Lavalle Lee
Author Archive

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.

Born: Isadore Freleng Birthday: February 26, 1908 Location: Kansas City, MO, U.S. Occupation: Animator, Director, Producer Years active: 1923-1986 Died: May 26, 1995 Isadore “Friz” Freleng began his career in animation at the United Film Ad Service in Kansas City, Missouri where he met fellow animators Hugh Harman and Ub

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Born: Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. Birthday: May 8, 1913 Location: San Diego, CA, U.S. Alma mater: Otis Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Writer, Director Years active: 1931-1984 Died: May 2, 1984 Robert “Bob” Clampett demonstrated artistic abilities by the age of five and began making short films in his garage when

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Born: Karyl Ross Harris Birthday: July 31, 1898 Location: Tulare County, CA, U.S. Occupation: Animator, Writer, Storyboard, Director Years active: 1927-1982 Died: March 24, 1982 Karyl “Ken” Ross Harris was born July 31, 1898 in Tulare County, California. He changed the spelling of his name first to Karol, then to

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Born: Franklin Rosborough Thomas Birthday: September 5, 1912 Location: Santa Monica, CA, U.S. Alma mater: Chouinard Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1934-1999 Died: September 8, 2004 Frank Thomas had an interest in drawing that began in childhood and engaged in amateur filmmaking as a teenager. Frank was president

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Born: Wolfgang Reitherman Birthday: June 26, 1909 Location: Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire Alma mater: Chouinard Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Director, Producer Years active: 1933-1981 Died: May 22, 1985 Though born in Germany, Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman was raised in Sierra Madre, California. Driven by a love for airplanes and flying, he

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Born: John Mitchell Lounsbery Birthday: March 9, 1911 Location: Cincinnati, OH, U.S. Alma mater: Art Institute of Denver, ArtCenter College of Design Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1935-1976 Died: February 13, 1976 John Lounsbery was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Colorado with a love of drawing. He graduated from

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Born: Eric Cleon Larson Birthday: September 3, 1905 Location: Cleveland, UT, U.S. Alma mater: University of Utah Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1933-1986 Died: October 25, 1988 Eric Larson displayed his early artistic talent working on his high school yearbook all four years, and as its art director his senior

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Born: Ward Walrath Kimball Birthday: March 4, 1914 Location: MN, U.S Alma mater:  Santa Barbara School of the Arts Occupation: Animator, Director, Producer, Writer Years active: 1934–1980 Died: July 8, 2002 Ward Kimball attended the Santa Barbara School of the Arts to become a painter and illustrator. One of his

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Born: Milton Erwin Kahl Birthday: March 22, 1909 Location: San Francisco, CA, U.S. Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1936–1976 Died: April 19, 1987 Milt Kahl was born to a poor family in San Francisco, California, dropping out of high school at age 16 so he could work to support his

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Born: Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. Birthday: October 31, 1912 Location: Palo Alto, CA, U.S. Alma mater: Chouinard Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1934–1981 Died: April 14, 2008 Ollie Johnston was born in Palo Alto, California and attended Stanford University. There, he worked on the humorous campus magazine, The

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Born: Marc Fraser Davis Birthday: March 30, 1907 Location: Bakersfield, CA, U.S. Alma mater: Kansas City Art Institute, California School of Fine Arts, Otis Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1937–1978 Died: January 12, 2000 Although Marc Davis was born in Bakersfield, California, his family moved frequently, He was

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Born: Leslie James Clark Birthday: November 17, 1907 Location: Ogden, UT, U.S. Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1927–1975 Died: September 12, 1979 Les Clark was born in Ogden, Utah and was raised in Salt Lake City and Twin Falls, Idaho before his family finally moved to Los Angeles. As the

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Born: Charles Martin Jones Birthday: September 21, 1912 Location: Spokane, WA, U.S. Alma mater: Chouinard Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1931-2001 Died: Februray 22, 2002 Chuck Jones drew frequently as a child. His father was an entrepreneurial man who started many businesses, and every time he began a

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Born: John Foster Pomeroy Birthday: March 26, 1951 Location: Los Angeles, CA, U.S. Alma mater: ArtCenter College of Design Occupation: Animator, Writer, Producer, Storyboard Years active: 1970-present John Pomeroy had been drawing since he was seven years old. Around the age of 13, he tried to make a perfect reproduction

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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

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