Interviews with Disney Legends

"Heeeeeeere's Johnny!!" Actually, here's Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Collectively, they were known as Frank and Ollie to the point many people thought "Frankenollie" was one person. College friends in art school, the pair formed a lifelong friendship closer than brothers, (they even bought connecting lots where they built their family homes.) Starting at the Walt Disney Studios together in the mid 1930's, both were among Walt Disney's legendary Nine Old Men. They oversaw numerous animated characters over their over five decades with the studio. After their retirement, they continued to mentor the younger generation starting their own careers at the Walt Disney Studios. They also co-authored several books on animation together so all they'd discovered would be lost. These books are highly sought after animation textbooks today. Their first book, The Illusion of Life, is what brought them on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Johnny Carson hosted the Tonight Show for over 30 years along with his sidekick Ed Mcmahon. This became the definitive late night talk show to this day. In this short interview, Johnny interviews the pair about their career with Walt Disney, genuinely interested in their book. It's a shame this interview isn't longer. When the stagehand met Frank and Ollie on this appearance. he looked them over and said "So...YOU'RE the guys who shot Bambi's mother..." Original air date May 25, 1982 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

"Heeeeeeere's Johnny!!" Actually, here's Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Collectively, they were known as Frank and Ollie to the point many people thought "Frankenollie" was one person. College friends in art school, the pair formed a lifelong friendship closer than brothers, (they even bought connecting lots where they built their family homes.) Starting at the Walt Disney Studios together in the mid 1930's, both were among Walt Disney's legendary Nine Old Men. They oversaw numerous animated characters over their over five decades with the studio. After their retirement, they continued to mentor the younger generation starting their own careers at the Walt Disney Studios. They also co-authored several books on animation together so all they'd discovered would be lost. These books are highly sought after animation textbooks today. Their first book, The Illusion of Life, is what brought them on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Johnny Carson hosted the Tonight Show for over 30 years along with his sidekick Ed Mcmahon. This became the definitive late night talk show to this day. In this short interview, Johnny interviews the pair about their career with Walt Disney, genuinely interested in their book. It's a shame this interview isn't longer. When the stagehand met Frank and Ollie on this appearance. he looked them over and said "So...YOU'RE the guys who shot Bambi's mother..." Original air date May 25, 1982 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

On January 13, 1988 Admiral Joe Fowler was filmed for an in house Walt Disney Company interview. This is an excerpt from that interview. Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

On January 13, 1988 Admiral Joe Fowler was filmed for an in house Walt Disney Company interview. This is an excerpt from that interview. Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This is an interview tying in with the 1995 theatrical release of the documentary film Frank & Ollie about the animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. It was filmed at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film, made by Frank's son Theodore, debuted. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston were two of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men. These were the core group of animators he primarily relied on from the early 1940's through his death in 1966. Collectively, they were known as Frank and Ollie to the point many people thought "Frankenollie" was one person. College friends in art school, the pair formed a lifelong friendship closer than brothers, (they even bought connecting lots where they built their family homes.) Starting at the Walt Disney Studios together in the mid 1930's, they oversaw numerous animated characters over their over five decades with the studio. After their retirement, they continued to mentor the younger generation starting their own careers at the Walt Disney Studios. They also co-authored several books on animation together so all they'd discovered would be lost. These books are highly sought after animation textbooks today. In this short interview the pair talk about their career with Walt Disney. It's a shame this interview isn't longer. The documentary film Frank & Ollie is a historical record of the pair's friendship and how it shaped Walt Disney Feature Animation. It was put out in wide release in October of 1995 and was later released to VHS and DVD. Original air date January 1995 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This is an interview tying in with the 1995 theatrical release of the documentary film Frank & Ollie about the animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. It was filmed at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film, made by Frank's son Theodore, debuted. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston were two of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men. These were the core group of animators he primarily relied on from the early 1940's through his death in 1966. Collectively, they were known as Frank and Ollie to the point many people thought "Frankenollie" was one person. College friends in art school, the pair formed a lifelong friendship closer than brothers, (they even bought connecting lots where they built their family homes.) Starting at the Walt Disney Studios together in the mid 1930's, they oversaw numerous animated characters over their over five decades with the studio. After their retirement, they continued to mentor the younger generation starting their own careers at the Walt Disney Studios. They also co-authored several books on animation together so all they'd discovered would be lost. These books are highly sought after animation textbooks today. In this short interview the pair talk about their career with Walt Disney. It's a shame this interview isn't longer. The documentary film Frank & Ollie is a historical record of the pair's friendship and how it shaped Walt Disney Feature Animation. It was put out in wide release in October of 1995 and was later released to VHS and DVD. Original air date January 1995 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This segment of the ABC news magazine 20/20 focus on Oscar winning animator/director Brad Bird. In it, he shares a glimpse of his story on the eve of the premiere of the Incredibles. He completed his first film at age 14 and it earned him an internship at the Walt Disney Studios where he apprenticed under Milt Kahl. Bird was among the first class of students of Walt Disney's art school, Cal Arts, and was at Walt Disney Productions for a time in the late 1970's. He was the first of his class to put the Easter egg of A113 in his films (a reference to the classroom they all met in.) and this has since become a tradition. He quickly earned a reputation for being a rebel and worked on a number of projects away from Disney. These included developing an animated feature based on the Will Eisner comic book The Spirit. He wrote the screenplay Batteries Not Included, was a co-creator of the Amazing Stories episode Family Dog, and he was one of the original animation filmmakers on The Simpsons. He was particularly protective of the character of Krusty. He then made the film The Iron Giant when his sister was gunned down by her estranged husband in a murder/suicide. The premise was what if a gun had a soul. From there he was reunited with his classmate John Lasseter when he joined Pixar to make The Incredibles making him the first outsider brought into the studio. In that film he also voiced Edna Mode. He's also made such films as Ratatoullie, Tomorrowland, and The Incredibles 2. He's currently at Skydance Studio where he's working with John Lasseter again after Lasseter was forced out of Disney and Pixar. Original airdate October 2004 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This segment of the ABC news magazine 20/20 focus on Oscar winning animator/director Brad Bird. In it, he shares a glimpse of his story on the eve of the premiere of the Incredibles. He completed his first film at age 14 and it earned him an internship at the Walt Disney Studios where he apprenticed under Milt Kahl. Bird was among the first class of students of Walt Disney's art school, Cal Arts, and was at Walt Disney Productions for a time in the late 1970's. He was the first of his class to put the Easter egg of A113 in his films (a reference to the classroom they all met in.) and this has since become a tradition. He quickly earned a reputation for being a rebel and worked on a number of projects away from Disney. These included developing an animated feature based on the Will Eisner comic book The Spirit. He wrote the screenplay Batteries Not Included, was a co-creator of the Amazing Stories episode Family Dog, and he was one of the original animation filmmakers on The Simpsons. He was particularly protective of the character of Krusty. He then made the film The Iron Giant when his sister was gunned down by her estranged husband in a murder/suicide. The premise was what if a gun had a soul. From there he was reunited with his classmate John Lasseter when he joined Pixar to make The Incredibles making him the first outsider brought into the studio. In that film he also voiced Edna Mode. He's also made such films as Ratatoullie, Tomorrowland, and The Incredibles 2. He's currently at Skydance Studio where he's working with John Lasseter again after Lasseter was forced out of Disney and Pixar. Original airdate October 2004 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.