Joe Hale is an American animator, layout artist, and producer, who worked for Walt Disney Animation Studios from the 1950s to the 1980s, where he acted as a producer for The Black Cauldron.
Joe Hale was born in Newland Village, Indiana and became impressed with animation at the age of 17 after repeat watches of Bambi in the theaters, deciding that was his career path. He later enlisted in the military during World War II and began his animation career afterwards. He was hired by the studio in 1951 as an assistant animator to Ollie Johnston and Ward Kimball for features, such as Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp before becoming a layout artist for both live-action and animated features, like Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, and several episodes of the Disneyland anthology series. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1979 for Best Animated Visual Effects for his efforts on The Black Hole.
In the 1980s, Ron W. Miller asked Hale to take over production of The Black Cauldron after a different takes on the project went nowhere. Despite the trouble, the film was completed and release on July 24, 1985 to mixed reviews. The following year, Hale retired from the company.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Alice in Wonderland | Breakdown and inbetween artist (uncredited) |
| 1953 | Peter Pan | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| 1953 | Ben and Me | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| 1953 | Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom | Layout artist (uncredited) |
| 1955 | Lady and the Tramp | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| 1955–1969 | The Magical World of Disney | Layout artist Animator |
| 1959 | Sleeping Beauty | Layout |
| 1961 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Layout artist |
| 1961 | The Litterbug | Layout artist |
| 1963 | The Sword in the Stone | Layout artist (uncredited) |
| 1964 | Mary Poppins | Layout (uncredited) |
| 1967 | Scrooge McDuck and Money | Layout artist |
| 1967 | The Jungle Book | Layout artist (uncredited) |
| 1968 | Understanding Stresses and Strains | Layout artist |
| 1969 | It's Tough to Be a Bird | Layout artist |
| 1970 | Dad, Can I Borrow the Car? | Layout artist |
| 1970 | The Aristocats | Layout artist (uncredited) |
| 1971 | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Layout |
| 1972-1973 | The Mouse Factory | |
| 1973 | Robin Hood | Layout |
| 1977 | The Rescuers | Layout |
| 1977 | The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | Layout artist: "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too" |
| 1977 | Pete's Dragon | Layout artist |
| 1978 | Return from Witch Mountain | Stop motion animation |
| 1979 | The North Avenue Irregulars | Title designer |
| 1979 | The Black Hole | Animation special effects |
| 1980 | The Watcher in the Woods | Alien designer: Other World sequence Animation supervisor: Other World sequence |
| 1981 | The Fox and the Hound | Layout |
| 1983 | Backstage at Disney | Himself |
| 1985 | The Black Cauldron | Producer Story |
Gallery[]
Artwork[]
Miscellaneous[]
Front row: Hamilton Luske, Jimmy Trout, Joe Hale, Mac Stewart, John Emerson
Seated: Secretary, Mary Satterwhite
Trivia[]
- He always preferred his television work over animated features, such as Sleeping Beauty because of the faster work pace and thus did not take long to make.
- He was among those working on early concepts of Beauty and the Beast with David Jonas and Al Wilson before his retirement. They presented their drafts to Michael Eisner, who decided he wanted something more modern than what the team offered.
External links[]
