< Back To Animation Artist Directory
Born: Gary Goldman
Birthday: November 17, 1944
Location: Oakland, CA, U.S.
Alma mater: University of Hawaii
Occupation: Director, Producer, Animator, Writer
Years active: 1972–present
Gary Goldman joined Walt Disney Productions in February 1972 as Frank Thomas’ in-betweener for “Robin Hood.” As an animator, he worked alongside Don Bluth on “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!” and “The Rescuers” before becoming a directing animator on “Pete’s Dragon” and “The Small One.”
Divided by disagreements over story and production values, Goldman, along with Bluth and John Pomeroy, resigned from Walt Disney Productions in 1979 to form their own independent animation studio, Don Bluth Productions.
After leaving Disney, the team produced “The Secret of NIMH.” “An American Tail” was their first collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, begun in January 1985. Released in November of 1986 it grew to be highest-grossing animated film up to that time, heralding a new era of success for full-length animated features.
Gary was a producer on the highly successful animated laser disc interactive video games “Dragon’s Lair,” “Space Ace” and “Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp.”
Amid the studio’s financial difficulties, Morris Sullivan, a mergers and acquisitions expert, created a corporation, Sullivan Studios to allow the three animators to continue producing films.
In 1986, Sullivan moved Goldman, Bluth & Pomeroy, and their entire operation of 87 employees and their families to Dublin, Ireland. Their third feature film, “The Land Before Time,” was their first production created primarily in Ireland.
Five more films would follow before Goldman and Bluth returned from Ireland in 1994 to head up the Fox Animation Studio in Phoenix, Arizona. The first production completed at Fox was 1997’s award-winning “Anastasia.” Also produced there was “Bartok the Magnificent” in 1999, and the animated science fiction feature “Titan A.E.” in 2000.
Goldman and Bluth continue to develop feature-length properties with their independent production company Don Bluth Films, Inc.
No Comment