Don Bluth

Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated classics such as The Secret of NIMH (1982), An American Tail (1986),The Land Before Time (1988), and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), as well as his involvement in the laserdisc game Dragon's Lair. He is also often credited for providing competition to Disney, and forcing them to improve from their streak of lackluster film efforts to the films that would make up the Disney Renaissance.

Works

Space Ace

Commander Borf plans to reduce all of humankind to infants and take over the planet. Only two people have the courage and strength to stop Borf and save Earth: the beautiful Kimberly and the heroic Ace. But as they approach Borf's stronghold, Ace is hit by the Infanto Ray, changing him into a child, and Kimberly is kidnapped by the evil madman!

Release Date1983-12-21

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobAnimation

Charactersd Commander Borf

Vote Count2

Waking Sleeping Beauty

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.

Release Date2009-09-05

Charactersd Self (archive footage)

Vote Count108

Anastasia

Ten years after she was separated from her family, an eighteen-year-old orphan with vague memories of the past sets out to Paris in hopes of reuniting with her grandmother. She is accompanied by two con men, who intend to pass her off as the Grand Duchess Anastasia to the Dowager Empress for a reward.

Release Date1997-11-20

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count5391

Space Ace

Dexter is the dashing Ace hero who fights against Bort and his Infanto Ray, which turns beings into infants. Alongside Ace is his girlfriend, Kimberly, who helps fight Bort and his goons when she's not being abducted. When Dexter gets hit by the ray, he turns into his gangly younger self, and has to depend on his wits to defeat Bort, while he is without strength. Part of CBS "Saturday Supercade".

Release Date1984-09-08

DepartmentCreator

JobCreator

Vote Count1

The Sword in the Stone

Wart is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for him beyond mere squiredom. He starts by trying to give him an education, believing that once one has an education, one can go anywhere. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way.

Release Date1963-12-25

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobAnimation

Vote Count3921

The Fox and the Hound

When a feisty little fox named Tod is adopted into a farm family, he quickly becomes friends with a fun and adorable hound puppy named Copper. Life is full of hilarious adventures until Copper is expected to take on his role as a hunting dog -- and the object of his search is his best friend!

Release Date1981-07-10

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobAnimation

Vote Count3321

All Dogs Go to Heaven

When a casino-owning dog named Charlie is murdered by his rival Carface, he finds himself in Heaven basically by default since all dogs go to heaven. However, since he wants to get back at his killer, he cons his way back to the living with the warning that doing that damns him to Hell. Once back, he teams with his old partner, Itchy, to prep his retaliation. He also stumbles onto an orphan girl who can talk to the animals, thus allowing him to get the inside info on the races to ensure his wins to finance his plans. However, all the while, he is still haunted by nightmares of what's waiting for him on the other side unless he can prove that he is worthy of Heaven again.

Release Date1989-11-17

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count1069

Robin Hood

With King Richard off to the Crusades, Prince John and his slithering minion, Sir Hiss, set about taxing Nottingham's citizens with support from the corrupt sheriff - and staunch opposition by the wily Robin Hood and his band of merry men.

Release Date1973-11-08

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobAnimation

Vote Count4458

The Land Before Time

An orphaned brontosaurus named Littlefoot sets off in search of the legendary Great Valley. A land of lush vegetation where the dinosaurs can thrive and live in peace. Along the way he meets four other young dinosaurs, each one a different species, and they encounter several obstacles as they learn to work together in order to survive.

Release Date1988-11-18

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count2599

The Secret of NIMH

A widowed field mouse must move her family -- including an ailing son -- to escape a farmer's plow. Aided by a crow and a pack of superintelligent, escaped lab rats, the brave mother struggles to transplant her home to firmer ground.

Release Date1982-06-17

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count866

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Whether we’re young or forever young at heart, the Hundred Acre Wood calls to that place in each of us that still believes in magic. Join pals Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Rabbit, Tigger and Christopher Robin as they enjoy their days together and sing their way through adventures.

Release Date1977-03-11

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobAnimation

Vote Count1086

The Rescuers

Two agents of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society search for a little orphan girl kidnapped by sinister treasure hunters.

Release Date1977-06-22

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobAnimation Director

Vote Count2566

An American Tail

A young mouse named Fievel and his family decide to migrate to America, a "land without cats," at the turn of the 20th century. But somehow, Fievel ends up in the New World alone and must fend off not only the felines he never thought he'd have to deal with again but also the loneliness of being away from home.

Release Date1986-11-21

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count1378

Thumbelina

Born of a flower and growing to only a couple of inches tall, poor Thumbelina is worried she'll never meet someone her own size, until she happens to catch the eye of Prince Cornelius of the Fairies. Just as soon as she finds love, however, it's torn away from her when she is kidnapped by Ms. Toad. Now Thumbelina has to escape Ms. Toad's grasp and search for Prince Cornelius. Luckily, there's a whole city of animals willing to help her.

