Mark Alan Henn (born April 6, 1958) is an American animator and film director. His contributions to animation have included several

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fr ...

leading or title characters, most notably heroines. His work includes Ariel in '' The Little Mermaid'', Belle in ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

'',

Jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely culti ...

in ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

'', Young Simba in ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'', the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in '' Mulan'', and Tiana in ''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 49th Disney animated feature film, it is loosely based on th ...

''. Additionally he directed the short film '' John Henry''.

Early life

Henn grew up in Ohio. In 1978, Henn was accepted into the Character Animation program at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, where he studied under Disney animators such as Jack Hannah and

T. Hee Thornton Hee (March 26, 1911 – October 30, 1988) was an American animator, director, and teacher. He taught character design and caricature. Career Hee worked at Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1935–36 as a character designer. He d ...

. Fellow students included Joe Ranft, Mark Dindal and

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios ...

Career

Henn joined the Disney studio in 1980 and began work as an inbetweener for Glen Keane on ''

The Fox and the Hound ''The Fox and the Hound'' is a 1981 American animated buddy drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. The 24th Disney animated feature film, the film tells the st ...

''. According to Henn, Keane was finishing the climactic bear fight scene and Henn worked with him on that. Henn has also worked on other animated features such as '' Mickey's Christmas Carol'', ''

The Great Mouse Detective ''The Great Mouse Detective'' (also known as ''The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective'' for its 1992 theatrical re-release and ''Basil the Great Mouse Detective'' in some countries) is a 1986 American animated mystery adventure film produc ...

'' and '' The Little Mermaid''. Henn has also animated Mickey Mouse on Nighttime Spectaculars in DisneyParks and Resorts, including '' Celebrate The Magic'' in Walt Disney World's ''

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

'', '' World of Color'' – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney in '' Disney's California Adventure Park'', '' Ignite the Dream, A Nighttime Spectacular of Magic and Light'' in '' Shanghai Disneyland'', '' Disney Illuminations'' in ''

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disney ...

'', Disney Gifts Of Christmas and Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland in ''

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to ...

'', and "We Love Mickey" Main Street Projection Show in ''

Hong Kong Disneyland Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...

''.

Awards and honors

Henn has been nominated for an Annie award four times: three times for Character Animation for ''

'', '' Mulan'', and ''

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

'', and once for Short Animated Film Direction for '' John Henry''. In 2017, Henn was the recipient of the

Winsor McCay Award The Winsor McCay Award is given to individuals in recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation in producing, directing, animating, design, writing, voice acting, sound and sound effects, technical work, music, profession ...

for lifetime achievement in animation.

Filmography

References

External links