pluto,” among others. Later, he was promoted to directing animator on such Disney classic films as “Dumbo,” “Song of the South,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan,” “Lady and the Tramp,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Aristocats” and “Robin Hood.”
He also served as directing animator on such beloved Pooh featurettes as “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree” and “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day,” which won an Academy Award in the category of Best Cartoon Short Subject. John also directed “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too,” which earned an Oscar nomination.
John Lounsbery died on February 13, 1976. Upon his untimely death, he was still giving Disney his all as one of the directors of the animated feature “The Rescuers.” —Disney Legends
