Donald Virgil Bluth (born September 13, 1937) is an American animator and independent studio owner. September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Bluth was born in El Paso, Texas and became one of the chief animators at Disney. Along with fellow animators Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy, he set out in 1979 to start his own animation studio, Don Bluth Productions. His style tends toward rougher and more energetic portrayals than that of Disney films, and tend to have a mystical element to them. Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: County El Paso County Government  - Mayor John Cook Area  - City  250. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... Gary Goldman (born November 17, 1944 in Oakland, California) is American animator, director, and producer. ... John Pomeroy (born 1951 in Los Angeles, California) is an American animator who has worked for several major studios, including The Walt Disney Company and Sullivan Bluth Studios. ... Sullivan Bluth Studios was an animation studio established in 1985 by animator Don Bluth. ...

The first film he worked as an assistant animator on was Sleeping Beauty, for which he was uncredited. He would not return to Disney until in the 1970s, when he was an animator on Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and Pete's Dragon. His last involvement with Disney was the 1978 short The Small One; he drew a few scenes for The Fox and the Hound, but left early in production and brought several other Disney animators with him to form a rival studio. This new studio demonstrated its ability in its first production, a short film titled Banjo the Woodpile Cat, and this led to work on an animated segment of the live-action film Xanadu (1980) and then to its first feature-length animation, The Secret of NIMH (1982). Although it only grossed twice as its budget at the box office, many consider this film to be Bluth's masterpiece. Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and originally released to theatres on January 29, 1959. ... Robin Hood is an animated film produced by the Walt Disney Studios, first released in the United States on November 8, 1973. ... The Rescuers is a 1977 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. ... Promotional poster for the theatrical release of Petes Dragon. ... The Small One is an animated short film made by The Walt Disney Company and originally released in the United States on December 16, 1978. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Banjo the Woodpile Cat is a 1982 animated short film directed by Don Bluth. ... Xanadu is a 1980 musical/romance film directed by Robert Greenwald. ... The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film adaptation of the Newbery Medal-winning book Mrs. ...

Teaming up with Rick Dyer, Bluth created the groundbreaking arcade game Dragon's Lair (1983), which let the player control a cartoon-animated character on screen (whose adventures were played off a laserdisc). This was followed in 1984 by Space Ace, a science-fiction game based on the same technology, but which gave the player a choice of different routes to take through the story; and Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, a sequel which was very rare in arcades. Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Dragons Lair was one of the first laserdisc video games, released in June 1983 by Cinematronics. ... A cartoon is any of several forms of illustrations with varied meanings that evolved from its original meaning. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Space Ace is a Laserdisc video game produced by Don Bluth Studios, Cinematronics, and RDI Video Systems. ... A video arcade (known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom) is a place where people play arcade video games. ...

His next two films, An American Tail (1986) and The Land Before Time (1988) did well in theaters and became animation classics. Each of these films launched a line of direct-to-video sequels, none of which Bluth had any involvement with. Although many of Bluth's fans loved his next film, All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), it flopped, as Disney's groundbreaking film The Little Mermaid was released the same year, but it still became a cult classic. By the end of the decade and through the 1990s, Bluth films such as Rock-A-Doodle, Thumbelina, A Troll in Central Park, and The Pebble and the Penguin had dropped significantly when it came to box office returns. This article is becoming very long. ... The Land Before Time is an animated film, produced by Steven Spielbergs Amblin Entertainment, and directed by Don Bluth. ... Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. ... A film that is released direct-to-video (also straight-to-video) is one which has been released to the public on home video formats first rather than first being released in movie theaters. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The Little Mermaid is a 1989 animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and first released on November 15, 1989 by Walt Disney Pictures. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Rock-a-Doodle is a 1991 animated re-telling of Edmond Rostands Chantecler. ... Thumbelina is a 1994 animated film directed by Don Bluth, and released by Warner Bros. ... A Troll in Central Park is an animated movie directed By Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. ... The Pebble and the Penguin is a musical animated film, produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. ...

