Ollie Johnston Dies At 96 The last of Disney's Nine Old Men passes
The name Ollie Johnston may not mean anything to you, but you undoubtedly know the work of the animating god who sadly passed away last night.
Johnston was one of a group of Disney animators – also including John Lounsbury, Les Clark, Woolie Reitherman, Milt Kahl, Eric Larsen, Marc Davis, Ward Kimball and Frank Thomas – christened The Nine Old Men by Walt Disney.
As part of the group, Johnston was part of the band of artists who shaped Disney's animated output, working on such classics as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Fantasia and Pinocchio. Johnston is the man who brought you the likes of 101 Dalmations' Perdita, Bambi's Thumper, The Jungle Book's Baloo, Peter Pan's Smee and Cinderella's Stepsisters, among many others. He is, in short, one of the greatest men ever to put pencil to paper. He also, along with long-time collaborator Frank Thomas, wrote the animation bible The Illusion of Life.
Johnston's last work as an animator was on The Rescuers in 1977, although he also did some work on The Fox and Hound. Since then he has leant his voice to two films by Brad Bird, a great fan of Johnston's. He voiced a train engineer in The Iron Giant and appeared as himself, with Thomas, in The Incredibles.
The animation world and many childhoods owe him a great debt.
L: Manfrendshensindshen
As someone whose early childhood movie of choice has been The Rescuers, I both take my hat off for the great man and feel somewhat ashamed that I didn't know his name while he was still among us.
think the fact that this news story has only got 7 replies, shows you're not the only one! ... Read More
That's the saddest news I've heard all week! I loved watching his interviews on the Disney DVD's. He was so talented, and watching him talk about Walt and the early days always made me cry. It's a sad day for the world of animation. He's a legend and will be greatly missed. ... Read More
As someone whose early childhood movie of choice has been The Rescuers, I both take my hat off for the great man and feel somewhat ashamed that I didn't know his name while he was still among us. ... Read More
For anyone who has special edition Disney DVDs there are plenty of Documentaries that show Frank and Ollie at work. My particular favourite is on the jungle book, where we see them having a blast as they choregraph Baloos's bum wiggling bear necessities dance. Pure legends!! ... Read More
God knows how many people are immersed in celuloid because of the impact of their brilliance.
The 7 dwarves coming out of the caves, with the light distorting their shadows against the dark walls...................magnificent.
I always recall the interview they did with him, when they re-released Snow White, and he was talking about the Old Men popping off one-by-one, he said, "Every year, we're meeting up and playing '10 Little Indians.......isn't it awful?"
I'd love to see wha... Read More
