Disney Artists' Holiday Wishes: Highlighting John Lounsbery

"Disney Artists' Holiday Wishes," a special collection of personal Holiday Greeting Cards—created by Disney Studio animators, comic strip artists, story men, a "Mooseketeer," and even the creator of the voice of Donald Duck—is our special holiday exhibition, and will run through December 31 this year. The delightful holiday exhibit features more than 50 hand-drawn cards, created from 1937-1970, by many of the most creative and well-known Disney talent. Today, we'd like to highlight the WDFM's Collections department's favorite cards, those from animator John Lounsbery!

John Lounsbery

Animator; Years at Disney: 1935-1976

Best known as one of Disney Animation's "Nine Old Men," John Lounsbery’s talent was recognized by one of his instructors at the Art Center School of Design, Pasadena, who pointed him in the direction of the Walt Disney Studio. He joined Disney in 1935 and assisted Norm Ferguson on the hag in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, then worked under Ferguson’s supervision on the Fox and Cat in Pinocchio. By 1941, Lounsbery was an animation director, working on such films as Dumbo, Song of the South, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and many more. He was responsible for animating such memorable characters as Dumbo, the mice in Cinderella, the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, and Captain Hook in Peter Pan. Lounsbery had the distinction of being a member of the Nine Old Men. He never left the Disney studio; his career there spanned 41 years, and he died during production of The Rescuers. He married Florence Hurd in 1935 and had three children.