Animation Mentor Hosts Tribute to the Life, Work and Inspiration of Two of Disney's Famed Nine Old Men, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, August 13, 2008 at SIGGRAPH

Animation Mentor Hosts Tribute to the Life, Work and Inspiration of Two of Disney's Famed Nine Old Men, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, August 13, 2008 at SIGGRAPH

Tribute includes Panel Discussion with Animation Industry Gurus and Animators from Disney Studios and DreamWorks Animation SKG, followed by Exclusive Interview Footage of Thomas and Johnson on Animation

EMERYVILLE, Calif., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Animation Mentor (AnimationMentor.com), the leading online character animation school created by animators for animators, today announced a panel discussion and tribute to the life, work and inspiration of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston which will take place on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles, California.

Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston are two of Disney's famed Nine Old Men whose historic work includes Alice and Wonderland, Bambi, Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and their acclaimed book on animation, The Illusion of Life.

This extraordinary event reveals the past and future of animation through the eyes of true genius and includes a conversation about animation with contemporary animation legends from Disney Studios, DreamWorks Animation SKG, and others who were inspired by masters Thomas and Johnston. The panel will be followed by a short documentary by Animation Mentor of never-before-seen interview footage of these two animation legends.

"We are truly honored to host this tribute for two beloved animators who have been an instrumental part of animation history and have entertained and inspired so many," said Bobby Beck, chief executive officer and cofounder of Animation Mentor. "We are thrilled to bring such a phenomenal group of talented animators who learned from Frank & Ollie and share a passion for the world of animation. The ability to also share Frank and Ollie's thoughts on animation through rare interview footage will be a special gift that we are proud to give to the world."

Tom Sito, a professional animator and adjunct professor of animation at University of California Los Angeles and University of Southern California, will lead the panel discussion. Panelists include:

-- Don Hahn, Disney Studios. Hahn is a two-time Academy Award winner and film producer responsible for producing some of the most successful Walt Disney animated films of the past 20 years, including Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

-- Dave Burgess, DreamWorks Animation SKG. Currently a senior animator at DreamWorks Animation on Monsters vs. Aliens (in production), other work includes Bee Movie, Flushed Away, Over the Hedge, Madagascar, Shrek 2, and The Lion King. Burgess is also a mentor for Animation Mentor.

-- Kevin Koch, animation director at Medical Cyberworlds, president of the Animation Guild, and mentor for Animation Mentor. Work includes Quest for Camelot, Prince of Egypt, Sinbad, Shrek 2, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, and Terra.

-- Theodore (Ted) Thomas is an independent film director, writer and producer, and National Emmy Award-winner. He is the son of the late Frank Thomas and wrote, directed and produced the documentary film Frank and Ollie. Other films include Where the Toys Come From and Walt & El Grupo.

About Disney's Nine Old Men and Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston

Disney's Nine Old Men were the team of animators (some of whom later became directors) who created Disney's most famous works. Walt Disney jokingly referred to this group of animators as his "Nine Old Men," likening them to Franklin D. Roosevelt's description of the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, even though the animators were in their thirties and forties at the time.

The Nine Old Men also refined the 12 basic principles of animation: squash and stretch; anticipation; staging: straight ahead action and pose to pose; follow through and overlapping action; slow in and slow out; arcs; secondary action; timing; exaggeration; solid drawing; and appeal.

Frank Thomas (September 5, 1912 -- September 8, 2004) joined Disney in 1934. He went on to author the animator's bible The Illusion of Life with Ollie Johnston. His work included Mowgli and Baloo (in Jungle Story), the wicked Stepmother (in Cinderella), the Queen of Hearts (in Alice In Wonderland), and Captain Hook (in Peter Pan).

Ollie Johnson (October 31, 1912 -- April 14, 2008), who joined Disney in 1935, first worked on Snow White. He went on to author the animator's bible The Illusion of Life with Thomas. His work includes Thumper (in Bambi), Mr. Smee (in Peter Pan), Pinocchio (in Pinocchio), the Stepsisters (in Cinderella), the District Attorney (in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad), and Prince John (in Robin Hood) Together, Johnson and Thomas also authored the book The Disney Villain, and co-created characters such as Ichabod Crane (in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad) and Sir Hiss (in Robin Hood).

Event Details

Animation Mentor welcomes SIGGRAPH 2008 attendees to the tribute. Attendance to tribute requires either Full Conference Access Pass or Computer Animation Festival Pass.

DATE: Wednesday, August 13, 2008
TIME: 10:30 a.m. -- 12:15 p.m. (Doors close at 10:15 a.m.)
LOCATION: Petree Hall D, Los Angeles Convention Center

Animation Mentor at SIGGRAPH 2008

Event attendees are invited to visit Animation Mentor at SIGGRAPH 2008, exhibition booth 1401.

To learn more about Animation Mentor events at SIGGRAPH 2008, visit http://www.animationmentor.com/

For more information about SIGGRAPH 2008, visit http://www.siggraph.org/s2008/.

About Animation Mentor (AnimationMentor.com)

Animation Mentor is a state-of-the-art online education and mentorship program teaching students the skills needed to succeed as a professional animator in the studio environment. Focused 100% on character animation, the 18-month program is designed and taught by some of the industry's top professional animators from top studios. Animation Mentor's online campus environment provides students around the world with a convenient, flexible, and accessible learning environment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By graduation, every student will have worked in a production-style environment with mentors who are working studio animators. Students learn how to accept guidance and criticism, to meet deadlines and to budget and schedule their time to succeed in the working world. The program leads students to a diploma in Advanced Studies in Character Animation and is built with a focus on production studio skills, allowing students to get comfortable with the many challenges and opportunities they will experience when working in a studio environment. Upon graduation, Animation Mentor coaches graduates and connects them to job opportunities with major recruiters, video game companies, and film studios. For more information, visit http://www.animationmentor.com/

CONTACTS: Sundrop Media
Erica Garver, 971-570-3291 or EricaG@sundropmedia.com
Christy Caplan, 503-412-8850 or ChristyC@sundropmedia.com
On deadline? Send a message to SpeedyResponse@sundropmedia.com

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Source: Animation Mentor

CONTACT: Erica Garver, +1-971-570-3291, EricaG@sundropmedia.com, or
Christy Caplan, +1-503-412-8850, ChristyC@sundropmedia.com, both of Sundrop
Media

Web site:

http://www.animationmentor.com/

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