Richard James Rich is an American film director, producer, and animator.
He started at the mailroom at the Walt Disney Studio in the early 1970s after founder Walt Disney had died, working with his successor as chief animator, Don Bluth. The only two films he directed at Disney were The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron.
In January 1986, he left Disney to found his own studio, Rich Entertainment (later known as RichCrest Animation Studios), and directed a series of upbeat, inspiring animated short films based on the Bible and the Book of Mormon. He also wrote and directed the animated film, The Swan Princess and worked on its respective sequels. He founded StreetLight Animation.
He is the youngest animation director in the history of The Walt Disney Company, but did not start out as an animator.
He taught piano lessons during his lunch hour, which got the attention from Disney executives.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! | Assistant Director (uncredited) |
| 1977 | The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | Assistant Director |
| 1977 | The Rescuers | Assistant Director |
| 1977 | Pete's Dragon | Assistant Director |
| 1978 | The Small One | Assistant Director/Songwriter (Writer & Lyrics: A Friendly Face) |
| 1981 | The Fox and the Hound | Director/Songwriter (Music: Goodbye May Seem Forever) |
| 1985 | The Black Cauldron | Director/Writer/Story |
Outside Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position | Production Company | Distributed by | Current Distribution Rights | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-1992 | Animated Stories from the Book of Mormon | Director/Producer/Writer | Liahona Productions Rich Entertainment |
Living Scriptures | Living Scriptures | |
| 1987-1992, 1995-2004 | Animated Stories from the New Testament | Director/Producer | Animated Bible Stories Productions (1987-1992, 1995-1997, 1999) Rich Entertainment (1987-1992) Rich Animation Studios (1995-1997, 1999) RichCrest Animation Studios (2000-2004) |
Living Scriptures (1987-1988) Family Entertainment (1988-1992) Nest Entertainment (1995-1997, 1999, 2001, 2003) Nest Family (2000-2001, 2003-2004) |
Nest Learning | |
| 1988 | Animated Stories from Church History: The Joseph Smith Story | Director/Producer | Animated Stories of Church History Productions | Animated Stories of Church History Productions | Animated Stories of Church History Productions | |
| 1992-1995 | Animated Stories from the Bible | Director/Producer | Animated Bible Stories Productions Family Entertainment Network (1993) Rich Entertainment (1992-1993) Rich Animation Studios (1993-1995) |
Family Entertainment (1992-1994) Nest Entertainment (1994-1995) |
Nest Learning | |
| 1992-1998,2004 | Animated Hero Classics | Director/Producer | Animated Hero Classic Productions (1991-1997) Nest Family (2004) Rich Entertainment (1991-1993) Rich Animation Studios (1993-1997) RichCrest Animation Studios (2004) |
Living History Productions (1991-1993) Nest Entertainment (1993-1997) Warner/Nest Animation (1995-1997) Nest Family (2004) |
Nest Learning | |
| 1994 | The Swan Princess | Director/Producer/Writer | Rich Animation Studios Nest Entertainment |
New Line Cinema (USA) Columbia-TriStar Film Distributors International (Worldwide) |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | |
| 1997 | The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain | Director/Producer/Writer | Rich Animation Studios Nest Entertainment |
Legacy Releasing (USA) Columbia-TriStar Film Distributors International (Worldwide) |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | |
| 1998 | The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom | Director/Producer/Writer | Rich Animation Studios Nest Entertainment |
Columbia-TriStar Home Video | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | |
| 1999 | The King and I | Director | Rich Animation Studios Nest Entertainment Rankin/Bass Productions Morgan Creek Productions |
Warner Bros. Pictures | Mill Creek Entertainment | |
| 2000 | The Scarecrow | Director/Producer/Writer | Rich Animation Studios Nest Family Entertainment (uncredited) |
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Home Video |
||
| 2001 | The Trumpet of the Swan | Director | Nest Family Entertainment RichCrest Animation Studios |
TriStar Pictures (Sony Pictures) | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | |
| 2002 | Muhammad: The Last Prophet | Director | RichCrest Animation Studios | Fine Media Group Badr International |
||
| 2006 | Arthur's Missing Pal | Producer | Arthur Worldwide WGBH-TV RichCrest Animation Studios Marc Brown Studios |
Kidtoon Films | Lionsgate Home Entertainment | |
| 2006 | Happily N'Ever After | Producer (uncredited) | Vanguard Animation Odyssey Entertainment BAF Berlin Animation Film BFC Berliner Film Companie Nitrogen Studios |
Lionsgate | Lionsgate Home Entertainment | |
| 2009 | Happily N'Ever After 2 | Executive producer | Kickstart Productions Berlin Animation Film |
Lionsgate | Lionsgate Home Entertainment | |
| 2010 | Alpha and Omega | Producer | Crest Animation Studios | Lionsgate | Lionsgate Home Entertainment | |
| 2011 | The Little Engine That Could | Producer | Crest Animation Studios Universal Animation Studios |
Universal Studios Home Entertainment | ||
| 2012 | The Swan Princess Christmas | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||
| 2013 | Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure | Director/Producer/Story | Crest Animation Productions | Lionsgate Home Entertainment | ||
| 2014 | The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale | Director/Producer/Writer/Story | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment Sony Wonder |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||
| 2014 | Alpha and Omega 3: The Great Wolf Games | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions | Lionsgate Home Entertainment | ||
| 2014 | Alpha and Omega: The Legend of the Saw Tooth Cave | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions | Lionsgate | Lionsgate Home Entertainment | |
| 2015 | Alpha and Omega: Family Vacation | Producer | Crest Animation Productions | Lionsgate Home Entertainment | ||
| 2016 | The Swan Princess: Princess Tomorrow, Pirate Today | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment Streetlight Productions Sony Wonder |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||
| 2017 | The Swan Princess: Royally Undercover | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment Streetlight Productions Sony Wonder |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||
| 2018 | The Swan Princess: A Royal Myztery | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment Streetlight Productions Sony Wonder |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||
| 2019 | The Swan Princess: Kingdom of Music | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment Streetlight Productions Sony Wonder |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||
| 2020 | The Swan Princess: A Royal Wedding | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment Streetlight Productions Sony Wonder |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||
| 2023 | The Swan Princess: A Fairytale is Born | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment Streetlight Productions Sony Wonder |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||
| The Swan Princess: Far Longer than Forever | Director/Producer | Crest Animation Productions Nest Family Entertainment Streetlight Productions Sony Wonder |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | |||
Gallery[]
L-R: Ted Berman, Joe Hale, Richard Rich in a publicity shot for The Black Cauldron.
