Happy Birthday, Wolfgang Reitherman! Born today in 1909, this American animator, producer and director, also known and sometimes credited as Woolie Reitherman, was one of Disney's Nine Old Men.
These were Walt Disney Productions' for animators, some of whom later became directors, who created some of Disney's most famous animated cartoons.
The most notable were the 1937 American animated musical fantasy family film 'Snow White and the Seven dwarfs' onward to the 1977 American animated adventure film 'The Rescuers', and were referred to as such by Walt Disney himself. They worked in both short films and feature films.
Reitherman was hired by Disney on May 21, 1933. His first project was working as an animator on the seven-minute 1934 American Technicolor animated musical short film 'Funny Little Bunnies' for the Silly Symphonies series.
Afterwards, Reitherman continued to work on a number of Disney shorts. These included the nine-minute 1935 American Technicolor animated comedy short film 'The Band Concert', the ten-minute American Technicolor animated musical short film 'Music Land' and the eight-minute 1936 American Technicolor animated short film 'Elmer Elephant'.
The following year, Reitherman animated the slave in the Magic Mirror for 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'.
In the 1940s, his next projects were animating Monstro in the 1940 American animated musical fantasy film 'Pinocchio' and the climactic dinosaur fight in Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring for the 1940 American animated musical film 'Fantasia'.
The following year, Reitherman animated several scenes of Timothy Q. Mouse for the 1941 American animated family film 'Dumbo'.
Starting in 1942, Reitherman had left Disney to serve in World War II for the United States Air Force, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross after serving in Africa, China, India, and the South Pacific. In February 1946, he was discharged having earned the rank of Major.
Reitherman rejoined Disney in April 1947, where he animated the Headless Horseman chase in 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow section in the 1949 American animated fantasy package film 'The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'.
In the early 1950s when the interests of the Nine Old Men expanded and diversified their scope, Disney delegated more and more tasks to them in the animation department. All members of the group are now deceased.
Later on, Reitherman was the directing animator for a scene in the 1950 American animated musical fantasy film 'Cinderella'. This was the sequence in which Jaq and Gus laboriously push and pull the key up the stairs to Cinderella.
In the 1951 American animated musical fantasy-adventure film 'Alice in Wonderland', Reitherman animated the scene in which the White Rabbit's home is destroyed by an enlarged Alice.
On the 1953 American animated musical/fantasy family film 'Peter Pan', Reitherman animated the scene of Captain Hook attempting to escape the crocodile.
For the 1955 American musical/romance family animated film 'Lady and the Tramp', Reitherman animated the alley dog fight sequence and Tramp's fight with the rat in the nursery room.
Reitherman served as the sequence director of Prince Phillip's climatic fight against Maleficent as a Drago n in the 1959 American animated musical fantasy film 'Sleeping Beauty'.
In the 1960s, Reitherman would direct several animated shorts. Most notably, this included the fifteen-minute 1960 American animated comedy short film 'Goliath II'; a precursor for 'The Jungle Book' seven years earlier.
The following year, Reitherman directed the "Twilight Bark" sequence for the 1961 American animated adventure family film 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians'.
Beginning with the 1963 'The Sword in the Stone', Reitherman became the first sole director of a Disney animated feature. This was in direct contrast to having several directors over an animated feature.
American animator Ward Kimball had claimed it was because Reitherman's work compatibility and willingness to accept any project "with a smile" while American animator Bob Carlson noted that Disney had trusted Reitherman's decision-making before he would embark on a film project.
Reitherman would direct the first of two Winnie the Pooh shorts. The fist included the twenty-five-minute 1966 American animated comedy short film 'Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'. Reitherman's son, Bruce Reitheman, provided the voice for Christopher Robin.
The following year, Reitherman directed the Disney feature of which he is best known. This was the 1967 American Technicolor animated musical/comedy family film 'The Jungle Book'. His son, Bruce, provided the voice for Mowgli.
The film had been based on Indian-born English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist Rudyard Kipling's 1894 children's literature fiction book of the same name.
On a budget of $4 million, 'The Jungle Book' went on to gross $378 million at the box office.
The film initially became Disney's second-highest-grossing animated film in the United States and Canada, and was also successful during its re-releases.
'The jungle Book' was the final film produced by Walt Disney before his death on December 15, 1966.
One year late, Reitherman directed the second feature of the Winnie the Pooh shorts. The was the twent-five-miinute1968 American animated comedy/short film 'Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'.
The following year, the short won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. This occurred at the 41st Academy Awards in mid-April 1969.
In the 1970s, Reitherman directed three more Disney features. These were the 1970 American animated romantic adventure musical comedy family film 'The AristoCats', the 1973 American animated adventure film 'Robin Hood' and the 1977 American animated adventure film 'The Rescuers'.
In the 1980s, following 'The Rescuers', Reitherman was initially slated to direct the 1981 American animated musical buddy drama family film 'The Fox and the Hound'.
However, following creative conflicts with American animator, director and producer Art Stevens (who was also the co-director), Reitherman was taken off of the project.
In 1986, one year after the Disney studio's desire for ambitious films such as the 1985 American animated fantasy film 'The Black Cauldron', Reitherman retired.
Reitherman passed in a single-car accident near his home in Burbank, California on May 22, 1985. He was 75. Reitherman was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 1989.
Of Disney's Nine Old Men, American animator John Lounsbery was the first to pass on February 13, 1976 from heart failure.
In the early 1990s, Disney released a live-action adaptation with the 1994 American adventure/family film ‘Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book’ (also known simply as ‘The Jungle Book’).
In the early 2000s, Disney released a belated sequel to ‘The Jungle Book’ This was the 2003 American animation/family film ‘The Jungle Book 2’.
The last survivor of Disney's Nine Old Men was American motion picture animator Ollie Johnston, who passed on April 14, 2008 from natural causes at 95. Each of the men have been acknowledged as Disney Legends.
In the late 2010s, a live-action remake directed by American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Jon Favreau was made. This was the 2016 American fantasy adventure/family film ‘The Jungle Book’.
Reitherman had been active from 1934–1985.
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