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Don Bluth
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Donald Virgil Bluth (/bluːθ/ BLOOTH; born September 13, 1937)[2] is an American filmmaker, animator, video game designer and author. He came to prominence working for Walt Disney Productions before creating his own film studio in the early 1980s. Bluth is best known for directing the animated films The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Anastasia, and for his involvement in the well-known Laserdisc game Dragon's Lair. Don Bluth Productions hired many animators away from Disney, and Bluth's films were a major competitor to Disney in the 1980s, leading up to the Disney Renaissance.

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

Bluth was born on September 13, 1937 in El Paso, Texas, to Emaline (née Pratt) and Virgil Roneal Bluth.[3] His maternal grandfather was Rey Pratt from the Pratt family, and his great-grandfather Helaman Pratt was an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as a grandfather of George W. Romney and great-grandfather of Mitt Romney. He is of Swedish, English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent.[4]

As a child in El Paso, he rode his horse to the town movie theater to watch Disney films. Bluth later said, "then I'd go home and copy every Disney comic book I could find".[5] At the age of six, his family moved to Payson, Utah, where he lived on a family farm. Bluth has stated that he and his siblings do not communicate with each other as adults.[6] In 1954, his family moved to Santa Monica, California.[7] Bluth attended Brigham Young University in Utah for one year, and then returned later to complete a degree in English.[8]

Career

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Early work

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After graduating high school,[9] Bluth was hired in 1955 by Walt Disney Productions as an assistant to John Lounsbery for Sleeping Beauty. In 1957, Bluth left Disney, recalling he found the work to be "kind of boring".[10] For two and a half years, Bluth resided in Argentina on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He returned to the United States where he opened a local theater in Culver City, producing musicals such as The Music Man and The Sound of Music.[8]

Bluth returned to college and earned a degree in English literature from Brigham Young University. In 1964, Bluth illustrated Affairs of the Harp, a harp maintenance manual by Samuel O Pratt, with dozens of anthropomorphic cartoon harp characters he called "Harpoons".[11] In 1967, Bluth returned to the animation industry, and joined Filmation working on layouts for The Archie Show and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.[8] In 1971, he returned full-time to Disney as an animation trainee. His first project was Robin Hood, in which he animated sequences of Robin Hood stealing gold from Prince John, rescuing a rabbit infant, and romancing Maid Marian near a waterfall.[12] For Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, he animated Rabbit alongside John Lounsbery.[12] During production on The Rescuers, Bluth was promoted to directing animator alongside the remaining members of Disney's Nine Old Men. He then worked as an animation director on Pete's Dragon. His last involvement with Disney was the short The Small One. Meanwhile, he produced his first independent film, Banjo the Woodpile Cat.

1981–1985: Departure from Disney and early critical success

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For The Fox and the Hound, Bluth animated several scenes of the character Widow Tweed. During production, creative differences between Bluth and studio executives had arisen concerning artistic control and animation training practices. On his 42nd birthday in 1979, Bluth resigned from the studio to establish his own animation studio, Don Bluth Productions, along with Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, and nine fellow Disney animators.[13][14] To this end, Don Bluth Productions demonstrated its ability in its first production, a short film titled Banjo the Woodpile Cat, and this led to work on an animated segment of the live-action film Xanadu. The studio's first feature-length film was The Secret of NIMH. Bluth employed 160 animators during the production and agreed to the first profit sharing contract in the animation industry.[14] Though only a moderate success in the box office, the movie received critical acclaim. Later, with the home video release and cable showings, it became a cult classic.[15] Nevertheless, due to the modest gross and an industry-wide animation strike, Don Bluth Productions filed for bankruptcy.[16]

His next film would have been an animated version of the Norwegian folk tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, but the financial resources were drawn back and it was never made.[17] In 1983, he, Rick Dyer, Goldman, and Pomeroy started the Bluth Group and created the arcade game Dragon's Lair, an on rails game which let the player choose between simple paths for an animated-cartoon character on screen (whose adventures were played off a LaserDisc). This was followed in 1984 by Space Ace, a science-fiction game based on the same technology, but which gave the player a choice of different routes to take through the story. Bluth not only created the animation for Space Ace, but he also supplied the voice of the villain, Borf.[18] Work on a Dragon's Lair sequel was underway when the video arcade business crashed. Bluth's studio was left without a source of income and the Bluth Group filed for bankruptcy on March 1, 1985.[14] A sequel called Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp was made in 1991, but it was rarely seen in arcades.[19]

An adaptation of Beauty and the Beast was also planned to be directed by Bluth in 1984, but the project was canceled by Columbia Pictures upon discovering that Walt Disney Pictures had plans for their own adaptation.[20] In 1985, Bluth, Pomeroy, and Goldman established, with businessman Morris Sullivan, the Sullivan Bluth Studios. It initially operated from an animation facility in Van Nuys, California, but later moved to Dublin, Ireland, to take advantage of government investment and incentives. Sullivan Bluth Studios also helped boost animation as an industry within Ireland.[21] Bluth and his colleagues taught an animation course at Ballyfermot Senior College.[22]

1986–1995: Affiliation with Steven Spielberg

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Teaming up with producer Steven Spielberg, Bluth's next project was An American Tail, which at the time of its release became the highest grossing non-Disney animated film of all time, grossing $45 million in the United States and over $84 million worldwide.[23] The second Spielberg-Bluth collaboration The Land Before Time did even better in theaters, and both found a successful life on home video.[23][24] The main character in An American Tail (Fievel Mouskewitz) became the mascot for Amblimation while The Land Before Time was followed by thirteen direct-to-video sequels and the animated series (none of which had any involvement from Bluth or Spielberg). Bluth ended his working relationship with Spielberg before his next film, All Dogs Go to Heaven and was not involved with An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, the first film produced by Spielberg's new Amblimation studio. Although All Dogs Go To Heaven only had moderate theatrical success, it was highly successful in its release to home video.[25] He also directed films, such as Rock-a-Doodle, Thumbelina, A Troll in Central Park, and The Pebble and the Penguin, which were all critical and box office failures; however, Rock-a-Doodle would find greater success on home video.[26][27]

1990s–2000: Youth theater and Fox Animation Studios

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In the 1990s, Bluth began hosting youth theater productions in the living room of his Scottsdale, Arizona, home. As the popularity of these productions grew and adults expressed their wishes to become involved, Bluth formed an adult and youth theatre troupe called Don Bluth Front Row Theatre. The troupe's productions were presented in Bluth's home until 2012, when their administrative team leased a space off Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale and converted it into a small theater.[28]