Bluth scored another hit with Anastasia (1997), which grossed US$140 million worldwide in part because it used well-known Hollywood stars as its voice talent and stuck closer to long-proven Disney formulas: a sassy and resourceful princess driven to become more than she is, a cruel and conniving villain who uses dark magic, a handsome and endearing love interest, and a comic-relief sidekick. This was followed by the animated space adventure, Titan A.E. in 2000. It utilized cutting-edge techniques, which melded sophisticated 2D animation with 3D animation, and CGI digital visual effects, to achieve a futuristic space adventure with drama. Both Anastasia and Titan A.E. were produced at Fox Animation Studios in Phoenix, AZ, which 20th Century Fox established as a Disney competitor. Original theatrical poster for . Anastasia is an animated feature created at Fox Animation Studios, produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, and released on November 21, 1997 by Twentieth Century Fox. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Princess is the feminine form of prince (from Latin princeps, meaning principal citizen). ... Titan A.E. is a 2000 animated sci-fi space adventure film from Fox Animation Studios and Twentieth Century Fox. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2000. ... Original theatrical poster for . Anastasia is an animated feature created at Fox Animation Studios, produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, and released on November 21, 1997 by Twentieth Century Fox. ... Titan A.E. is a 2000 animated sci-fi space adventure film from Fox Animation Studios and Twentieth Century Fox. ... Fox Animation Studios was a short-lived traditional animation studio, a division of 20th Century Fox, headed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. ... Phoenix is the capital, largest city and largest metropolitan area in the state of Arizona, United States. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the major American film studios. ...

In 2000, after the studio's third film Bartok the Magnificent (released direct to video as a spin-off of Anastasia and the only sequel directed by Bluth), 20th Century Fox Studios decided to shut down the FOX Animation Studio facility in Phoenix. Bartok the Magnificent is a direct-to-video sequel to the 1997 film Anastasia, which features Hank Azaria as the voice of Bartok. ... A film that is released direct-to-video (also known as made-for-video, straight-to-video and, more recently, straight-to-DVD) is one which has been released to the public on home video formats (historically VHS) before or without being released in movie theaters or broadcast on television. ...

A recent attempt to capitalize on Dragon's Lair nostalgia by releasing the computer game Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair (2002) was unsuccessful; the game was panned by critics as being flat and uninteresting, despite groundbreaking cel-shading techniques that lent the game a hand-animated feel. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman are currently seeking funding for a film version of Dragon's Lair. A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Dragons Lair 3D: Return to the Lair is a video game of the action-adventure genre released in 2002 by Dragonstone Software. ...

Despite the failure of Dragon's Lair 3D, Bluth and Goldman continued work in video games when they were hired to create the in-game cinematics for Namco's I-Ninja. I-Ninja is a video game developed by Argonaut and published by Namco. ...

In 2004, Bluth produced an animated scene for the music video "Mary", by the Scissor Sisters. The band contacted Bluth after having recalled fond memories of the sequence from Xanadu. Mary is a song by American glam rock band Scissor Sisters and is the fourth track on their self-titled debut album (see 2004 in music). ... The Scissor Sisters are an American alternative band who formed in 2001, whose style draws from disco, glam rock, pop and the gay-club scene of New York City. ...

Bluth has also authored a series of books for students of animation: 2004's The Art of Storyboard, and 2005's The Art of Animation Drawing. Additional books are planned.

In Popular Culture

• Bluth was referred to in an issue of MAD Magazine where Michael Eisner shows an unfrozen Walt Disney how he has changed the Disney company. One line has Eisner telling Disney "Our toughest competition is from animator Don Bluth. But none of his films have the old Disney charm." Disney replies "Then why are you so worried?" to which Eisner laments "Because none of OUR films have the old Disney charm either!"

Harvey Kurtzmans cover for the first issue of the comic book Mad Mad is an American humor magazine founded by publisher William Gaines and editor Harvey Kurtzman in 1952. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Cryogenics is a branch of physics (or engineering) that studies the production of very low temperatures (below –150 °C, –238 °F or 123 K) and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. ... For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ...

External links

• Official site, DonBluth.com
• Don Bluth at the Internet Movie Database
• Detailed Info on Don Bluth's Films including a biography
• The Dot Eaters entry on Bluth and the development of Dragon's Lair
• Digital Press interview with Dragon's Lair animator Don Bluth