After recently starting to read Working with Disney (2011) by author Don Peri, a book containing a collection of interviews with some of Walt Disney’s most distinguished employees from the company’s old days, I decided to write about the three interviewed men that were also part of the famous Nine Old Men: Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Marc Davis.
Formed around 1945, Disney’s Nine Old Men is the name of a group of men to whom was assigned by Disney himself the task to study and find solutions to any problems in the company’s work. The group consisted of nine of the best animators in Walt’s studio at the time, most of them having started their work at Disney for the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and stayed there working together up until the 70s. They are considered the animators responsible for developing the 12 Principles of Animation, first presented in the book The Illusion of Life (1981) by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, and have each and all separately received the Disney Legends Award for their work at Disney and the Winsor McCay Award for their lifetime contribution to animation.
Franklin Rosborough Thomas, the first one on our list, was an incredibly good animator, animation director and pianist born on September 5, 1912 in Santa Monica, California. Frank attended Stanford University, where he met and worked with Ollie Johnston — the second one on our list and whom I will soon talk about — on campus humor magazine The Stanford Chaparral. He also attended the Chouinard Art Institute before joining Disney in 1934, where he worked on several short and feature films as either an animator, animation director or supervisor until his retirement in 1978. Among Thomas’ most remarkable work are scenes from some of Disney’s most famous movies, such as the scene where the dwarfs cry over Snow White’s dead body, Pinocchio singing in the marionette theatre and the famous spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp (1955). Frank was a very good observer of human nature and was able to combine that to his music knowledge to create the most believable performances for his characters. Before his death in September 8, 2004, Frank made a small appearance alongside Ollie in The Incredibles (2004), when both of them voiced caricatures of themselves that make their appearance in a scene right before the end of the film.
The second on our list is Oliver Martin Johnston Jr., better know as Ollie, born on October 31, 1912 in Palo Alto, California. He was also and exquisite animator and animation director who joined Walt Disney’s Studios in 1934 after graduating from the Chouinard Art Institute. Ollie’s amazing work at Disney include animation of famous characters we know from Disney’s universe, such as Pinocchio, Bambi, José Carioca and Donald Duck from The Three Caballeros (1945), or Mr. Smee from Peter Pan (1953). He was know for his sensitivity to characters emotions and relationships and his ability to interpret those on paper. Johnston retired from Disney after working on The Fox and the Hound (1981) as a supervising animator and — like Frank — also was honored with a small appearance in The Incredibles movie before his death on April 14, 2008.
Last but not least we have Marc Fraser Davis, the “ladies” man, as he was called for his exceptional work on female characters. Born in Bakersfield, California on March 30, 1913, Marc started drawing very early at school. His family moved around a lot, so he attended to a lot of different schools, including three different art schools: the Kansas City Art Institute, California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. The “ladies” man began his work at Disney in 1935 as a character designer and animator for Snow White and his unique mastery in drawing from life was already evident at that time, establishing him as one of the most distinguished artists working for Disney at the time, to the point of being called by Disney himself “my Renaissance Man”. His work on the Disney company is remarkable: from designing and animating characters such as Snow White, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice and Tinker Bell to Maleficent and Cruella de Vil. Davis retired from Disney in 1978 after working a few years as a designer of character animatronics for the amusement parks. His work has been compiled and released as the book Marc Davis: Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man (2014), by the Disney Book Group. Marc Davis passed away on January 12, 2000.
Frank and Ollie’s book The Illusion of Life, often considered as the best animation book of all time, will exist as one of the best work references for aspiring animators for a very long time alongside Marc’s unending portfolio of some Disney’s most important characters. These men’s work will forever have an influence in the animation world.
References:
Frank and Ollie Official Website
Walt Disney Archives / Disney Legends / Frank Thomas
“Brad Bird on Ollie Johnston”. Cartoon Brew. April 15, 2008.
Walt Disney Archives / Disney Legends / Ollie Johnston
“In His Own Words: Marc Davis”. Cartoon Research. November 12, 2014.
“Marc Davis, Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man, subject of gorgeous new book”. Oh My Disney. 2014