Bluth scored a hit in 1997 with Anastasia, produced at Fox Animation Studios in Phoenix, Arizona, which grossed nearly US$140 million worldwide.[29] In a positive review of the film, critic Roger Ebert observed that its creators "consciously include[d] the three key ingredients in the big Disney hits: action, romance, and music". Anastasia became Don Bluth's most commercially successful film and it established 20th Century Fox as a Disney competitor until 2019, when Disney purchased the company.[30]

Despite the success of Anastasia, Bluth resumed his string of box office failures with Titan A.E., which made less than $37 million worldwide in 2000 despite an estimated $75 million budget.[31] In 2000, 20th Century Fox Studios shut down the Fox Animation Studio facility in Phoenix, making Titan A.E. the last American-made traditionally animated film released by 20th Century Fox in theaters to be fully animated and not a live-action/animation hybrid until the release of 2007's The Simpsons Movie.[32] It also stands as Bluth's most recent theatrical film as a director.

2002–2011

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In 2002, Bluth and video game company Ubisoft developed the video game Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair, an attempt to recreate the feel of the original Dragon's Lair LaserDisc game in a more interactive, three-dimensional environment. Reviews were mixed, with critics both praising and panning the controls and storyline, but the visuals were noteworthy, using groundbreaking cel-shading techniques that lent the game a hand-animated feel.[33] As of 2012,[34] Don Bluth and Gary Goldman were seeking funding for a film version of Dragon's Lair.[35][36] After apparently sitting in development for over a decade, the project raised over $570,000 via a successful crowdfunding campaign in January 2016.[37] Bluth and Goldman continued to work in video games and were hired to create the in-game cinematics for Namco's I-Ninja, released in 2003. In October 2004, Polydor Records released the song "Mary", by the Scissor Sisters, which was accompanied by a music video for which Bluth did the animation.[38]

The following month, Dark Horse Books released Bluth's The Art of Storyboard.[39][40] This was followed in May 2005 by the companion book, The Art of Animation Drawing.[39] In 2009, Bluth was asked to produce storyboards for, and to direct, the 30-minute Saudi Arabian festival film Gift of the Hoopoe. He ultimately had little say in the animation and content of the film and asked that he not be credited as the director or producer. Despite this, he was credited as the director.[41] In 2011, Bluth and his game development company Square One Studios worked with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution to develop a modern reinterpretation of the 1983 arcade classic Tapper, titled Tapper World Tour.

2015–present: return to animation

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In October 2015, Bluth and Goldman started a Kickstarter campaign in hopes of resurrecting hand-drawn animation by creating an animated feature-length film of Dragon's Lair.[42] Bluth plans for the film to provide more backstory for Dirk and Daphne and show that she is not a "blonde airhead".[43] The Kickstarter funding was canceled when not enough funds had been made close to the deadline, but an Indiegogo page for the project was created in its place.[44] Two months later, Indiegogo campaign reached its goal of $250,000, 14 days after the campaign launched.[45] As of February 2018, the total exceeded $728,000.[46] A live-action Dragon's Lair film starring Ryan Reynolds was announced to be released in 2020, but it ended up being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[47] Bluth was listed as a producer.[48]

In 2020, Bluth launched a new animation studio called Don Bluth Studios with animator and vice president of the company Lavalle Lee, founder of traditionalanimation.com. His goal is to bring a "renaissance of hand-drawn animation", in the belief that there is an audience demand for it. His first project is called Bluth's Fables, an anthology of short stories written, narrated, and drawn by Bluth. The stories are intended to stylistically resemble Aesop's Fables and nursery rhymes. The studio's productions are live-streamed first, and then uploaded to YouTube. Bluth's Fables is done with pencil tests and then traced and colored in Clip Studio Paint.[49][50][51] Bluth's memoir, Somewhere Out There: My Animated Life, was released on July 19, 2022.[52] His first children's picture book, Yuki, Star of the Sea, was released on April 1, 2024. It tells the story of an orca who is captured and taken to Hollywood to become a movie star.[53]

Unproduced projects

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Throughout Bluth's career, there were many projects that ended up unproduced or unfinished due to studio closures, his severed partnership with Steven Spielberg, or the video game crash of 1983. Many art designs, filmed animation tests and videos of these unfinished projects still circulate online.

Unproduced films

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The earliest of Bluth's unfinished film projects is a Disney-produced animated short film adaptation of the fairy tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin from the early 1970s.[54][55] After The Secret of NIMH, Bluth began developing an animated feature film adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. While a few scenes were produced in 1984, the film's production was officially cancelled in 1989, when Don Bluth and the film's distributor Columbia Pictures heard the news of Disney beginning work on their own animated adaptation.[56] That same time, Bluth began developing an animated adaptation of East of the Sun and West of the Moon.[57] Ultimately, the film was never made due to a loss of financial backing.[14] Following Don Bluth's partnership with Steven Spielberg, 1986's An American Tail was released as Bluth's second film instead. During production of East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Bluth also animated a demo reel of Jawbreaker, a proposed television series by Phil Mendez of a boy who finds a magical tooth.[58] The series however, was not greenlit.

Two more films were planned during Bluth's partnership with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The first film was an animated adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit, a story about an abandoned toy rabbit in pursuit of its child owner. The second film was Satyrday, based on a story by Steven Bauer about a young boy in a fantasy world who defends the moon and sun from evil forces.[59] Some of the film's concepts were later realized as the 2014 French animated film Mune: Guardian of the Moon.[citation needed] After his partnership with Spielberg ended, Bluth began planning another film titled The Little Blue Whale with screenwriter Robert Towne. The planned film was about a little girl and her animal friends who try to protect a little whale from evil whalers.[56][60] Other unrealized projects also included plans for an animated short film centered around a magical talking pencil starring Dom DeLuise,[61] animated film adaptations of the books Quintaglio Ascension, The Belgariad, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The latter productions were canceled following the box office failure of Titan A.E. and subsequent closure of Fox Animation Studios. In 2005, a live-action Hitchhiker's film was released by Touchstone Pictures.

