Andreas Deja

Andreas Deja
At the 35th Annie Awards in 2006
Born	1 April 1957 Gdańsk, Poland
Occupation	Animator
Years active	1980–present

Andreas Deja (born 1 April 1957^[1]) is a German-American character animator, most noted for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Deja's work includes serving as supervising animator on characters in several Disney animated films, including the Disney villains Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, Jafar from Aladdin and Scar from The Lion King.

Early life

Deja was born 1957 in Gdańsk, Poland, but moved with his family to Dinslaken, Germany, in 1958. He credits seeing Disney's The Jungle Book as an 11-year-old with inspiring him to become an animator.^[2] After graduating from Theodor-Heuss Gymnasium (secondary school), he studied graphic design at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany.

Career

A lifelong fan of Disney animated films, Deja was hired by the studio in 1980 after he had corresponded with Eric Larson, one of Disney's senior Nine Old Men of animation who ran the studio's training department.^[3] The first film on which he worked was The Black Cauldron, during which time he shared a cubicle with future film director Tim Burton.

During his rookie days at Disney, Deja sought mentorship and practical advice from seven of the then-living Nine Old Men, who were already retired before his tenure.^[4] Deja has collected information on the Nine Old Men over the years, and has stated that one of his ambitions is to publish one book for each of the Nine Old Men.^[5]

Deja is best known as the supervising animator of some of the most memorable Disney villains: Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, Jafar in Aladdin and Scar from The Lion King. He also animated Roger Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, King Triton from The Little Mermaid, the title character from Hercules, Lilo from Lilo & Stitch, and Queen Narissa from Enchanted, Mama Odie in The Princess and the Frog, and Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. In addition, he is the current resident specialist for the animation of Mickey Mouse.

In 2006, at the 35th Annie Awards, Deja was awarded the Winsor McCay Award for outstanding contribution to the art of animation.^[6] Recently, he began a blog where he shares some of his collection of the work of the early Disney animators.^[7]

Personal life

Deja is openly gay.^[8] His sexuality has been discussed as an influence on the development of some Disney characters.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Animation credits

• Gurgi - The Black Cauldron (1985)
• Queen Mousetoria - The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
• Roger Rabbit - Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
• Character Designer - Oliver & Company (1988)
• King Triton - The Little Mermaid (1989)
• Supervising animator - The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
• Gaston - Beauty and the Beast (1991)
• Jafar - Aladdin (1992)
• Scar - The Lion King (1994)
• Animation Supervisor - Runaway Brain (1995)
• Adult Hercules - Hercules (1997)
• Animator on "Rhapsody in Blue" / Mickey Mouse - Fantasia 2000 (1999)
• Lilo - Lilo & Stitch (2002)
• Supervising animator - Home on the Range (2004)
• Animation consultant - Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
• Animation consultant - Bambi II (2006)
• Queen Narissa - Enchanted (2007)
• Goofy - How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007)
• Mama Odie and Juju - The Princess and the Frog (2009)
• Tigger - Winnie the Pooh (2011)

References

External links

• Andreas Deja at the Internet Movie Database
• Deja View, Andreas Deja's blog
• IGN Interview with Deja (2003)
• Animated News Interview with Deja (2005)
• Interview with Deja, DVD Movie Guide (2003)