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James Spalding Pompeo Bodrero was a Belgian born storyboard artist, character designer, and illustrator, who worked for Disney Studios from 1938 to 1946.

Bodrero was born in Liège, Belgium to Alessandro Maria Pompeo Giuseppe Bodrero, a Captain in the Italian Bersaglieri, and Catherine Lucretia Spalding from Hawaii and was the oldest of four children. He family for awhile lived in Brussels and his early schooling was in Europe and USA, with summers spent on his mother's parents' sugar plantation in Hawaii. He began drawing and painting as a child and remained self-taught. As a teenager, he was working as a freelance artist in New York City where he submitted work to national magazines and illustrating for authors as well as his own, such as the children's book Bomba.

In 1925, Bodrero settled in Pasadena, CA and later Santa Barbara. A year later, he married his first wife Eleanor, who was an interior designer, and had a daughter, Lydia, while continuing to work as an artist for magazines and newspapers. Eventually, he accepted a position in Disney's art department where worked under Joe Grant in his model division with fellow artists Dick Huemer, John P. Miller, Campbell Grant, Elmer Plummer and Martin Provensen. Provensen, remembered Bodrero as "a wit, an eccentric...he had the ability to draw anything and simply pour this stuff out, like a spigot; he'd just pump away, and out it would come. And a wonderful companion. For a young man like myself to be surrounded by guys like that was just great."

Soon, he became a story director apart from being a character designer. There, he created Dumbo the elephant, the ostrich who danced in Fantasia, and José Carioca, the parrot. In 1941, he was part of Walt Disney's goodwill tour of South America where the group gained inspiration to create the package films Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. However, Bodrero was one of many employees that was let go in a mass layoff in 1946. Before his departure, he was working on character development drawings for Peter Pan in its early stages, such as early concepts for Captain Hook, and "The Wind in the Willows" segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. He briefly returned to the studio in an attempt to be experimental again but left when he discovered that Walt was more interested in making live-action films and seeing through Disneyland's creation.

After leaving Disney, he painted several murals in local restaurants. In 1949, Eleanor passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a skull fracture, he then moved to San Francisco while also making frequent trips to Spain. He also continued to author and illustrate children's books, like Long Ride to Granada. He died on February 6, 1980 and is buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery.

Filmography[]

Year Film Position
1940 Fantasia Character designer: "The Pastoral Symphony"
"Dance of the Hours"
1941 Dumbo Character designer: Dumbo
1942 Saludos Amigos Art supervision
1942 All Together Character designer - uncredited
1943 Victory Through Air Power Story adaptation
1944 The Three Caballeros Story
1946 Make Mine Music Story
1954 Two for the Record Writer

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Bodrero was a founding member of the Cartoonist Guild.
  • He was good friends with Leopold Stokowski, with whom he often had Sunday lunch with while living in Santa Barbara. The composer encouraged him to go worked at Disney for a project he to was working on. As Stokowski told him, "if it's good enough for Deems Taylor and it's good enough for me, it's good enough for you. There's something going on there that isn't making ducks' feet move."
  • He worked on Salvador Dali's film project for Disney, Destino, in the 1940s where contributed drawings and designs before it was abandoned, though it would be released in a different format in 2003.
  • His daughter, Lydia, was part of the studio's Ink and Paint department in the 1950s and was interviewed for the documentary Walt & El Grupo, where she explained her father's role and shared stories.
  • His nephew, by marriage, was Corny Cole, a notable animator in his own right.

External links[]


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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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