Unproduced games

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Following the success of Dragon's Lair in 1983, Don Bluth began plans for seven more arcade games: "The Sea Beast", "Jason and the Golden Fleece", "Devil's Island", "Haywire", "Drac", "Cro Magnon", and "Sorceress". Due to the budgeting issues and the 1983 video game crash, these projects were abandoned. The sequel to Dragon's Lair, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, would be shelved until its eventual release in 1991.[62] Blitz Games planned a video game adaptation of Titan A.E. for the PlayStation and PC in fall 2000 in North America, following the film's summer release.[63] Development on both platforms had begun in March 1999 under the film's original title Planet Ice,[64] and an early playable version was showcased at the 2000 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.[63] In July 2000, a spokesman from the game's publisher, Fox Interactive, announced that development on the title had been halted largely due to the film's poor box office performance which was "only one of many different factors" that led to its cancellation.[65] A sequel to the 2003 game I-Ninja was planned, which had input from Bluth. Work on the sequel started soon after the first game's release, but its studio Argonaut Games had some economic problems and eventually closed down in October 2004. The few aspects remaining from I-Ninja 2's development are some concept drawings.[66] A project called Pac-Man Adventures was originally planned in partnership with Namco around 2003 but was scrapped due to financial problems on Namco's part leading to their merger with Bandai in 2007 and whatever development assets were left over was made into Pac-Man World 3 with no involvement from Bluth.[67][68]

Filmography

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Filmmaking credits

[edit]
Title Year Functioned as
Director Producer Writer Other credits
The Small One (short film) 1978 Yes Yes No animator: auction scene - uncredited
Banjo the Woodpile Cat (short film, direct-to-TV) 1979 Yes Yes Yes animator
The Secret of NIMH 1982 Yes Yes Story Layout Artist / Directing Animator
An American Tail 1986 Yes Yes No Production Designer / Storyboard Artist / Title Designer
The Land Before Time 1988 Yes Yes No production designer / storyboard artist
All Dogs Go to Heaven 1989 Yes Yes Story production designer / storyboard artist / voice role: Policeman (uncredited)
Rock-a-Doodle 1991 Yes Yes Story storyboard artist / animator (uncredited)
Thumbelina 1994 Yes Yes Story
A Troll in Central Park Yes Yes Story voice role: Trolls - uncredited
The Pebble and the Penguin 1995 Yes Yes No (uncredited)
Anastasia 1997 Yes Yes No
Bartok the Magnificent (direct-to-video) 1999 Yes Yes No
Titan A.E. 2000 Yes Yes No Most recent theatrical film
Scissor Sisters – "Mary" (music video) 2004 Yes No No animation director
Gift of the Hoopoe (short film) 2009 Yes No No nominally director / storyboard artist
Dragon's Lair: The Movie TBA No Yes No

Animation department

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Title Year(s) Role Characters Notes
Sleeping Beauty 1959 inbetween artist uncredited
Fantastic Voyage (television series) 1968–69 layout artist 17 episodes
The Archie Show (television series) 1969 production designer special episode Archie and His New Pals
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (television series) 1969–72 layout artist 58 episodes
Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down (television series) 1970 layout artist episode "Computer Suitor"
Groovie Goolies (television series) layout artist 16 episodes
Lost and Foundation (short film) layout artist
Train Terrain (short film) 1971 layout artist
Journey Back to Oz 1972 layout artist
Robin Hood 1973 character animator Robin Hood, Skippy, Sis and Tagalong
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too 1974 animator Rabbit
Escape to Witch Mountain 1975 animator: titles uncredited
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 1977 animator Rabbit
The Rescuers 1977 directing animator Bernard and Miss Bianca
Pete's Dragon 1977 animation director Elliott
Xanadu 1980 animator: animation sequence unit
The Fox and the Hound 1981 animator Widow Tweed uncredited
You Are Mine (short film) 2002 storyboard artist [citation needed]
Circus Sam (short film) 2019 animator [citation needed]

Video games

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Title Year Functioned as
Director Producer Other credits
Dragon's Lair 1983 Yes Yes animator
Space Ace Yes Yes voice role: Borf / game designer
Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp 1991 Yes Yes
Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair 2002 Yes Yes intro and ending: animation director / background artist
I-Ninja 2003 Yes No cinematics: director / storyboard artist
Tapper World Tour 2011 Yes No animator

Bibliography

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See also

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References

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Further reading

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Don Bluth

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Don Bluth (born September 13, 1937) is an American animator, film director, producer, and video game designer renowned for his contributions to traditional hand-drawn animation, particularly through his early work at Walt Disney Productions and his subsequent independent films that challenged Disney's dominance in the 1980s and 1990s. Born in El Paso, Texas, into a family of seven children, Bluth grew up on a dairy farm in Payson, Utah, where he was inspired by Disney films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, and Pinocchio from the age of four, fostering his passion for animation. After graduating high school in 1955, he joined Walt Disney Productions that same year as an in-betweener, contributing to films including Sleeping Beauty (1959), before briefly leaving in 1956 to pursue other opportunities, such as work at Filmation Studios in 1967. He returned to Disney in 1971, spending a decade there under mentors like John Lounsbery, Frank Thomas, Milt Kahl, and Wolfgang Reitherman, where he served as directing animator on projects such as Robin Hood (1973), Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974), The Rescuers (1977), and the animated sequences of the live-action/animation hybrid Pete's Dragon (1977). Disillusioned with Disney's shifting priorities toward cost-cutting and less artistic animation in the late 1970s, Bluth departed the studio in 1979 along with key colleagues and to found his own independent venture, initially Don Bluth Productions (later Sullivan Bluth Studios), aiming to revive the classic Disney style of full animation with emotional depth and detailed craftsmanship. His studio produced 12 feature-length animated films, including the critically acclaimed (1982), which earned a Saturn Award nomination for Best ; An American Tail (1986), a box-office success about that rivaled Disney's output; (1988), a poignant adventure; All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989); (1997), his highest-grossing film at over $139 million worldwide; and others like (1995) and Titan A.E. (2000). These works often featured mature themes, strong character development, and lush visuals, influencing a generation of animators and films while facing financial challenges that led to multiple studio relocations and bankruptcies. Beyond feature films, Bluth co-created pioneering video games such as Dragon's Lair (1983) and Space Ace (1984), which utilized laserdisc technology for interactive animated sequences and became arcade hits, marking early advancements in multimedia entertainment. In his later career, after the decline of his studios in the early 2000s, Bluth focused on education, training over 1,000 animation artists worldwide and founding Don Bluth University in 2022 to teach traditional techniques online. In 2025, a documentary titled Don Bluth: Somewhere Out There premiered, exploring his career and legacy. His lifetime achievements include the Winsor McCay Award for lifetime contribution to animation at the 2005 Annie Awards and an Honorary Visual Effects Society (VES) membership in 2024, recognizing his enduring impact on the industry. Bluth's memoir, Somewhere Out There: My Animated Life (2022), details his five-decade journey, emphasizing his commitment to artistic integrity shaped by his Mormon faith and rural upbringing.

