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Ellen Woodbury is an American sculptor, former Disney directing animator and character animator, who worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios from 1985 to 2005.

Born in 1962, Woodbury grew up in Corning, New York, and she earned a BFA in Film and Art from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. Later she attended the Experimental Animation program at the California Institute of the Arts under the mentorship of Jules Engel. Her student films won national and international awards as well as a jump start in her career where she served as an animator both He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra: The Princess of Power.

Joining Disney in 1985, Woodbury began as an assistant before eventually being promoted to Directing Animator, the first woman to achieve this promotion. During her 20-year tenure, she brought to life many well-known characters, including Maurice in Beauty and the Beast, Abu in Aladdin, Zazu in The Lion King, and Pegasus in Hercules. By the mid-2000s, Woodbury grew disillusioned by the company's switch from traditional to computer animation which led her to resign in 2005.

She moved to Loveland, Colorado to become a full-time sculptor. She is a signature member of Artists For Conservation, a Signature member of The Society of Animal Artists, and an Associate member of the National Sculpture Society. She taught Character Animation at the Art Institute of Colorado from 2010 to 2014, and ran a character animation workshop along with her class each week. In 2011, Woodbury's sculpture. "See Through Other Eyes: Spotted Owl", won the 2011 People's Choice Award in Loveland, CO, as part of the Arts Advocacy Project during a Sculpture in the Park exhibition. In 2019, the National Sculpture Society presented Woodbury with the Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant. She applies many animation principles to both her design and sculpting processes. She says, "I find stone sculpture to be a logical extension for much of what I learned as an animator. One medium is the illusion of three dimensions and the other is the reality of three dimensions."

Filmography[]

Year Film Position
1986 The Great Mouse Detective Assistant Animator
1987 Sport Goofy in Soccermania Additional Animator
1988 Oliver & Company Animating Assistant: Oliver
1989 The Little Mermaid Character Animator
1990 The Rescuers Down Under Character Animator: Mice and Koala
1991 Beauty and the Beast Animator: Maurice
Lead Animator: Sultan
1992 Aladdin Animator: Abu
1994 The Lion King Supervising Animator: Zazu
1995 Pocahontas Additional Animator
1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Additional Animator
1997 Hercules Supervising Animator: Pegasus
1999 Tarzan Additional Animator
1999 How to Haunt a House Animator
1999 Fantasia 2000 Animator: Segment "Rhapsody in Blue"
2002 Treasure Planet Supervising Animator: Long John Silver's Pirate Crew
2004 Home on the Range Animator: Mrs. Calloway
2005 Chicken Little Animator
2007 Meet the Robinsons Animator

Gallery[]

External links[]


v - e - d
Walt Disney Animation Studios - Transparent Logo
1920s—1970s
Disney's Nine Old Men: Milt KahlFrank ThomasOllie JohnstonLes ClarkJohn LounsberyMarc DavisWard KimballEric LarsonWolfgang Reitherman

Animators: Bill TytlaArt BabbittLee BlairPreston BlairFred MooreShamus CulhaneCy YoungDon LuskNorman FergusonHal KingJack HannahDick KinneyHal AmbroKen O'BrienJudge WhitakerBill JusticeDon BluthGary GoldmanCharles A. NicholsBlaine GibsonJohn EwingWalt StanchfieldRolly CrumpFred HellmichAmby PaliwodaWilfred JacksonXavier AtencioBen SharpsteenEarl HurdDale OliverEric CleworthDavid HandFred SpencerJulius SvendsenJack BradburyKenneth MuseRudolf IsingHugh HarmanFriz FrelengWalt KellyLeo SalkinJohn DehnerRetta ScottDavid SwiftMel ShawJack CuttingGrant SimmonsArt StevensFrank TashlinWathel RogersTyrus WongJohnny CannonBernard WolfJohn W. DunnHenry SelickTony StroblChuck WilliamsBurny MattinsonDave SudingAndy Gaskill
Visual Development, Layout, Background Artists and Character Designers: Gustaf TenggrenMary BlairMarjorie RalstonLillian BoundsJoe GrantMel ShawClaude CoatsDon DaGradiJohn HenchEyvind EarleKen O'ConnorThor PutnamAlbert HurterJohn HubleyHerbert RymanDon GriffithBasil DavidovichJack BoydPeter EllenshawRuthie TompsonEarl DuvallRetta DavidsonUb IwerksVance GerryHazel SewellJames BodreroLance NolleyGrace BaileyMaurice NobleDale BarnhartAndy EngmanEustace LycettJohn EmersonJoe HaleLeota ToombsFerdinand HorvathJerry ReesDan HansenJim ColemanDorse Lanpher
Storyboard Artists and Writers: Bill PeetRalph WrightDick HuemerFloyd NormanYale GraceyTed SearsErdman PennerJoe RinaldiWinston HiblerOtto EnglanderWilliam CottrellBill BergAl BertinoT. HeeHomer BrightmanTed OsbourneLarry ClemmonsHarry ReevesJesse MarshChuck CouchWebb SmithDick SebastPeter Young
Directors: Clyde GeronimiHamilton LuskeJack KinneyTed BermanRichard RichGeorge ScribnerRiley ThomsonDick LundyJack KingBurt GillettJames AlgarBill RobertsLarry LansburghRichard Irvine
Producers: Walt DisneyRon MillerKen AndersonDon DuckwallPerce PearceMargaret J. Winkler

