A Moment of Silence for the Passing of an Era
Whether you’re a fan of Disney and other American animation or not, an important figure in the world of animation has passed. Ollie Johnston, the last of those known as the “Nine Old Men,” passed away yesterday, at the age of 95, in Sequim, WA.
If you have seen the movie “The Rescuers,” and have seen the character Rufus the Cat, then you’ve seen Ollie, as Rufus was a caricature of him.
If you’ve seen the Fox and the Hound, the Rescuers, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Robin Hood, The AristoCats, The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, The Sword in the Stone, 101 Dalmations, Sleeping Beauty, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, The Wind in the Willows, Melody Time, Song of the South, Peter and the Wolf, The Three Caballeros, Bambi, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Little Hiawatha, or a number of other Disney works (primarily early ones), then you’ve seen his work.
He and Frank Thomas were also the authors of Illusion of Life, an extraordinary book on the history and techniques of classic animation (it was actually my textbook for my History of Animation class).
If you care at all about animation, please observe a moment of silence for his passing, and the passing of the last of a group of animators who pioneered what animation would mean to the world for generations to come.