Early life

Childhood and family

Donald Virgil Bluth was born on September 13, 1937, in , as the second oldest of seven children to parents Ronceal Bluth, a policeman who later became a , and Emaline Pratt Bluth. The family belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with roots tracing back to Mormon colonists who had established communities in in the late before returning to the United States amid political unrest. This religious background contributed to a humble and structured upbringing, emphasizing faith and community, though Bluth later described his childhood as one marked by creativity rather than strict dogma. Due to his father's career shifts and business pursuits, the Bluth family frequently relocated, moving from El Paso to a dairy farm in , when Don was six years old, and later to , in 1954. Life on the farm provided a rural, hands-on environment that fostered resourcefulness, but it was the family's artistic leanings—particularly his mother's artistic talents—that sparked Don's early interest in visual . Among his siblings was younger brother Frederick L. "Toby" , born in 1940, who shared a passion for and became a lifelong collaborator; the two brothers often shared a room in their childhood home and later co-founded the Bluth Brothers Theatre in , where they produced musicals and honed their dramatic skills. Bluth's formative years were immersed in family activities and local performances that exposed him to theater and , including staging shows in their home and participating in community events that encouraged imaginative play. From a young age, he engaged in self-taught artistic experiments, filling notebooks with drawings inspired by films he adored, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and creating rudimentary flipbooks to animate simple sequences of characters in motion. These early endeavors, often done in isolation on the farm, laid the groundwork for his lifelong dedication to , blending familial with personal . This period of transitioned into more formal pursuits as Bluth entered .

Education and early influences

Bluth attended in the late 1950s following his Mormon mission in , where he earned a degree in English literature while informally exploring and artistic techniques. His time at the university allowed him to refine his drawing skills and deepen his appreciation for , laying a foundation for his future career in . Bluth's early artistic inspirations stemmed primarily from classic Disney animated features, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and (1940), which he first encountered as a young child and which ignited his lifelong passion for the medium. These films, with their innovative hand-drawn techniques and emotional narratives, shaped his vision of as a powerful form of artistic expression. During this period, Bluth experimented with amateur , creating short projects that honed his technical abilities before committing fully to animation as a profession. His family's support for creative endeavors, rooted in their religious values, encouraged these pursuits amid his academic studies.

Disney career

Entry and assistant roles

Don Bluth began his professional animation career at Productions in 1955, shortly after graduating high school at age 17, where he was hired as a teenage in-betweener assisting on the production of (1959). In this entry-level role, Bluth filled in the intermediate frames between key poses created by senior animators, contributing to the fluid motion of characters under the guidance of veteran animator John Lounsbery, one of . His initial work immersed him in the traditional hand-drawn process, honing basic skills in timing and spacing that formed the foundation of his technical expertise. After a brief stint, Bluth left Disney in 1956 to undertake a 2.5-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in , followed by time focused on family and further education, including brief studies at , work at Studios from 1967 to 1970, and early experiments in . He returned to the studio full-time in 1971 as an animation trainee, progressing to assistant animator roles that involved cleanup—refining rough sketches into polished line work for cels. On (1973), Bluth handled cleanup duties for key sequences, such as Robin's stealthy thefts, while assisting mentors like Lounsbery and collaborating with Marc Davis on character development aspects. His responsibilities expanded similarly on (1977), where he cleaned up for protagonists like and , ensuring consistency in their expressive movements amid the film's ensemble action. Throughout these years, Bluth formed close professional relationships with Lounsbery, who provided direct oversight on early assignments, and Davis, whose imaginative character designs influenced Bluth's approach to personality-driven during shared projects. However, as navigated financial pressures post-Walt Disney's in 1966, Bluth grew increasingly frustrated with cost-cutting measures, including the widespread adoption of —a photocopy-based transfer process introduced in the early that reduced labor but resulted in coarser line quality and limited artistic detail, such as the elimination of subtle shadows and effects. These changes, evident in films like and , clashed with Bluth's commitment to the meticulous, hand-inked elegance of Disney's pre- era, fostering a deepening dissatisfaction that highlighted tensions between efficiency and creative integrity.

Key contributions and directing

During his time at Disney, Don Bluth advanced from assistant animator to take on directing and supervisory responsibilities, marking his emergence as a key creative force within the studio. His first credited directorial effort came with the 1978 short , a 26-minute animated film based on Charles Tazewell's children's book about a boy selling his beloved donkey on the eve of the Nativity. Bluth served as both and director, laying out the entire and providing the first and last drawings for each scene to guide the animators, while incorporating religious themes and original songs like "Small One" and "The Merchant's Song." The short, which employed extensive for realistic movements such as the boy's father's walk, was released alongside a of and showcased Bluth's commitment to emotional storytelling through techniques. Bluth's supervisory role expanded significantly with the 1977 live-action/animation hybrid Pete's Dragon, where he acted as for the titular dragon character, Elliott. Overseeing a demanding production that required matching to live-action footage via frame blow-ups, Bluth handled key poses and insisted on hand-inking critical elements like Elliott's stomach and outline to ensure seamless integration with the real-world scenes. The dragon's design, originally conceived by Ken Anderson, was brought to life under Bluth's guidance with expressive, personality-driven movements that emphasized Elliott's clumsy yet endearing nature, contributing to approximately 22 minutes of in the film despite the crew's heavy overtime demands. In 1980, Bluth extended his expertise to non-Disney projects as for a surreal two-minute sequence in the musical fantasy Xanadu, blending hand-drawn with live-action performers and . Produced in just 12 weeks by a small team at Bluth's home, the segment—set to the Electric Light Orchestra's "Don't Walk Away"—features the protagonists transforming into mythical creatures like fish and birds in a dreamlike chase, utilizing multi-pass filming techniques for depth and effects such as rippling water. This work highlighted Bluth's skill in hybrid animation formats and served as an early showcase for his independent capabilities post-Disney. Amid these achievements, Bluth became a vocal for preserving traditional hand-drawn at Disney, particularly as the studio shifted toward cost-cutting measures following Walt Disney's death. He criticized the declining emphasis on artwork quality, the erosion of rigorous production processes, and the reduced for artists, believing these changes deviated from the studio's golden-era standards that Walt himself would not have tolerated. Bluth's after-hours experiments, such as the 1979 short Banjo the Woodpile Cat, demonstrated his dedication to classical techniques like full and detailed character acting, aiming to revive the medium's artistic . Bluth's tenure culminated in 1979 when he pitched an animated adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH to executives, envisioning a feature-length project with lavish hand-drawn visuals and deep emotional resonance; the proposal was rejected due to the studio's reluctance to invest in ambitious amid financial conservatism. This denial, coming after years of growing frustrations, foreshadowed Bluth's departure from later that year, along with key colleagues, to pursue the project independently.

