Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American film director, animator, producer, writer, production designer, and animation instructor.
History[]
He started his career at Walt Disney Productions in 1955, only to leave the company in 1979 and start his own animation studio, Don Bluth Productions (formerly Sullivan Bluth Studios), after believing the company had lost its charm when they turned down his pitch for an animated feature-length adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, which he decided to create by himself and a few of his friends at the studio. It was shortened to The Secret of NIMH, and the protagonist was originally named Frisby, but the Wham-O company was the then-owner of the toy name Frisbee, so Bluth changed the protagonist's name to Mrs. Brisby. He found his greatest success teaming up with Steven Spielberg and creating the franchises of An American Tail and The Land Before Time, which both shattered box office records for animated features at the time and challenged Disney, until the release of The Little Mermaid.
After departing with Spielberg, Bluth worked on a few more films, All Dogs Go to Heaven being the last successful one, before Don Bluth Productions closed down at the release of The Pebble and the Penguin, at which he was hired at Fox Animation Studios. He found new success with Anastasia, Thumbelina and Rock-A-Doodle, but this company closed down at the release of Titan A.E., which was Bluth's last film to date. He has been currently fundraising for a movie adaptation of Dragon's Lair, whose campaign had closed as of January 16, 2016.
Several of his films are currently available for streaming on Disney+.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Lady and the Tramp | Assistant director, animator (uncredited) |
| 1959 | Sleeping Beauty | In-between artist (uncredited) |
| 1961 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| 1963 | The Sword in the Stone | |
| 1967 | The Jungle Book | |
| 1970 | The Aristocats | Character animator (uncredited) |
| 1973 | Robin Hood | Character animator / Voice actor: Elephant Guards (uncredited) |
| 1974 | Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! | Animator: Rabbit / Story (uncredited) |
| 1975 | Escape to Witch Mountain | Animator: titles (uncredited) |
| 1977 | The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | Animator: Rabbit / Story (uncredited) |
| The Rescuers | Directing animator: Bernard and Miss Bianca | |
| Pete's Dragon | Animation director | |
| 1978 | The Small One | Director / Producer / Animator: auction scene (uncredited) |
| 1981 | The Fox and the Hound | Animator (uncredited) |
| 1983 | Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| 1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | Storyboard artist, title designer (uncredited) |
| 1987 | The Brave Little Toaster | Storyboard artist (uncredited) |
Outside filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position | Production Company | Distributed by | Current Distribution Rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Banjo the Woodpile Cat | Director / Producer / Animator / Story (uncredited) | Don Bluth Productions | ABC Specials | Disney |
| 1980 | Xanadu | Animation sequence unit | Universal Pictures | Universal | |
| 1982 | The Secret of NIMH | Director / Producer / Story adaptation / Directing animator / Layout artist / Visual development artist (uncredited) | Aurora Productions Don Bluth Productions |
United Artists (through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through Amazon) |
| 1986 | An American Tail | Director / Producer / Designer / Storyboard artist / Title designer / Animator (uncredited) | Amblin Entertainment Sullivan-Bluth Studios |
Universal Pictures | Universal |
| 1988 | The Land Before Time | Director / Producer / Production designer / Storyboard artist / Animator (uncredited) | |||
| 1989 | All Dogs Go to Heaven | Director / Producer / Story / Production designer / Storyboard artist / Character animator (uncredited) | Goldcrest Films Sweatbox Animation Sullivan-Bluth Studios |
United Artists (through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; worldwide) The Rank Organisation (UK/Ireland) |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through Amazon) |
| 1991 | Rock-A-Doodle | Director / Producer / Story / Storyboard artist / Animator (uncredited) | Goldcrest Films Sullivan-Bluth Studios |
The Samuel Goldwyn Company (USA and Canada) The Rank Organisation (UK/Ireland) | |
| 1994 | Thumbelina | Director / Producer / Screenplay / Supervising animator (uncredited) | Don Bluth Ireland, Ltd. | Warner Bros. Pictures | Disney |
| A Troll in Central Park | Director / Producer / Original story / Voice actor: Trolls (uncredited) | ||||
| 1995 | The Pebble and the Penguin | Director, producer (uncredited) | Don Bluth Limited | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA) Warner Bros. Pictures (worldwide) |
Warner Bros (US) (physical media) Amazon (worldwide) (digital) Disney (international) |
| 1997 | Anastasia | Director / Producer / Designer: Anastasia (uncredited) | Fox Animation Studios | 20th Century Fox | Disney |
| 1999 | Bartok the Magnificent | Director / Producer / Supervising animator (uncredited) | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | ||
| 2000 | Titan A.E. | Director / Producer / Directing animator (uncredited) | 20th Century Fox | ||
Animation[]
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Bluth had plans for an animated adaption of Beauty and the Beast. Concept artwork was completed in 1984, but upon discovering that Walt Disney Pictures already had plans for their own adaptation, the project was cancelled by Columbia Pictures.
- To defend the use of darker scenes in his movies, Bluth once said, "[If] you don't show the darkness, you can't appreciate the light. If it weren't for December, no one would appreciate May. It's just important that you see both sides of that."
External links[]
