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Don Bluth is a featured article, which means it has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Disney Wiki community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute.

Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American film director, animator, producer, writer, production designer, and animation instructor.

History[]

He started his career at Walt Disney Productions in 1955, only to leave the company in 1979 and start his own animation studio, Don Bluth Productions (formerly Sullivan Bluth Studios), after believing the company had lost its charm when they turned down his pitch for an animated feature-length adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, which he decided to create by himself and a few of his friends at the studio. It was shortened to The Secret of NIMH, and the protagonist was originally named Frisby, but the Wham-O company was the then-owner of the toy name Frisbee, so Bluth changed the protagonist's name to Mrs. Brisby. He found his greatest success teaming up with Steven Spielberg and creating An American Tail and The Land Before Time, which both shattered box office records for animated features at the time and challenged Disney, until the release of The Little Mermaid.

After departing with Spielberg, Bluth worked on a few more films, All Dogs Go to Heaven being the last successful one, before Don Bluth Productions closed down at the release of The Pebble and the Penguin, at which he was hired at Fox Animation Studios. He found new success with Anastasia, but this company closed down at the release of Titan A.E., which was Bluth's last film to date. He has been currently fundraising for a movie adaptation of Dragon's Lair, whose campaign had closed as of January 16, 2016.

Several of his films are currently available for streaming on Disney+.

Filmography[]

Year Film Position
1959 Sleeping Beauty In-between Artist (uncredited)
1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians Assistant Animator (uncredited)
1963 The Sword in the Stone Assistant Animator (uncredited)
1967 The Jungle Book Assistant Animator (uncredited)
1970 The Aristocats Character Animator: Madame Adelaide Bonfamille (uncredited)
1973 Robin Hood Character Animator: Robin Hood/Skippy/Sis/Tagalong/Toby Turtle
1974 Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! Character Animator: Rabbit
1975 Escape to Witch Mountain Titles Animator (uncredited)
1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Character Animator: Rabbit
1977 The Rescuers Directing Animator: Bernard/Miss Bianca
1977 Pete's Dragon Animation Director: Elliott
1978 The Small One Director/Animator (uncredited): Auction scene
1981 The Fox and the Hound Supervising Animator: Widow Tweed (uncredited)

Outside filmography[]

Year Film Position Production Company Distributed by Current Distribution Rights
1979 Banjo the Woodpile Cat Director, producer, writer/screenplay and animator Don Bluth Productions ABC Specials Disney
1980 Xanadu Animation sequence unit Universal Pictures Universal
1982 The Secret of NIMH Director, producer, animator, story adaptation, layout artist, visual development Aurora Productions
Don Bluth Productions
United Artists (through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through Amazon)
1986 An American Tail Director, producer, production designer, storyboard artist, title designer Amblin Entertainment
Sullivan-Bluth Studios
Universal Pictures Universal
1988 The Land Before Time Director, producer, production designer, storyboard artist, title designer Amblin Entertainment
Sullivan-Bluth Studios
Universal Pictures Universal
1989 All Dogs Go to Heaven Director, producer, animator, story, production designer, storyboard artist Goldcrest Films
Sweatbox Animation
Sullivan-Bluth Studios
United Artists (through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; worldwide)
The Rank Organisation (UK/Ireland)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through Amazon)
1991 Rock-A-Doodle Director, producer, animator, story, storyboard artist Goldcrest Films
Sullivan-Bluth Studios
The Samuel Goldwyn Company (USA and Canada)
The Rank Organisation (UK/Ireland)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through Amazon)
1994 Thumbelina Director, producer, writer Don Bluth Ireland, Ltd. Warner Bros. Pictures Disney
1994 A Troll in Central Park Director, producer, screenplay Don Bluth Ireland, Ltd. Warner Bros. Pictures Disney
1995 The Pebble and the Penguin Director, producer Don Bluth Limited Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA)
Warner Bros. Pictures (worldwide)
Warner Bros (US) (physical media)
Amazon (worldwide) (digital)
Disney (international)
1997 Anastasia Director, producer Fox Animation Studios 20th Century Fox Disney
1999 Bartok the Magnificent Director, producer Fox Animation Studios 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Disney
2000 Titan A.E. Director, producer Fox Animation Studios 20th Century Fox Disney

Animation[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Bluth had plans for an animated adaption of Beauty and the Beast. Concept artwork was completed in 1984, but upon discovering that Walt Disney Pictures already had plans for their own adaptation, the project was cancelled by Columbia Pictures.
  • To defend the use of darker scenes in his movies, Bluth once said, "[If] you don't show the darkness, you can't appreciate the light. If it weren't for December, no one would appreciate May. It's just important that you see both sides of that."