Independent animation career

Departure and initial films

On September 13, 1979—his 42nd birthday—Don Bluth resigned from Productions, leading a group of 11 animators, including and , to establish Don Bluth Productions in an effort to revive traditional hand-drawn animation amid frustrations with Disney's cost-cutting measures. The studio initially operated from a facility in , , but faced severe funding shortages, with the team working extended hours without immediate pay and even animating scenes in Bluth's garage to keep production alive. Bluth's debut feature, (1982), was adapted from Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 Newbery Medal-winning novel Mrs. Frisby and the , centering on a widowed field mouse seeking aid from intelligent rats experimented on by . Produced on a tight $7 million budget over 30 months, the film showcased Bluth's commitment to fluid, character-driven animation and darker, more of mortality and survival, earning praise for its lush visuals and emotional depth that evoked Disney's while venturing into scarier territory. Critics lauded its technical achievements, with of highlighting the "resourceful and valiant" animation and "soft differences in shades" that brought the animal world to life. Despite its artistic success, achieved modest box office results, grossing $14.7 million worldwide against its budget, though it later gained a through . The film received widespread critical acclaim, holding a 93% approval rating on based on contemporary reviews, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Flying Dreams" by and Paul Williams, as well as a Saturn Award for Best Animated Film. To mitigate ongoing financial pressures and leverage lower labor costs and government incentives, Bluth relocated operations to , , in November 1986, forming Sullivan Bluth Studios with an initial staff of 85, including many from the original team and their families. This move enabled the production of subsequent animated features in a more sustainable environment, marking a pivotal shift for Bluth's independent career.

Spielberg collaborations

Don Bluth's partnership with began in the mid-1980s when Spielberg, through his , co-produced Bluth's (1986), marking Amblin's first foray into feature animation. The film, a musical adventure following a young Russian mouse immigrant named Fievel Mousekewitz, was directed by Bluth and written by Judy Freudberg and , blending themes of family separation and American optimism with hand-drawn 2D animation. Produced on a $9 million budget, it grossed over $84 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing non-Disney animated feature at the time and demonstrating the commercial viability of independent 2D animation outside Disney's dominance. The collaboration continued with (1988), another Amblin co-production executive-produced by Spielberg and , where Bluth directed this poignant dinosaur tale centered on orphaned young reptiles journeying to a safe valley amid prehistoric perils. The story emphasized themes of loss, friendship, and resilience, with Bluth's signature emotional depth in depicting character deaths and growth. Budgeted at $12.3 million, the film earned approximately $84.8 million globally, further solidifying Bluth's box office success and outpacing Disney's in some markets. Despite production challenges, including creative input from Spielberg on toning down darker elements to appeal to families, the film's heartfelt narrative resonated widely. By the time Bluth directed (1989), the partnership had frayed due to escalating financial and creative tensions with Spielberg, particularly over artistic control and rights to sequels. Bluth opted for independent production through his Sullivan Bluth Studios to retain full creative autonomy, funding the project amid severe financial strain that threatened studio bankruptcy. The film, a musical fantasy about a scheming named Charlie B. Barkin navigating the and redemption, introduced cost-saving techniques like partial video animation transfers to streamline production. Released on November 17, 1989, it grossed $27 million worldwide on a $13.8 million budget, providing a modest success but underscoring the risks of severing the Amblin ties. These Spielberg-backed projects played a pivotal role in revitalizing interest in traditional 2D hand-drawn during the , challenging Disney's monopoly and inspiring a wave of non-Disney animated features by proving audiences craved emotionally complex stories beyond lighthearted fare. Their combined box office triumphs encouraged studios to invest in , fostering a competitive renaissance that influenced the decade's output and Bluth's legacy as a key innovator.

Later studios and challenges

Following the successes of his earlier independent ventures, Don Bluth affiliated with 20th Century Fox in May 1994 through a five-year deal that established a new animation division with a $100 million investment, led by Bluth and co-director relocating from their Ireland-based studio. This partnership enabled the completion and release of several projects in development, including Thumbelina (1994), a musical adaptation of the distributed by Warner Bros., A Troll in Central Park (1994), a whimsical fantasy about a benevolent troll in also under Warner Bros., and The Pebble and the Penguin (1995), a romantic adventure set in distributed by MGM/UA. These films, produced amid the transition to the Fox setup, showcased Bluth's signature hand-drawn style but faced mixed commercial reception, with modest returns attributed to challenges and competition from Disney's renaissance-era hits. Bluth's collaboration with reached its peak with Anastasia (1997), which he co-directed with Goldman as the studio's inaugural major release. The film reimagines the historical mystery of Grand Duchess Romanov as a fantastical adventure, blending real events like the Bolshevik Revolution with magical elements such as a mischievous sidekick and a villainous Rasputin wielding green spectral magic. Critically praised for its lush , memorable score, and voice performances, Anastasia became a financial success, grossing approximately $140 million worldwide against a $50 million budget, marking Bluth's most profitable feature to date. In 1995, Fox formalized the operation by founding in , with Bluth and Goldman overseeing production from a 66,000-square-foot facility. The studio's second feature, (2000), represented a bold stylistic evolution for Bluth, shifting from traditional fairy-tale to a post-apocalyptic science-fiction with a graphic novel-inspired visual design that integrated extensive CGI for space sequences and alien worlds. However, the hybrid animation approach resulted in uneven seams between 2D hand-drawn elements and computer-generated effects, contributing to mixed reviews that criticized the film's derivative plot and tonal inconsistencies. Budgeted at $75–90 million, underperformed significantly, earning only $36.8 million globally amid poor marketing targeting and competition from established sci-fi franchises. The flop of exacerbated Fox Animation Studios' financial struggles, leading to its closure in June 2000 after just two theatrical releases and substantial losses estimated at $70–120 million. This marked the end of Bluth's major feature production era under a studio banner, as the facility shuttered and staff, including Bluth and Goldman, were let go. Amid these challenges, Bluth attempted to extend the Anastasia franchise with the direct-to-video spin-off (1999), a comedic prequel focusing on the bat character voiced by , which he co-directed with Goldman to capitalize on the original's popularity but received lukewarm responses for its lighter tone.

