Don Bluth

Born: Donald Virgil Bluth
Birthday: September 13, 1937
Location: El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Nationality: American
Alma mater: Brigham Young University
Occupation: Film Director, Producer, Animator
Years active: 1959–present

Don Bluth is one of the most influential American animators in today’s industry. In the field of animation, Bluth performs as film director, producer, writer, production designer, video game designer, and animation instructor. His creative talents have created classic animated films with beloved characters, memorable songs, and heart-warming tales. He is known for directing The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Anastasia among many others. In addition to films, animation led to his involvement in the creation of the popular Laserdisc games Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace.

His animation career began at Walt Disney Studios working for Walt Disney himself as an in-between artist on Sleeping Beauty in 1955. His animated career soared while at Walt Disney Studios. He was an Animator on Robin Hood, followed by Directing Animator on Winnie the Pooh and Tiger Too and The Rescuers. He advanced to Director of Animation on Pete’s Dragon and then utilized his skill and experience as Producer/Director on The Small One.

His career only continued to climb after his time at Walt Disney Studios ended. In 1979, Don Bluth created Don Bluth Productions with Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy. Their first feature film was The Secret of NIMH. Don Bluth teamed up with Steven Spielberg. Together they released An American Tail and The Land Before Time.

In 1986, his animation took him to Ireland where The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Rock-a-doodle, and Thumbelina were produced. Don Bluth returned to America to work with Fox Animation Studios on Anastasia, and Titan A.E.

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The Author

Lavalle Lee

Lavalle Lee has been creating animated cartoons online since 1999/2000 for his website flashcartoons.org. Many cartoons on the site have gained viral video status reaching millions of viewers online. In 2009, Lavalle started learning hand drawn animation from Don Bluth in his animation classes, as well as attending his Masterclasses in Arizona. He has also personally studied animation and visual effects from Veteran Disney animators in Orlando, FL.

Lavalle is widely known in the animation industry as the creator of the TraditionalAnimation.com website. After seeing that most animation sites were about all types of animation, not any specific to classical hand drawn animation, Lavalle knew Traditional Animation needed to be represented online. TraditionalAnimation.com has become the leading website and social media account for all things 2D. The website served as inspiration for “The Traditional Animation Show” in which Lavalle was both producer and host.

His partnership with Don Bluth began when he championed the Dragon's Lair Indiegogo campaign as lead project manager, editor, voice actor and in-betweener. The campaign reached $730,000 dollars to produce a 7-minute pitch video. In 2017, Lavalle brought the idea of creating a school to Don Bluth, and Don Bluth University was born. After a decade of learning from Don Bluth and working together on multiple pitches and business ventures, Lavalle accepted the position as Vice President of Don Bluth's new company Don Bluth Studios.