Pooh, a bear of very little brain, and all his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood sing their way through adventures that encompass honey, bees, bouncing, balloons, Eeyore’s birthday, floods, and Pooh sticks. —IMDb

Director

John Lounsbery

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

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Wolfgang Reitherman

Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman once described himself as “full of life and ginger” and his animation as having “vitality and … quality.” Indeed, Woolie’s boundless energy and personality spilled over into his animation. With an unusual knack for action sequences, Woolie animated such memorable sequences as the dramatic dinosaur battle in “Fantasia,” the climactic whale-chase scene in “Pinocchio,” and the fire-breathing clash between Prince Phillip and the Dragon in “Sleeping Beauty.”

Born in Munich, Germany on June 26, 1909, Woolie came to the U.S. as an infant and was raised in Sierra Madre, California. Fascinated with airplanes and flying, he attended Pasadena Junior College with the intent of becoming an aircraft engineer and later, took a job at Douglas Aircraft. In 1931, Woolie changed his course of flight, however, when he decided to become an artist and enrolled at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles to study watercolor. While there, he met an instructor who taught classes… read more

Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman once described himself as “full of life and ginger” and his animation as having “vitality and … quality.” Indeed, Woolie’s boundless energy and personality spilled over into his animation. With an unusual knack for action sequences, Woolie animated such memorable sequences as the dramatic dinosaur battle in “Fantasia,” the climactic whale-chase scene in “Pinocchio,” and the fire-breathing clash between Prince Phillip and the Dragon in “Sleeping Beauty.”

Born in Munich, Germany on June 26, 1909, Woolie came to the U.S. as an infant and was raised in Sierra Madre, California. Fascinated with airplanes and flying, he attended Pasadena Junior College with the intent of becoming an aircraft engineer and later, took a job at Douglas Aircraft. In 1931, Woolie changed his course of flight, however, when he decided to become an artist and enrolled at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles to study watercolor. While there, he met an instructor who taught classes at The Walt Disney Studios and in 1933, Woolie joined the Company’s animation department.

Woolie once said about animation, “It was a romance from the start. The minute you know you can make a drawing move, the static drawing loses its appeal: movement is life. Animation represents the greatest breakthrough in 20th Century art.”

During World War II, Woolie left the Studio to enlist with the U.S. Air Force. He became an ace pilot, serving in Africa, India, China, and the South Pacific, earning the distinguished Flying Cross medal. After the war, he returned to the Studio.

Over the years, Woolie contributed to more than 30 Disney shorts including “Water Babies,” “Mickey’s Fire Brigade” and “Donald in Mathmagic Land.” He also contributed his animation skill to such classic animated features as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Cinderella,” “Peter Pan,” “Lady and the Tramp,” “101 Dalmatians,” “The Jungle Book,” and more.

In 1963, Woolie became the first animator in the history of the company to be given the directorial reins of an entire animated feature, beginning with “The Sword in the Stone.” He also directed the cartoon featurette “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” which won an Academy Award® in 1969.

After Walt Disney’s untimely death in 1966, Woolie helped unify the Studio’s stable of egos and talent. As fellow animator Frank Thomas recalls, Woolie was a “very strong leader” during that unsettling time. After nearly 50 years with the Studio, Woolie retired in 1981.

Woolie Reitherman died on May 22, 1985, in Burbank, California. —Disney Legends

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