Recent return and projects

In the 2010s, Don Bluth settled in , where he established the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre in his home, hosting youth productions and later professional shows. By 2017, he launched Don Bluth University, an online program offering year-long courses in techniques, emphasizing hand-drawn methods to train aspiring artists amid the rise of digital tools. The initiative, based in , continues with live sessions and has featured media coverage, such as a 2025 Fox 10 Phoenix segment highlighting its curriculum and Bluth's direct involvement. Bluth has pursued fan-supported projects to revive his classic works, including a 2015 Indiegogo campaign with Gary Goldman to fund a pitch presentation for an animated Dragon's Lair feature film, raising over $700,000 from supporters eager for a big-screen adaptation of the 1983 arcade game. This effort underscores his ongoing commitment to extending his animation legacy through community backing. In 2024, Bluth directed a regional production of Anastasia: The Musical at his Scottsdale theater, adapting his 1997 animated film into a stage show that ran from September to October, marking a return to theatrical storytelling rooted in his visual style. In 2025, Bluth contributed to the documentary Don Bluth: Somewhere Out There, directed by David LaMattina and Chad N. Walker, which chronicles his career from to independent successes; it premiered on October 25 at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. At age 88, Bluth made a rare public appearance at the event, attending the screening and engaging with audiences about his life's work. Through these endeavors and his 2020 co-founding of Don Bluth Studios with Lavalle Lee—aimed at producing short films in traditional 2D animation—Bluth advocates for preserving hand-drawn artistry against the prevalence of computer-generated techniques.

Other contributions

Video games

In the early 1980s, Don Bluth licensed his studio's work to game designer Rick Dyer for the laserdisc arcade game (1983), which featured full hand-drawn sequences that players navigated interactively, marking a significant advancement in gaming visuals by integrating high-quality into video games. Bluth's team produced over 20 minutes of footage depicting knight Dirk the Daring's quest to rescue Princess Daphne from a dragon, utilizing techniques from his feature films like (1982) to create fluid, character-driven scenes that responded to player inputs via laser disc technology. This collaboration revolutionized arcade experiences by shifting from pixelated sprites to cinematic , drawing crowds and revitalizing the industry during a transitional period. Bluth's studio followed with Space Ace (1984), another laserdisc arcade title co-produced with Cinematronics and Dyer's Advanced Microcomputer Systems, where Bluth directed the animation of sci-fi hero Ace's adventures, emphasizing quick-timing mechanics and stereo sound effects to enhance interactivity. The success led to Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (1991), directed by Bluth and developed by Leland Corporation, which expanded the narrative through time-travel sequences across historical and fantastical settings, with Bluth overseeing the animation production after a development hiatus caused by the 1983 video game crash. These sequels built on the original's formula, incorporating Bluth's emphasis on expressive character animation to maintain visual appeal amid evolving arcade hardware. Bluth remained involved in adaptations of these titles for home systems like the Commodore 64 (1984), where his animation was adapted or redrawn to fit cartridge limitations while preserving key interactive elements. In the 2020s, digital re-releases such as the Dragon's Lair Trilogy compilation (2019, with updates through 2024) on platforms like and modern consoles restored the original footage in high definition. A Blu-ray version released in 2007 also featured HD transfers of the original animation. Through the Bluth Group, Bluth collaborated on 3: The Curse of Mordread, a planned arcade sequel that advanced the storyline with sorceress Mordread as the antagonist but remained unreleased in that format due to market shifts, though adapted versions appeared on home computers in 1993. Bluth's work pioneered the fusion of traditional film animation with player-driven narratives, influencing the adventure game genre by inspiring titles like (1997) and later interactive media that prioritize visual storytelling over complex controls, earning recognition for bridging Hollywood-style animation and digital interactivity. Early techniques from Bluth's background, such as squash-and-stretch principles, were adapted to game constraints to heighten dramatic tension in quick-time sequences.

Theater and teaching

In the 1990s, Don Bluth began hosting youth theater productions in the living room of his home in , adapting his animated films for live performances aimed at young audiences. These intimate shows, which included stage versions of classics like , , and , fostered community engagement and showcased Bluth's storytelling in a theatrical format. As attendance grew, these efforts evolved into a formal troupe, emphasizing accessible, family-oriented interpretations of his work. This initiative culminated in the founding of the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre in Scottsdale, a non-profit community venue with an intimate 76-seat in-the-round setup designed to immerse audiences in the action. The theater continues to produce a range of musicals and plays, blending Bluth's animation influences with live traditions, and has become a staple for local arts in . Bluth's commitment to education extended to the launch of Don Bluth University in 2020, an online platform offering a full-year curriculum of live classes on principles, including draftsmanship, storyboarding, character design, and hand-drawn techniques. Taught directly by Bluth, the program limits enrollment to 21 students per session to ensure personalized instruction, prioritizing foundational skills over digital tools. Complementing his formal teaching, Bluth has delivered lectures and workshops at animation conventions, such as and , where he demonstrates hand-drawn methods and shares insights on creating expressive, believable characters without relying on CGI. These sessions highlight his advocacy for classic artistry, drawing from decades of experience to inspire emerging creators.