1980s—present
Renaissance Directors: Rob MinkoffRoger AllersGary TrousdaleKirk WiseChris SandersMark DindalJohn MuskerMike Gabriel

Story Trust Directors: Ron ClementsChris BuckByron HowardDon HallChris WilliamsRich MooreStephen J. AndersonNathan GrenoFawn Veerasunthorn
Producers: Peter Del VechoClark SpencerRoy ConliDorothy McKimDon HahnShane MorrisPeter Schneider
Chief Creative Officer: Jennifer Lee
Associated Figures: Bob IgerRoy Edward DisneyMichael EisnerJohn LasseterEd CatmullJeffrey KatzenbergBob Chapek
Signature Voice Actors: Jim CummingsAlan TudykKatie LowesJohn DiMaggioMaurice LaMarcheJodi BensonDavid Ogden StiersJesse CortiPaul BriggsRaymond S. PersiPhil JohnstonFrank WelkerBill FarmerBrian Cummings
Signature Musicians: Robert B. Sherman Richard M. Sherman Alan Menken Kristen Anderson-Lopez Robert LopezLin-Manuel MirandaHoward AshmanTim RicePhil CollinsStephen SchwartzMarc ShaimanDanny Troob
Supervising Animators: Glen KeaneAndreas DejaEric GoldbergMark HennJohn PomeroyRandy HaycockDale BaerTony BancroftTom BancroftTony FucileAnthony DeRosaRuss EdmondsBruce W. SmithMichael SurreyDuncan MarjoribanksRuben AquinoNik RanieriRon HusbandRick FarmiloeTom SitoTony AnselmoWill FinnKathy ZielinskiHendel ButoyEllen WoodburyMatthew O'CallaghanDavid PruiksmaBob WalkerAaron BlaiseJay JacksonNancy KniepJames BaxterTony FucileSergio Pablos
Visual Development & Storyboard Artists: Dean DeBloisClaire KeaneBrittney LeeJin KimShiyoon KimRyan GreenSue C. NicholsMichael Peraza, Jr.Kevin LimaKelly AsburyKelvin YasudaToby SheltonBarry CookSteve StarrJohn TuckerPeter GullerudMark KennedyMabel L. GesnerCarole HollidayJorgen KlubienDon PaulVan ShirvanianBrian PimentalDonovan CookDavid PimentelJoseph Christopher PepeAlex MannGeoffrey C. EvertsRob GibbsGraham WoodsRay Hofstedt
Other Animators: Kaaren LundeenTimothy O'DonnellMichael HumphriesTim BurtonBrenda ChapmanDavid CutlerSandro CleuzoJane BaerEd GombertBarry TempleGary M. EgglestonBrian CliftBrad BirdDavid StephanRay HarrisLureline WeatherlyMark KalesnikoJoe LanziseroRuben ProcopioPhilip PhillipsonRaul Aguirre Jr.Barry AtkinsonThomas BakerChris BaileyGeefwee BoedoeJane MisekRob CorleyDaan JippesEric PigorsDorothea Baker PaulTrey FinneyPres RomanillosMartin SchwartzMichael ShowKevin M. SmithEdward R. GutierrezJuliet StroudBill ThinnesAsh BrannonGilda PalinginisDonald ParmeleDana ReemesTheresa WisemanMarianne TuckerLillian A. ChapmanClaudia V. KeeneLorna CookChristine Lawrence FinneyLaurey FoulkesMarsha ParkMike CosaJody KooistraAndrew RamosMary-Jean RepchukEric WallsElizabeth S. WatasinJames Young JacksonJymn MagonButch HartmanBill WaldmanChris SonnenburgMarc TosoliniGontran HoarauLieve MiessenFlorence MontceauMarco AllardBert KleinJim SniderJames LopezMarc SmithMark KoetsierBradley RaymondCathie Karas WilkeClay KaytisMichael LesterMichael BenetBilly GeorgeBrooks CampbellJohn PuglisiDoug PostAnthony Wayne Michaels

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