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Tony Anselmo 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.

Tony Anselmo is an American voice actor and animator, who has worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1980. After Clarence Nash's death in 1985, Anselmo succeeded him as the voice of Donald Duck, having been apprenticed by Nash for the role during the last three years of the former's life. Anselmo's first performance as Donald was on a television special titled DTV Valentine (1986). Since then, Anselmo has voiced Donald in over thousands of projects, including television, feature films, theme parks, and consumer products.

Background[]

Early life[]

Anselmo was born on February 18, 1960 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His grandfather emigrated from Italy to work in the Bingham Canyon Mine. At the age of four, Anselmo saw his first movie Mary Poppins and was left mesmerized by the experience. From that experience, he decided that he wanted to work for Disney.[1][2]

At the age of seven, Anselmo and his family moved to Sunnyvale, California, where he studied animation from the Preston Blair art book entitled Advanced Animation. Anselmo built his own animation light table and began drawing and filming animation at home with a Super 8 camera.[1][2]

He attended Marian A. Peterson High School in Sunnyvale, and showed a natural gift for draftsmanship and art. He corresponded regularly with Disney Legends, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Eric Larson, and Milt Kahl. Ollie, in particular, wrote a lot to Anselmo and would send him drawings, and advised him to learn quick sketch, life drawing, acting, and design. Anselmo applied this advice attending night art classes at local colleges, and joined the local community theater.[1]

He eventually began to discover another talent: doing voices. He liked to imitate the teachers and celebrities.[2] Thanks to a recommendation from his Disney animation correspondents, Anselmo was able to attend California Institute of the Arts on a Disney Family Fellowship. The Disney family's support was a great encouragement for him to continue to pursue his dream.[1]

In the fall of 1978, Anselmo began his studies in the Character Animation Department at CalArts. The head of the department Jack Hannah was the director of the Donald Duck unit under Walt Disney. Anselmo's other teachers included Disney layout artist Ken O'Connor, Disney caricaturist Tee Hee, and legendary design professor Bill Moore.[2]

The school had a very close connection with the Disney Studio, and its students' work was reviewed annually by Disney executives. Anselmo was selected to transfer to the Studio after his second year. On September 1, 1980, Anselmo reported for duty in the animation department of Walt Disney Productions.[citation needed]

Career[]

At the Disney Studio, Anselmo began a more immersive study in Disney character animation. Anselmo explains: "Ron Miller had just set up a program called the Disney School of Animation on the lot with Don Hahn, to train new artists in carrying on Walt's traditions in character animation. We weren't even in production. We were being paid to animate tests with Eric Larson, studying life drawing with Walt Stanchfield, and learning even more than we had at CalArts. That hasn't happened since. I was honored to be a part of that. We were assigned Disney/Kem Weber animation desks, and Eric would hand out animation tests to us. We'd animate a scene, bring it back to Eric, he'd 'plus' it, showing us how it was done. He was incredibly patient and generous with his time."[1]

Anselmo contributed to the animation of the 20 Disney animated features, including The Black Cauldron (1985), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Tarzan (1999), and The Emperor's New Groove (2000).

Clarence&Me-4

Anselmo with Clarence Nash.

During Anselmo's earliest days at Disney, he was befriended by Clarence Nash, the original voice of Donald Duck. Their relationship began casually; Anselmo was curious about the voice because Donald Duck was one voice that he couldn't do. He asked Nash how to do it, and it took him a long time to perfect it. Through their informal training in Donald's dialogue and personality, Nash and Anselmo continued to work and socialize. Not knowing that Nash had leukemia, Anselmo never suspected Nash had a larger motive behind the training. Anselmo states, "I think, in hindsight, one of the reasons Clarence spent so much time working with me on Donald's voice and personality before mentioning his plans for succession is that he wanted to make absolutely sure I would do that legacy justice with loyalty before telling me." When Nash died on February 20, 1985, Anselmo inherited the role of Donald Duck just as Nash had arranged. Anselmo was able to consult his mentor Jack Hannah with questions on Donald's idiosyncrasies until Jack's passing in June of 1994.[1]

Anselmo's first performance as Donald was on the television program DTV Valentine (1986); his first film was Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Anselmo also shared voice-over duties with Russi Taylor for Huey, Dewey, and Louie. He also voiced Daisy and Huey, Dewey, and Louie (whom he would later also voice in Mickey Mouse Works, House of Mouse, and Have a Laugh!) in Down and Out with Donald Duck in 1987 (while Taylor voiced the nephews in DuckTales, Mickey's Once, and Twice Upon a Christmas, Mickey's Speedway USA, and the DuckTales: Remastered video game in 2013). He also lent his voice to minor characters in The Great Mouse Detective, and contributed various other incidental voices throughout all his series.

Anselmo provided Donald's voice for the Kingdom Hearts series, which features Donald Duck as one of the main characters. He also provided the voice of Donald in the video game Kinect: Disneyland Adventures in 2011.

Anselmo has been honored with several awards and nominations. He was a winner of the 2014 BTVA Television Voice Acting Award for Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series - Children's/Educational for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse; as well as the BTVA Video Game Voice Acting Award for Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game - Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

In September 2009, Anselmo was officially named a Disney Legend.

Anselmo began collecting Disney objects and ephemera at an early age and is known for his comprehensive collection of Disney posters relating to the works of Walt Disney. This expertise resulted in a 2002 art book entitled The Disney Poster Book featuring the Collection of Tony Anselmo. Anselmo's collection was loaned for many exhibits at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco in gratitude for his Disney family benefactors scholarship to CalArts.[1]

Roles[]

Animation Work Gallery[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

References[]

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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