Unproduced projects

Abandoned films

During his early independent career following his departure from in 1979, Don Bluth developed several concepts that advanced to scripting or storyboarding stages but were ultimately shelved due to financial constraints or shifting studio priorities. One of the first was East of the Sun and West of the Moon, an of the Norwegian folk tale about a peasant girl who breaks a curse on a bear prince, only to journey to his enchanted castle. Planned immediately after the 1982 release of , the project received initial backing from but was abandoned when the studio withdrew support amid Bluth's financial struggles. In the mid-1980s, Bluth explored original stories with environmental themes, including Little Blue Whale, envisioned as an "underwater " following a baby whale's adventures from the perspective of ocean creatures. Development began around 1983 with screenwriter , who produced an eight-minute animatic, but the project stalled when Towne's commitments to live-action films prevented completion of the script, leading to its cancellation in the late 1980s. Similarly, Kandu: A Song of the Ice Whale drew from the true 1988 story of a trapped rescued in , with Bluth aiming for a poignant tale of human-animal bonds; development began after (1989), with storyboards created around 1991, but it was dropped in the early 1990s due to studio resource shifts and production issues. As Bluth's studio navigated partnerships, fantasy adaptations like Satyrday—based on Stephen K. Baer's novel about a human, , and werefox on a quest to restore the moon—progressed to but faded prior to production of (1986), as much of the book was deemed unadaptable. Another pitched project, a reimagined featuring a clairvoyant dog sidekick and a bird detective, reached preliminary story development as early as 1984 for but was abandoned around 1989 when Disney announced their own version, prompting Bluth to avoid direct competition. These efforts highlighted recurring challenges, including budget overruns from prior films like , which strained investor confidence. In the 1990s, amid pitches to 20th Century Fox, concepts like —an adult-oriented adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel with a script by —advanced to character designs but were shelved after the commercial disappointment of (2000), which led to the closure of Bluth's Fox partnership. Into the , Bluth revisited video game origins with an animated feature adaptation of , the 1983 arcade hit he animated, expanding the Daring's quests into a narrative film. Multiple attempts, including a 2015 Indiegogo campaign co-led by Bluth and producer to raise $250,000 for a proof-of-concept, succeeded in funding but failed to materialize into a full film due to insufficient further backing, though Bluth continued pitching it as late as the early 2020s before involvement shifted to a live-action version. Other documented unproduced projects include (early development alongside ), (planned for in 1987), and (early 1980s proposal for song vignettes in Fantasia style, backed by but halted by rights issues over Beatles images). Funding shortages and industry shifts toward consistently doomed these projects, underscoring Bluth's vision for hand-drawn epics that outpaced available resources.

Unfinished games and media

In the 1990s, Don Bluth's studio produced animated sequences for Dragon's Lair III: The Curse of Mordread, released for home computers like the and PC in 1993 using sprites and , as laserdisc technology's storage and search time limitations prevented a full-motion video format similar to earlier entries. Bluth explored proposed adaptations for sequels to , including concepts for additional laserdisc-based adventures that would expand on the sci-fi narrative, but these never advanced beyond initial planning amid the declining arcade market and production costs. Similarly, an interactive game adaptation of was conceptualized to leverage the 1994 film's animation for interactivity, but it materialized only as a basic storybook-style release with video clips rather than a full game experience. During the 2010s, Bluth expressed interest in modern unproduced ideas, such as VR experiences reviving with immersive laserdisc-style animation, though technological shifts and funding challenges prevented realization. Common factors contributing to these incompletions included technological limitations, like search times and animation storage constraints, as well as licensing disputes over rights between Bluth's studio and publishers like ReadySoft and .

Personal life

Family and relationships

Don Bluth was the second oldest of seven children to parents Virgil Bluth, a policeman who later became a , and Emaline (née Pratt) Bluth. He maintained close ties with his siblings, particularly his younger brother Frederick L. "Toby" Bluth (1940–2013), an and who shared his passion for . After completing his , the brothers co-founded a live theater company in , in the early 1960s, where they produced and directed musical comedies, blending their talents in performance and design. Toby later contributed to animation projects, including as an on (1977), and collaborated informally with Don on conceptual work, though their professional paths diverged over time. As a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bluth's Mormon profoundly influenced his personal values, emphasizing family, integrity, and moral storytelling in his life and work. He has described his beliefs as central to his identity, viewing his artistic talents as divinely bestowed and guiding his commitment to uplifting narratives that reflect themes of resilience and redemption. Bluth has remained notably private about his personal relationships, never marrying and having no children, which allowed him to dedicate his life fully to and creative pursuits.

Health and later years

Following the closure of Fox Animation Studios after the release of Titan A.E. in 2000, Don Bluth entered semi-retirement from major feature film production, as the industry's rapid shift toward diminished opportunities for traditional hand-drawn . In the ensuing years, he redirected his energies toward and mentorship, establishing Don Bluth University to teach principles online and fostering young talent through workshops. This pivot allowed him to sustain his passion for the craft amid the CGI-dominated landscape, where studios increasingly prioritized digital techniques over classical methods. In his later years, Bluth has confronted the challenges of advanced age, including limited public engagements, yet he maintains a robust creative output through and artistic pursuits. Residing in , he has immersed himself in the local arts scene, notably by founding and operating the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre, a 76-seat community venue dedicated to youth productions and classic musicals. Family support has played a key role in navigating these later challenges, providing a stable foundation for his ongoing endeavors. Bluth's vitality remains evident in his participation in significant 2025 events, such as the world premiere of the documentary Don Bluth: Somewhere Out There at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival on October 25, 2025, where he engaged in a lively Q&A session despite the rarity of such appearances. In recent interviews, he has reflected on his career with a focus on perseverance, crediting determination and faith for overcoming repeated setbacks in an unforgiving industry. These reflections underscore a lifetime commitment to animation's artistic integrity, even as he embraces writing for in his current phase.

Legacy

Awards and honors

During his tenure at Walt Disney Productions, Don Bluth served as directing animator on The Rescuers (1977), contributing to the film's Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Someone's Waiting for You," composed by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins. In recognition of his independent animation work, Bluth received the Time-Machine Honorary Award at the 1993 Sitges Film Festival, honoring his contributions such as The Secret of NIMH (1982). For his direction of (1997), co-directed with , Bluth earned a nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production at the 26th in 1998. Bluth was awarded the for Lifetime Achievement by ASIFA-Hollywood at the 32nd in 2005, acknowledging his career-spanning impact on from Disney classics to his own studio productions. In 2024, Bluth was awarded an Honorary Visual Effects Society (VES) membership for his contributions to animation and visual effects. Throughout his later career, Bluth has been frequently honored as a guest of honor at and fan conventions, including Toon Con in 2022 and Fan Expo events, where he engages with admirers of his films.

