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Harold "Hal" Ambro was an American animator and film director. He was notable for his work at Walt Disney Studios.

Ambro was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and came to Los Angeles to study art in 1932, braking into animation in 1934 as an animator at Marty Monk Productions before eventually finding work at Charles Mintz Studios.

When he started at Disney, Ambro was hired as an assistant for features, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi before becoming a full-time animator. Andreas Deja noted that, "Even though he never reached the status of supervising animator there, his animation can often be found in sequences that were [led] by animators, such as Ollie Johnston (the opening section of Johnny Appleseed) and Milt Kahl (Ambro animated almost half of the footage of The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella)." He left in 1966 because, as he told John Canemaker, "there is only so much room at the top of the ladder at Disney."

He then went on to animate, among others, for Chuck Jones (Gay Purree, Mowgli's Brothers, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Horton Hears a Who!, A Very Merry Cricket, The White Seal) and Richard Williams (A Christmas Carol, Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure). Ambro noted he "liked the stuff that Chuck was doing," he said, "because it was a cross between Disney animation and Saturday morning shows. He tried to do as good as job as you could, make it look like full animation. And like a lot of the other commercial operators, he was interested in how few cels he could get by with, which is par for the course." Other animated projects he worked on included The Alvin Show, Journey Back to Oz, The Cat in the Hat (1971), Off to See the Wizard, and Spider-Man.

Ambro then ended up at Hanna-Barbera animating on features, such as Charlotte's Web, Heidi's Song, and Rock Odyssey before teaching animation at CalArts.

Disney Filmography[]

Year Film Position
1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs assistant animator - uncredited
1940 Pinocchio assistant animator - uncredited
1940 Fantasia assistant animator - segment "The Pastoral Symphony", uncredited
1942 Bambi assistant animator - uncredited
1944 Contrary Condor animator - uncredited
1946 Make Mine Music animator
1946 Squatter's Rights animator - uncredited
1946 Song of the South animator
1947 Fun and Fancy Free animator - uncredited: "Bongo"
"Mickey and the Beanstalk"
1948 Melody Time character animator
"The Legend of Johnny Appleseed" - animator
1948 So Dear to My Heart animator - uncredited
1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad "The Wind in the Willows" - character animator
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - animator
1950 Cinderella character animator
1951 Alice in Wonderland character animator
1951 How to Catch a Cold animator - uncredited
1953 Peter Pan character animator
1953 Melody animator
1955 Lady and the Tramp character animator
1959-1967 The Magical World of Disney animator
1959 Sleeping Beauty character animator
1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians character animator
1963 The Sword in the Stone character animator
1964 Mary Poppins animator
1967 The Jungle Book character animator - uncredited
1970 The Aristocats animator - uncredited
1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks animator - uncredited
1973 Robin Hood animator - uncredited
1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh animator
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree - animator
1985-1989 Adventures of the Gummi Bears animator
1985 The Wuzzles animator - uncredited

Gallery[]

Character Gallery[]


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 GaskillCampbell Grant
Visual Development, Layout, Background Artists and Character Designers: Gustaf TenggrenMary BlairMarjorie RalstonMarcellite GarnerLillian BoundsEdna FrancisVirginia DavisJoe 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 LanpherJohn P. MillerDodie Roberts
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 TuckerMark KennedyMabel L. GesnerCarole HollidayJorgen KlubienDon PaulVan ShirvanianBrian PimentalDonovan CookDavid PimentelJoseph Christopher PepeAlex MannGeoffrey C. EvertsRob GibbsGraham WoodsRay HofstedtJoe Ranft
Other Animators: Kaaren LundeenTimothy O'DonnellMichael HumphriesTim BurtonBrenda ChapmanDavid CutlerSandro CleuzoJane BaerEd GombertBarry TempleGary M. EgglestonBrad 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 PalinginisDana ReemesTheresa WisemanMarianne TuckerLillian A. ChapmanClaudia V. KeeneLorna CookChristine Lawrence FinneyLaurey FoulkesMike 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 GeorgeJohn PuglisiDoug PostAnthony Wayne Michaels

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