David Dodd Hand (January 23, 1900 – October 11, 1986) was an American animator and animation filmmaker known for his work at
Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...
. He worked on numerous Disney shorts during the 1930s and eventually became supervising director on the animated features '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' and ''
Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book '' Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Sal ...
''.
Biography
Born in
Plainfield, New Jersey
Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."Max Fleischer's '' Out of the Inkwell'' cartoons throughout the 1920s. He joined the Disney studio in 1930 during a major drive by Disney to recruit from the best of animating talent.
Hand immediately made his mark as an animator. By 1932 he was regarded as one of the studio's top animators (despite some complaints that his work was "too mechanical")Transcript of Michael Barrier's interview with David Hand /ref> and had become a close friend of
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
himself. Hand's organizational skills made Disney select him to be the studio's third director after Burt Gillett and Wilfred Jackson. He made his directorial debut for the company with the Mickey Mouse short '' Building a Building'' and went on to direct both ''Silly Symphony'' and Mickey Mouse shorts, including ''
The Flying Mouse
''The Flying Mouse'' is a 1934 Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by David Hand, and released to theatres by United Artists on July 14, 1934. The use of color here was rather innovative as it is set during the course of a ...
'', '' Who Killed Cock Robin?'', '' Three Orphan Kittens'', and '' Thru the Mirror''. By the late 1930s Hand's management skills had allowed him to ascend the hierarchy of the Studio to functioning as Disney's right-hand man. But as historian
Michael Barrier
Michael J. Barrier (born June 15, 1940) is an American animation historian.
Work
Barrier was the founder and editor of ''Funnyworld'', the first magazine exclusively devoted to comics and animation. It began as a contribution to the CAPA-Alpha ...
notes "Hand's position was fundamentally untenable—he was second in command in an organization whose leader, younger than Hand himself, had no intention of ever stepping aside or sharing real power."
Gaumont British Animation
After leaving Disney in 1944, Hand went to England, and, with the backing of J. Arthur Rank, established Gaumont British Animation at Moor Hall in 1946 to produce a series called ''Animaland'' and another called ''Musical Paintbox''. In 1948, he produced a few theatrical animated advertisements entitled ''Ye Old English Car-Tunes'' on
Esso
Esso () is a trade name, trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Exxon, Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Ess ...
. These were unable to get distribution in the United States, and the studio closed in 1950, dooming plans to produce two animated features adapted from H. G. Wells' '' The First Men in the Moon'' and
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
's ''
The Hunting of the Snark
''The Hunting of the Snark'', subtitled ''An Agony in 8 Fits'', is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight po ...
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
where he worked for the next 18 years at the Alexander Film Company, a maker of commercials and industrial films.
Beginning in January 1949, Hand's ''Animaland'' and ''Musical Paintbox'' series were released in theaters in the United Kingdom. Later that June, both of his series were released in theaters in Canada. Few in number, Hand's shorts were shown in theaters for only a year, ending their run in the United Kingdom in July 1950 and in Canada in October 1950.
During the mid-1970s and into the early 1980s, Hand's cartoons begin airing on television for the first time in the United Kingdom. He died in California at age 86.
Hand's son David Hale Hand has formed David Hand Productions which owns the rights to the 19 Gaumont animated shorts -- nine Animaland cartoons and ten Musical Paintbox cartoons -- and hopes to produce new films starring some of the characters in the shorts, e.g. Ginger Nutt. In 1994, Hand was inducted into the Disney Legends program.
Egyptian Melodies
''Egyptian Melodies'' is a 1931 Silly Symphonies animated short subject produced by Walt Disney and directed by Wilfred Jackson.
Summary
When a spider goes down into an Egyptian tomb, he instantly regrets going there when the mummies and hierogl ...
Birds in the Spring
''Birds in the Spring'' is a ''Silly Symphonies'' animated Disney short film. It was released in 1933.
Plot
Various birds are seen building nests and caring for eggs. One pair anxiously awaits the hatching of three eggs, then joyfully summon al ...
The Flying Mouse
''The Flying Mouse'' is a 1934 Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by David Hand, and released to theatres by United Artists on July 14, 1934. The use of color here was rather innovative as it is set during the course of a ...
Pluto's Judgement Day
''Pluto's Judgement Day'' is a ''Mickey Mouse'' cartoon released theatrically in 1935. Although labeled a Mickey cartoon, the main star is Pluto. It was the 78th short film in the ''Mickey Mouse'' series to be released, the seventh of that year. ...
Mickey's Polo Team
''Mickey's Polo Team'' is a 1936 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon features a game of polo played between four Disney characters, led by Mic ...
Magician Mickey
''Magician Mickey'' is a 1937 Walt Disney Mickey Mouse cartoon, originally released to theaters on February 6, 1937. This was the 92nd Mickey Mouse short to be released, and the third for that year.
Mickey puts on a magic show, but is interrupte ...
Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book '' Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Sal ...
David Hand served as producer on all 9 shorts in this series.
* ''The Lion (Felis Leo)'' (1948)
* ''The House-Cat (Felis Vulgaris)'' (1948)
* ''The Cuckoo'' (1948)
* ''The Ostrich'' (1949)
* ''The Australian Platypus'' (1949)
* ''It's a Lovely Day'' (1949)
* ''Ginger Nutt's Christmas Circus'' (1949)
* ''Ginger Nutt's Bee-Bother'' (1949)
* ''Ginger Nutt's Forest Dragon'' (1949)
''Musical Paintbox''
David Hand served as producer on all 10 shorts in this series.
* ''Wales'' (1948)
* ''The Thames'' (1948)
* ''Somerset'' (1949)
* ''A Fantasy on Ireland'' (1949)
* ''Yorkshire Ditty'' (1949)
* ''Sketches of Scotland'' (1949)
* ''Cornwall'' (1949)
* ''Canterbury Road'' (1949)
* ''Devon Whey'' (1950)
* ''A Fantasy on London Life'' (1950)