Burny Mattinson dies: Walt Disney Animation Studios legend and Disney’s longest-serving cast member was 87

Animator, director, producer and story artist Burny Mattinson, who joined the Walt Disney Company at the end of the first major motion picture series when dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942) was new and a Walt Disney in his prime was only 42 and died today. He was 87 years old. He was the last full-time employee of Walt Disney Studios to work for the company when Walt Disney ran it.

Check out the studios Pinocchio at the age of six, Mattinson convinced him that he wanted to work in animation. “Ever since I saw that film, it was my dream: to work in this industry,” he recalled years later. “So I worked and drew every day.”

After high school, he persuaded his mother to drop him off at the studio gate, where he handed his portfolio to a security guard. Impressed, the guard called Ken Seiling, the head of human resources. There were no vacancies in the studio’s animation department, but Mattinson got a foot in the door with a position in the traffic department. Six months later, Mattinson started working on it Lady and the Tramp (1955).

It was the career launch of the man who became the longest-serving cast member in The history of The Walt Disney Company and received the first 70th birthday award on June 6.

Jennifer Lee, chief creative officer, Walt Disney Animation Studios, said in a statement, “Burny’s artistry, generosity and love for Disney Animation and the generations of storytellers who have come to us for seven decades have made us better artists, better made technologists and…made better so that all of us who had the privilege of knowing and learning from him will ensure that his legacy lives on.”

Raya and the last dragon Director Don Hall – his great hero 6 won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature – also made a statement.

“For nearly 30 years,” Hall wrote, “I have had the privilege of working with Burny Mattinson. Winnie the Pooh Unpleasant great hero 6 on, last strange world. I admired his artistry, enjoyed his good humor and was fascinated by his stories from Disney history. At the age of 18, he realized his dream of working at Walt Disney Animation Studios and for nearly 70 years he lived that dream every day, inspiring all of us lucky enough to follow in his footsteps. I love him very much.”

He has worked as an artist on classical music such as Lady and the Tramp (1955), One hundred and one Dalmatians (1961), The sword in the stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967) and The rescuers (1977). He has been a key member of the story team for contemporary Disney classics including Aladdin (1992), Love and the Beast (1993), The lion king (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Tarzan (1997) and mulan (1998).

At one point, Mattinson became the assistant animator for one of the studio’s legendary Nine Old Men, Marc Davis. sleeping beauty (1959) and One hundred and one Dalmatians (1961). Mattinson then worked for 12 years under another famous animator, Eric Larson, while animating Ludwig von Drake for Walt Disney’s wonderful world of colors (1961) and contributions to features such as The sword in the stone (1963) and The Aristocrats (1970). When the Nine Old Men retired, Mattinson became a major animator Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too (1974) before being recruited by Frank Thomas to work on storyboards The rescuers (1977).

“Then Woolie Reitherman, a director, asked, ‘Do you want to stay? [in the Story Department]?’ Mattinson later revoked his career. “And I said, ‘Okay!’ I started to enjoy writing the story because there is something very creative about it, it was never difficult.”

Legendary Disney animator Eric Goldberg – who was also a close friend and colleague of Mattinson – said: “Burny was Disney Animation’s Renaissance man. He literally did anything that could be done in the studio: animation assistant, animator, story artist, producer and director of many films that left an indelible mark on our collective appreciation of the Disney ethos. He was also Walt’s traffic boy when he started and gave Walt his weekly pocket money.

Speaking of Mattinson’s art, Goldberg added: “Burny was understated, charming, inventive and extraordinarily gifted as a draftsman and storyteller. His storyboards were beautifully acted and wonderfully atmospheric, which I first encountered when I walked into the studio Aladdin. The more I saw of his work, the more I marveled at his breadth of talent. I cherish his joyful friendship and constant inspiration to me and so many other animators. He will be missed, but not forgotten.”

Mattinson’s achievements include directing the animated feature film Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983), in which Mickey Mouse returned to the big screen for the first time in 30 years. He was also a producer and co-director The Great Mouse Detective (1986).

“Animation is 75 percent thinking and 25 percent drawing,” Mattinson once said of his process. “Everything must be well thought out. Our animators not only have to think like actors, they also have to think about how to convey that performance on paper and on screen. Our characters pause to think and collaborate. You can see it in their eyes.”

When Mattinson was asked two decades ago to reflect on his Disney career, he said, “I mean, 50 years is a long time, but I still feel like that 18-year-old boy who came here in 1953 knows you? I never feel like I’ve gotten old.”

According to Disney, at the time of his death, Mattinson was still working full-time as a story consultant and mentor.

Mattinson is survived by his wife, Ellen Siirola; his son Brett Mattinson and his wife Kelly and their two children; and his daughter Genny, her husband Larry Ellena and their two children. Funeral services will be private and he will be buried at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills. In lieu of flowers, donations may also be made to the MPTF (Motion Picture and Television Fund) in Woodland Hills, California.