External links[]


v - e - d
Walt Disney Animation Studios - Transparent Logo
1920s—1970s
Disney's Nine Old Men: Milt KahlFrank ThomasOllie JohnstonLes ClarkJohn LounsberyMarc DavisWard KimballEric LarsonWolfgang Reitherman

Animators: Bill TytlaArt BabbittLee BlairPreston BlairFred MooreShamus CulhaneCy YoungDon LuskNorman FergusonHal KingJack HannahDick KinneyHal AmbroKen O'BrienJudge WhitakerBill JusticeDon BluthGary GoldmanCharles A. NicholsBlaine GibsonJohn EwingWalt StanchfieldRolly CrumpFred HellmichAmby PaliwodaWilfred JacksonXavier AtencioBen SharpsteenEarl HurdDale OliverEric CleworthDavid HandFred SpencerJulius SvendsenJack BradburyKenneth MuseRudolf IsingHugh HarmanFriz FrelengWalt KellyLeo SalkinJohn DehnerRetta ScottDavid SwiftMel ShawJack CuttingGrant SimmonsArt StevensFrank TashlinWathel RogersTyrus WongJohnny Cannon
Visual Development, Layout, Background Artists and Character Designers: Gustaf TenggrenMary BlairMarjorie RalstonLillian BoundsJoe GrantMel ShawClaude CoatsDon DaGradiJohn HenchEyvind EarleKen O'ConnorThor PutnamAlbert HurterJohn HubleyHerbert RymanDon GriffithBasil DavidovichJack BoydPeter EllenshawRuthie TompsonEarl DuvallRetta DavidsonUb IwerksVance GerryHazel SewellJames BodreroLance NolleyGrace BaileyMaurice NobleDale BarnhartAndy EngmanEustace LycettJohn EmersonJoe Hale
Storyboard Artists and Writers: Bill PeetRalph WrightDick HuemerFloyd NormanYale GraceyTed SearsErdman PennerJoe RinaldiWinston HiblerOtto EnglanderWilliam CottrellBill BergAl BertinoT. HeeHomer BrightmanTed OsbourneLarry ClemmonsHarry ReevesJesse MarshChuck CouchWebb SmithDick Sebast
Directors: Clyde GeronimiHamilton LuskeJack KinneyTed BermanRichard RichGeorge ScribnerRiley ThomsonDick LundyJack KingBurt GillettJames AlgarBill RobertsLarry Lansburgh
Producers: Walt DisneyRon MillerKen AndersonDon DuckwallPerce PearceMargaret J. Winkler

1980s—present
Renaissance Directors: Rob MinkoffRoger AllersGary TrousdaleKirk WiseChris SandersMark DindalJohn Musker

Story Trust Directors: Ron ClementsChris BuckByron HowardDon HallChris WilliamsRich MooreStephen J. AndersonNathan GrenoFawn Veerasunthorn
Producers: Peter Del VechoClark SpencerRoy ConliDorothy McKimDon HahnShane Morris
Chief Creative Officer: Jennifer Lee
Associated Figures: Bob IgerRoy Edward DisneyMichael EisnerJohn LasseterEd CatmullJeffrey KatzenbergBob Chapek
Signature Voice Actors: Jim CummingsAlan TudykKatie LowesJohn DiMaggioMaurice LaMarcheJodi BensonDavid Ogden StiersJesse CortiPaul BriggsRaymond S. PersiPhil JohnstonFrank WelkerBill FarmerBrian Cummings
Signature Musicians: Robert B. Sherman Richard M. Sherman Alan Menken Kristen Anderson-Lopez Robert LopezLin-Manuel MirandaHoward AshmanTim RicePhil CollinsStephen SchwartzMarc ShaimanDanny Troob
Supervising Animators: Glen KeaneAndreas DejaEric GoldbergMark HennJohn PomeroyRandy HaycockDale BaerTony BancroftTom BancroftTony FucileAnthony DeRosaRuss EdmondsRandy HaycockBruce W. SmithDuncan MarjoribanksRuben AquinoNik RanieriRon HusbandRick FarmiloeTom SitoTony AnselmoWill FinnKathy Zielinski
Visual Development & Storyboard Artists: Dean DeBloisClaire KeaneBrittney LeeJin KimShiyoon KimRyan Green

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