Nik Ranieri (born August 23, 1961) is a Canadian character animator who is primarily known for his work at

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

. He has been supervising animator of many characters and remained so until his layoff in 2013.

Career

After graduating from the Classical Animation Program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Ranieri went to work for Atkinson Film-Arts animation production studio (in Ottawa, Ontario). He began animating for Disney in 1987 on the London, England-based animation crew of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', working with director Richard Williams. Soon after that he moved to Disney's feature animation studio in Glendale, California, where he animated on ''The Little Mermaid'' (working primarily on the character of Ursula the sea witch, under directing animator Ruben Aquino). On his next film, Ranieri was promoted to supervising animator on the character of Wilbur in ''The Rescuers Down Under''. In 1995, he won an Annie Award in the category 'Individual Achievement in Character Animation' for his animation of the raccoon Meeko in ''Pocahontas''. In 1997, he won an Annie Award in the category 'Individual Achievement in Character Animation' for his animation of Hades in ''Hercules''. While Ranieri is regarded as one of the modern-day masters of hand-drawn character animation (especially excelling in subtle dialogue scenes and facial expressions) he also successfully made the switch to animating in CG on films such as ''Chicken Little'', ''Meet the Robinsons'' and ''Bolt''. Ranieri returned to his roots in classic hand-drawn animation for the 2009 Disney animated film ''The Princess and the Frog''. On April 6, 2013,

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

announced that Ranieri, along with eight other animators working at Walt Disney Animation Studios, had been laid off in an effort for the company as a whole to cut costs. He later worked at Studio Roqovan, where he worked on the video game ''World War Toons'', up until the studio closed in 2019. Ranieri won the Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation award in 2021 at the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards as Lead Character Layout for ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' episode " Wad Goals".

Filmography

Awards

* 1995 Annie Awards for '' Best Individual Achievement for Animation'' for 'Meeko' in ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

'' * 1997 Annie Awards for '' Best Individual Achievement: Character Animation'' for 'Hades' in ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'' * 1997 ' NCS Division Awards' in ''Feature Animation'' (for Hades) * 2021 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for '' Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation'' for ''" Wad Goals"'' from ''

'' * 2023 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for '' Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation'' for ''" Lisa the Boy Scout"'' from ''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranieri, Nik 1961 births Canadian animators Annie Award winners Living people Primetime Emmy Award winners Sheridan College animation program alumni Walt Disney Animation Studios people