About

Known credits:
82
Birthday:
1909-06-26
Place of birth:
Munich, Germany
Website:
N/A

Wolfgang Reitherman

Overview

Reitherman began working for Disney in 1934, along with future Disney legends Ward Kimball and Milt Kahl. The three worked together on a number of classic Disney shorts, including The Band Concert, Music Land, and Elmer Elephant and in all, Reitherman worked on various Disney feature films produced from 1937 to 1981, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Slave in the Magic Mirror) to The Fox and the Hound (co-producer). He did the climatic dinosaur fight in Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in Fantasia, the Headless Horseman chase in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" section in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, the Crocodile in Peter Pan, and Maleficent as a dragon in Sleeping Beauty (the former three he animated and the latter he directed). Beginning with 1961's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, "Woolie", as he was called by friends, served as Disney's chief animation director. One of Reitherman's productions, the 1968 short Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. He also served as a producer and sequence director, and starred as himself in the 1941 feature film The Reluctant Dragon. All three of Reitherman's sons — Bruce, Richard and Robert — provided voices for Disney characters, including Mowgli in The Jungle Book, Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, and Wart in The Sword in the Stone. Reitherman directed several Disney animated feature films including, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats (1970),Robin Hood (1973) and The Rescuers (1977). He is also known for reusing animation in movies directed by him. According to Floyd Norman, this was just one of his trademarks, and had nothing to do with time or cost savings: "Woolie was our director on The Jungle Book. Reuse was just Woolie’s thing. He never did it to save money. I really don’t think the “Old Guard” ever had any interest in saving money. I was never a big fan of reuse, but it wasn’t my place to tell these old guys what to do. One final thought. It never seemed to bother Walt, and I never heard him complain about reuse."

Known for

Acting
2009 Waking Sleeping Beauty Actor Self (archive footage) 61
Fair
2009 The Making of 'Pinocchio': No Strings Attached Actor Himself (Archive Footage) N/A
N/A
2007 The Pixar Story Actor Self (archive footage) 64
Fair
2005 Mickey, les J.O. rigolos Actor 59
Average
2005 From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men Actor Self (Archive Footage) N/A
N/A
1954 A Story of Dogs Actor Self N/A
N/A

Directing
2005 Mickey, les J.O. rigolos Directing Director 59
Average
2002 Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Goofy Directing Director 59
Average
1977 The Rescuers Directing Director 66
Fair
1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Directing Director 67
Fair
1973 Robin Hood Directing Director 71
Good
1972 Superstar Goofy Directing Director 59
Average
1970 The Aristocats Directing Director 71
Good
1968 Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day Directing Director 61
Fair
1967 The Jungle Book Directing Director 71
Good
1966 Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree Directing Director 61
Fair
1963 The Sword in the Stone Directing Director 70
Good
1963 A Square Peg in a Round Hole Directing Director N/A
N/A
1962 The Hunting Instinct Directing Director N/A
N/A
1961 Aquamania Directing Director 59
Average
1961 Holiday for Henpecked Husbands Directing Director N/A
N/A
1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians Directing Director 70
Good
1961 A Salute to Father Directing Director N/A
N/A
1960 Goliath II Directing Director 58
Average
1959 Donald in Mathmagic Land Directing Director 61
Fair
1957 How to Relax Directing Director N/A
N/A
1957 The Truth About Mother Goose Directing Director 59
Average
1957 The Goofy Adventure Story Directing Director 58
Average
1956 Pluto's Day Directing Director N/A
N/A
1956 The Goofy Cavalcade of Sports Directing Director N/A
N/A
1956 The Goofy Sports Story Directing Director N/A
N/A
1955 The Goofy Success Story Directing Director 58
Average

Production
1981 The Fox and the Hound Production Co-Producer 69
Fair
1977 The Rescuers Production Producer 66
Fair
1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Production Producer 67
Fair
1974 Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too Production Producer 60
Fair
1973 Robin Hood Production Producer 71
Good
1970 The Aristocats Production Producer 71
Good

Visual Effects
1955 Lady and the Tramp Visual Effects Animation Director 69
Fair
1955 Lady and the Tramp Visual Effects Animation 69
Fair
1953 Peter Pan Visual Effects Animation 71
Good
1953 Peter Pan Visual Effects Animation Director 71
Good
1951 Alice in Wonderland Visual Effects Animation 70
Good
1950 Cinderella Visual Effects Animation Director 69
Fair
1949 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Visual Effects Animation 64
Fair
1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Visual Effects Animation Director 62
Fair
1949 Goofy Gymnastics Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1949 Tennis Racquet Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1947 Fun and Fancy Free Visual Effects Animation Director 60
Fair
1947 Mickey and the Beanstalk Visual Effects Animation 61
Fair
1947 How to Ride a Horse Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1942 How to Fish Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1942 How to Swim Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1942 El Gaucho Goofy Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1942 Saludos Amigos Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1941 Dumbo Visual Effects Animation 68
Fair
1941 The Reluctant Dragon Visual Effects Animation 60
Fair
1940 Fantasia Visual Effects Animation 71
Good
1940 Pinocchio Visual Effects Animation Director 70
Good
1940 Pinocchio Visual Effects Animation 70
Good
1939 Donald's Cousin Gus Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1939 Goofy and Wilbur Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1938 Polar Trappers Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1938 Donald's Nephews Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1938 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Visual Effects Animation 70
Good
1937 Clock Cleaners Visual Effects Animation 61
Fair
1937 Hawaiian Holiday Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1937 Mickey's Review Visual Effects Animation N/A
N/A
1937 The Worm Turns Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1936 Moving Day Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1936 Elmer Elephant Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1935 Broken Toys Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1935 Cock o' the Walk Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1935 Music Land Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1935 Mickey's Fire Brigade Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1935 Water Babies Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1935 Mickey's Service Station Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1935 The Band Concert Visual Effects Animation 62
Fair
1934 Two-Gun Mickey Visual Effects Animation 58
Average
1934 The Goddess of Spring Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1934 The Wise Little Hen Visual Effects Animation 59
Average
1934 Funny Little Bunnies Visual Effects Animation 59
Average