Ken Anderson (animator)
Encyclopedia
'Ken "Kenneth B." Anderson' (March 17, 1909 – January 13, 1993) was an art director
, writer
, and animator
at Walt Disney Animation Studios for 44 years.
Anderson studied architecture
at the University of Washington
, graduating with a B.Arch. in 1934. He was particularly influenced by faculty member Lionel Pries
.
With the delineation skills he learned in architecture school, he soon secured a position at Disney. Anderson was a key player in some of the most well-known animated films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
, Pinocchio
, One Hundred and One Dalmatians
and The Jungle Book
. He also worked on the development of Disneyland. Ken is a 1991 winner of the Disney Legends
award for Animation & Imagineering.
Ken Anderson died from a stroke
at the age of 84.
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
at Walt Disney Animation Studios for 44 years.
Anderson studied architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
at the University of Washington
University of Washington College of Built Environments
The College of Built Environments or CBE at the University of Washington is the new name, as of January 1, 2009, of the college formerly called the College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The old name was adopted in 1957-58 when the college had only two departments, architecture and planning...
, graduating with a B.Arch. in 1934. He was particularly influenced by faculty member Lionel Pries
Lionel Pries
Lionel H. Pries , was a leading architect, artist, and educator in the Pacific Northwest.Pries was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland. He graduated with a B.A. in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1920, where he studied under John Galen Howard...
.
With the delineation skills he learned in architecture school, he soon secured a position at Disney. Anderson was a key player in some of the most well-known animated films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
, Pinocchio
Pinocchio (1940 film)
Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
, One Hundred and One Dalmatians
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
One Hundred and One Dalmatians, often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is a 1961 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith...
and The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book (1967 film)
The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released on October 18, 1967, it is the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was inspired by the stories about the feral child Mowgli from the book of the same name by...
. He also worked on the development of Disneyland. Ken is a 1991 winner of the Disney Legends
Disney Legends
Established in 1987, the Disney Legends program recognizes people who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. The honor is awarded annually during a special ceremony....
award for Animation & Imagineering.
Ken Anderson died from a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
at the age of 84.
Screenwriter
- The RescuersThe RescuersThe Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
(1977) - The AristocatsThe AristocatsThe Aristocats is a 1970 American animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions in 1970 and stars Eva Gabor and Phil Harris, with Roddy Maude-Roxby as Edgar the butler, the villain of the story...
(1970) - The Jungle BookThe Jungle Book (1967 film)The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released on October 18, 1967, it is the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was inspired by the stories about the feral child Mowgli from the book of the same name by...
(1967) - CinderellaCinderella (1950 film)Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi,...
(1950) - So Dear to My HeartSo Dear to My HeartSo Dear to My Heart is a 1948 feature film produced by Walt Disney, released in Chicago on November 29, 1948 and nationwide on January 19, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. Like 1946's Song of the South, the film combines animation and live action...
(1948) - Melody TimeMelody TimeMelody Time is a 1948 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of several sequences set to popular music and folk music, the film is, like Make Mine Music before it, the popular music version of Fantasia Melody Time is a 1948...
(1948)
Art director
- The Sword in the StoneThe Sword in the Stone (film)The Sword in the Stone is a 1963 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney and originally released to theaters on December 25, 1963...
(1963) - Symphony No. 6Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven)Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony , is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, and was completed in 1808...
section of FantasiaFantasia (film)Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
(1940) - PinocchioPinocchio (1940 film)Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
(1940) - Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
(1937)
Animator
- The Fox and the Hound (1981, coordinating animator, uncredited)
- Pete's DragonPete's DragonPete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical film from Walt Disney Productions and the first Disney film to be recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system...
(1977) - Song of the SouthSong of the SouthSong of the South is a 1946 American musical film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is based on the Uncle Remus cycle of stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The live actors provide a sentimental frame story, in which Uncle Remus relates the folk tales of the...
(1946) - The Reluctant DragonThe Reluctant DragonThe Reluctant Dragon is an 1898 children's story by Kenneth Grahame , which served as the key element to the 1941 feature film with the same name from Walt Disney Productions. The story has also been set to music as a children's operetta by John Rutter, with words by David Grant...
(1941) - Three Orphan KittensThree Orphan KittensThree Orphan Kittens is a 1935 animated short film in the Silly Symphonies series produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was the winner of the 1935 Academy Award for Best Short Subject . It was followed in 1936 by a sequel, More Kittens....
(1935) - The Goddess of Spring (1934)
Production designer
- "The AristocatsThe AristocatsThe Aristocats is a 1970 American animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions in 1970 and stars Eva Gabor and Phil Harris, with Roddy Maude-Roxby as Edgar the butler, the villain of the story...
" (1970) - One Hundred and One DalmatiansOne Hundred and One DalmatiansOne Hundred and One Dalmatians, often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is a 1961 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith...
(1961) - Sleeping BeautySleeping Beauty (1959 film)Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault...
(1959)
Short story author
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the PoohThe Many Adventures of Winnie the PoohThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the 22nd full-length animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on March 11, 1977....
(1977) - Robin HoodRobin Hood (1973 film)Robin Hood is an 1973 American animated film produced by the Walt Disney Productions, first released in the United States on November 8, 1973...
(1973)
Further reading
- Allan, Robin, Walt Disney and Europe: European Influences on the Animated Feature Films of Walt Disney, Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis 1999.
- Canemaker, John, Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists, Hyperion, New York 1996 (especially pages 168-182, a full chapter devoted to Ken Anderson).