Release Date1994-03-30

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count509

Titan A.E.

A young man finds out that he holds the key to restoring hope and ensuring survival for the human race, while an alien species called the Drej are bent on mankind's destruction.

Release Date2000-06-16

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count1109

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

Some time after the Mousekewitz's have settled in America, they find that they are still having problems with the threat of cats. That makes them eager to try another home out in the west, where they are promised that mice and cats live in peace. Unfortunately, the one making this claim is an oily con artist named Cat R. Waul who is intent on his own sinister plan.

Release Date1991-11-21

DepartmentWriting

JobCharacters

Vote Count749

Pete's Dragon

Pete, a young orphan, runs away to a Maine fishing town with his best friend a lovable, sometimes invisible dragon named Elliott! When they are taken in by a kind lighthouse keeper, Nora, and her father, Elliott's prank playing lands them in big trouble. Then, when crooked salesmen try to capture Elliott for their own gain, Pete must attempt a daring rescue.

Release Date1977-11-03

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobAnimation Director

Vote Count690

Bartok the Magnificent

Albino bat Bartok – former sidekick to the wicked Grigori Rasputin – ventures to prove his true worth on a new quest to defeat the legendary Russian witch Baba Yaga.

Release Date1999-09-07

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count211

Rock-A-Doodle

Chanticleer is a foolhardy farm rooster who believes his crows can actually make the sun come up and shine. When the sun rises one morning without Chanticleer's crow, he leaves the farm in disgrace and runs off to become a rock 'n' roll singer. But in his absence, a sinister, sunshine-hating owl prepares to take over.

Release Date1991-08-02

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count298

A Troll in Central Park

A friendly troll with a magic green thumb grows one flower too many for the queen, whose laws require all trolls to be mean ugly and scare humans whenever possible. As a punishment, he is exiled to a world of concrete, where he should live a life of proper trolldom: Manhattan.

Release Date1994-10-07

DepartmentProduction

JobProducer

Vote Count150

Xanadu

A beautiful muse inspires an artist and his older friend to convert a dilapidated auditorium into a lavish rollerskating club.

Release Date1980-08-08

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobAnimation

Vote Count273

The Pebble and the Penguin

A bashful bachelor penguin named Hubie, who's partial to a pretty female named Marina. Ancient penguin ritual dictates that males present a pebble to their intended, then mate for life. Hubie finds a spiffy stone, but before he can bestow it on Marina, dastardly rival Drake tosses him into the churning sea, and Hubie gets swept away.

Release Date1995-04-12

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count124

The Small One

Ordered by his father to sell an old mule called Small One, a Hebrew boy in the ancient Holy Land takes the donkey to the Jerusalem market. Finding no buyers there, the boy is about to give up when he meets a kind man named Joseph, who buys Small One and uses the steed to take his pregnant wife Mary to Bethlehem.

Release Date1978-12-16

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count91

Journey Back to Oz

Dorothy and Toto return to the Land of Oz to find the Scarecrow as ruler of the Emerald City. Unfortunately for the new mayor, the wicked Mombi is conspiring to take over the city for herself. With the help of the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion and other familiar friends, Dorothy sets out to save Oz.

Release Date1972-12-14

DepartmentDirecting

JobLayout

Vote Count22

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too

Rabbit is tired of Tigger always bouncing him, so he gets Pooh and Piglet together to come up with an idea to get the bounce out of Tigger. Then, Tigger and little Roo go out for a bounce and get caught in a tree.

Release Date1974-09-20

DepartmentWriting

JobStory

Vote Count55

Banjo the Woodpile Cat

Banjo is a curious and rebellious kitten who is always getting into trouble. When he decides to jump off a roof of a chicken coup to see if he can land on his feet, he is ordered to "fetch a switch". Thinking his parents wouldn't care if he gets hurt, he hitches a ride on a feed truck, all the way to Salt Lake City. After he finds the excitement of the city, he soon finds it cold and lonely and wishes to be home. With the help of stray cat Crazy Legs and a trio of singing cat girls, he finds the truck and returns home.

Release Date1979-11-16

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count34

Dragon’s Lair: The Movie - Pitch Presentation

Animated short created to pitch a full-length Dragon's Lair film to investors.

Release Date2017-09-13

DepartmentProduction

JobProducer

Archie and His New Pals

Reggie nominates Moose to run against him for class president, thinking it will be no contest. Meanwhile, Sabrina can't seem to make any friends when she begins school at Riverdale.

Release Date1969-09-14

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobCharacter Designer

Dragon's Lair

A live-action adaptation of the popular ‘80s video game.

DepartmentProduction

JobProducer

Gift of the Hoopoe

Propelled through a magical fantasy world of imagination, two children learn how little changes in their lives can lead to great things in their future. A collection of fables teaches the children lessons in education, tolerance and conservation.

Release Date2009-10-04

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count5

Going Back to Xanadu

A documentary about the movie Xanadu.

Release Date2008-01-01

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