Influence on animation

Don Bluth played a pivotal role in reviving traditional 2D hand-drawn during the , a period when was experiencing a creative and commercial decline following the lackluster performance of films like The Black Cauldron (1985). By leaving in 1979 with a group of animators to form Don Bluth Productions, he produced independent features such as (1982) on significantly lower budgets, demonstrating that high-quality cel could thrive outside 's dominance. This competition pressured to elevate its standards, contributing to the studio's Renaissance era with hits like (1989), while inspiring other competitors, including Warner Bros., to invest in renewed hand-drawn projects amid the industry's shift toward 2D revival. Bluth's advocacy for greater emotional depth and in family-oriented marked a departure from Disney's lighter fare, emphasizing subjects like loss, mortality, and resilience in films such as (1986) and (1988). His approach to storytelling, which treated audiences—especially children—with respect by confronting real emotional struggles, influenced subsequent studios like and DreamWorks in crafting more nuanced narratives that balanced whimsy with profound sentiment, as seen in Pixar's exploration of grief in Up (2009) and DreamWorks' character-driven arcs in (2001). This shift helped elevate from mere entertainment to a medium capable of delivering complex psychological insights. Technically, Bluth innovated within resource constraints, notably employing the in The to achieve layered depth and dynamic movement, evoking classic techniques while adapting them for a shoestring production that involved over one million hand-drawn cels. In (1989), produced at his Dublin-based Sullivan Bluth Studios, he streamlined workflows through cost-effective methods, including advanced video-assisted review and transfer processes that allowed for faster iteration and lower overheads compared to traditional film-based pipelines, enabling the completion of ambitious sequences with a multinational team of over 350 animators. These innovations not only sustained independent 2D production but also demonstrated scalable techniques for global studios. Through his teaching efforts, Bluth has mentored emerging animators, shaping new generations committed to hand-drawn traditions via the Irish School of Classical Animation, which he helped establish in , and his ongoing Don Bluth online program offering year-long courses in draftsmanship, storyboarding, and advanced animation principles directly instructed by him. This educational outreach has preserved classical skills amid the CGI dominance, fostering talents who continue to champion 2D's expressive potential. Bluth's cultural legacy lies in reigniting interest in hand-drawn animation as a vital art form, a impact highlighted in the 2025 documentary Don Bluth: Somewhere Out There, which portrays his as sparking an "animation revolution" by challenging monopolies and broadening the medium's thematic and technical boundaries.

Works

Filmography

Don Bluth began his at Productions, contributing as an before directing his first there. After leaving in 1979, he founded his own studio and directed several independent animated features, often serving as as well. His credited works focus on feature films and key animated sequences, emphasizing hand-drawn techniques. The following is a chronological list of Bluth's major credited animation works:
YearTitleRole
1959Animator (assistant to John Lounsbery)
1977Pete's DragonDirector of animated sequences (dragon animation)
1978Director
1980XanaduAnimator (animation sequence unit)
1982Director
1986Director
1988Director
1989Director
1991Director
1994Director
1994Director
1995Producer (initial production involvement)
1997Director
1999Director
2000Director

Bibliography

Don Bluth has contributed to the field of through several authored and co-authored books that emphasize traditional hand-drawn techniques, production processes, and personal insights into the craft. His collaboration with longtime producer resulted in Don Bluth's The Art of (2004), a comprehensive that elucidates the technical and artistic steps in creating storyboards for animated features, illustrated with examples from Bluth's films such as and . The book highlights Bluth's approach to visual , drawing on his experience to guide aspiring animators through layout composition and narrative flow. Bluth followed this with Don Bluth's Art of Animation Drawing (2005), a practical guide focused on character design, development, and integration with script, , and music in workflows. Written in an accessible, conversational style, it incorporates Bluth's anecdotes from decades in the industry to underscore principles like proportion, expression, and movement. In 2022, Bluth published his autobiography Somewhere Out There: My Animated Life, which chronicles his journey from Disney animator to independent filmmaker, weaving in reflections on artistry, faith, and challenges in Hollywood. The memoir includes original artwork and emphasizes the integrity that defined his career. Bluth has also provided forewords and contributions to select industry publications on hand-drawn , reinforcing his advocacy for classical methods amid the rise of digital tools. Through Don Bluth University, founded in 2022, he has shared extensive online writings and course materials on topics including character design, storyboarding, and animation principles, with programs running through 2025 and beyond. While Bluth has not authored major novels, compilations of his interviews appear in various fan-oriented publications, offering further glimpses into his creative philosophy.

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  78. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kto8WkRompA
  79. https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/bluths-un-made-animated-features/
  80. https://sullivanbluth.fandom.com/wiki/Kandu:_Song_of_the_Ice_Whale
  81. https://donbluth.fandom.com/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast
  82. https://www.awn.com/animationworld/don-bluth-goes-independent
  83. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/donbluthgarygoldman/dragon-s-lair-returns
  84. https://variety.com/2015/digital/games/dragons-lair-movie-cancels-kickstarter-campaign-moves-to-indiegogo-1201651330/
  85. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dragons-lair-james-bobin-talks-direct-video-game-adaptation-1236294928/
  86. https://www.mobygames.com/game/1505/dragons-lair-iii-the-curse-of-mordread/
  87. https://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_don_bluth.html
  88. https://www.mobygames.com/game/43966/thumbelina/
  89. https://toon-con.com/don-bluth/
  90. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089943/
  91. https://collider.com/don-bluth-animator-success-downfall/
  92. https://www.animatormag.com/archive/issue-26/issue-26-page-24/
  93. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978
  94. http://www.cataroo.com/DBrescu.html
  95. https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/festival/historia/1993/awards
  96. http://www.filmreference.com/film/91/Don-Bluth.html
  97. https://annieawards.org/legacy/26th-annie-awards
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  99. https://annieawards.org/juried-awards/winsor-mccay
  100. https://www.pasadenaweekly.com/arts_and_events/toon-con-lets-fans-meet-celebrity-voice-actors-and-animators/article_616067b2-4685-11ed-baee-7f172f01ef2f.html
  101. https://americanpop.substack.com/p/into-the-darkness-don-bluths-animated
  102. http://www.cataroo.com/DBnimh.html
  103. https://movieweb.com/don-bluths-animations-beautiful-movies/
  104. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102802/
  105. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111438/
  106. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0197273/fullcredits
  107. https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/12-664/Don-Bluths-The-Art-of-Storyboard
  108. https://www.awn.com/animationworld/don-bluths-art-storyboard-review
  109. https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/12-662/Don-Bluths-The-Art-of-Animation-Drawing
  110. https://www.amazon.com/Don-Bluths-Art-Animation-Drawing/dp/1595820086
  111. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59845728-somewhere-out-there
  112. https://www.donbluthuniversity.com/courses.html
  113. http://www.adammcdaniel.com/DonBluth/Don_Bluth_Interview1.htm
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