| Don Hahn | |
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 Don Hahn, July 2009 |
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| Born | 1955 Chicago, Illinois |
Don Hahn (born 1955) is an American film producer who has produced some of the most successful Walt Disney animated films of the past 20 years.
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Life and career
Hahn was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a Lutheran minister.[1] His family moved to Burbank, California when he was a teenager.[1] He began his career in animation working for Disney Legend Wolfgang Reitherman as an assistant director. He later became production manager of The Black Cauldron (1985) before moving on as an associate producer of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
In 1988, he became producer of the benchmark animated feature Beauty and the Beast, released in 1991, which made him the only producer in Hollywood to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar for an animated film. His next production, 1994's The Lion King, set worldwide box office records for an animated film and quickly became the highest grossing traditionally-animated film in history. In 1996 he produced The Hunchback of Notre Dame, in 2000 he was an Executive Producer on The Emperor's New Groove. In 2001 he experienced his first failure, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Many have alleged that its failure was due to both its high budget and the fact that most animated action/adventures were not popular at the box-office. He also produced the Oscar-nominated animated short Lorenzo (2004).
Most recently, Hahn was interim head of Disney's animation division during its successful merger with Pixar Animation Studios.
In 2006, Hahn received his second Academy Award nomination in the category of Best Animated Short for The Little Match Girl, an adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale which was originally intended for inclusion in a version of Fantasia.
Don was Executive Producer for the landmark nature film "Earth" the premiere film project from the Disneynature film label.
Three of his films have been adapted into stage musicals: Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In all, his films have been nominated for 18 Academy Awards.[citation needed]
He directed the live-action sequences in Fantasia 2000 (1999).
Books
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In January of 1999, Hyperion Books published Don's book on creativity called "Dancing Corndogs In The Night." The best selling book is a case study of the human creative spirit. Don has also written three books on Animation. "Animation Magic" from Disney Press. Publisher's Weekly said: "producer Don Hahn distills the difficult and detailed process of animated feature film creation into an easily understood narrative. From the birth of an idea, to voice-overs, special effects and computer-generated imagery, each phase is generously illustrated with sketches, movie stills, scenes of artists at work, flow charts and even a photo of the opening of Pocahontas in New York's Central Park.
Don's book "Alchemy of Animation" became an extremely popular book on the process of making an animated film. The text covered traditional hand drawn animation as well as 3D digital animation, visual effects and stop motion animation. Animation World Magazine said about the book: Whether you're a veteran story artist, or you're trying to land your first studio job as an in-betweener, or you're delivering coffee and donuts to the higher-ups or if you're just a fan of animation, you'll want to add this to your bookshelf.
Early in his career, Hahn set up and managed the Disney School of Animation, an internal training program for a generation of young artists coming up within the Disney Studio animation department. The program was mentored by veteran animators Eric Larson and Walt Stanchfield. In the spring of 2009 Focal Press released the landmark book "Drawn to Life" by Walt Stanchfield which Don edited. "It was a dream project for me to bring the complete works of Walt to pring," said Hahn. "Stanchfield was a brilliant teacher, and my personal mentor, and it's a thrill to be able to publish his work to inspire generations to come." Website Animation Nation called Drawn to Life: one the strongest primers on animation ever written. It is a masterpice compilation by Don Hahn. The material spares no detail on the craft of animation, but also digs deep into the artistic roots of animation. It is a publication that has been anticipated for many years by every artist and student that Walt ever came in contact with. It has been a labor of love for Don and we're happy, proud and excited that Walt's teachings will live on in these two volumes thanks to him!
Filmography
- 2009 - Waking Sleeping Beauty - Director
- 2009 - Earth - Executive producer of US version
- 2006 - The Little Matchgirl (Academy Award Best Animated Short Nominee) - Producer
- 2004 - Lorenzo (Academy Award Best Animated Short Nominee) - Executive producer
- 2003 - The Haunted Mansion - Producer
- 2001 - Atlantis: The Lost Empire - Producer
- 2000 - The Emperor's New Groove - Executive producer
- 2000 - Fantasia 2000 - Director (Live-action segments)
- 1996 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Producer
- 1994 - The Lion King - Producer
- 1991 - Beauty and the Beast - Producer
- 1990 - Roller Coaster Rabbit - - Producer
- 1989 - Tummy Trouble - Producer
- 1988 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Associate producer
- 1985 - The Black Cauldron - Production manager
- 1981 - The Fox and the Hound - Assistant director
- 1977 - Pete's Dragon - Uncredited assistant animator
References
External links
- Don Hahn at the Internet Movie Database
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