Robert Walker (1961 – April 1, 2015) was a Canadian-born American animator who co-directed the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated ''

Brother Bear ''Brother Bear'' is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker and produced by Chuck Williams, f ...

'' with

Aaron Blaise Aaron Blaise (born February 17, 1968) is an American painter, animator, film director and art instructor. He is known for his work on ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ''Aladdin'' (1992) and ''Brother Bear'' (2003). He was nominated for the Aca ...

Career

Walker was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and raised in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, where he attended Gloucester High School. He had an older sister Sandra, and a younger brother, Jim. Walker studied animation at

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology, is a public polytechnic institute partnered with private Canadian College of Technology and Trades operating campuses ...

. Upon his graduation, he was hired by

Atkinson Film-Arts Atkinson Film-Arts was an animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The company is best known for producing the first two Care Bears television specials – ''The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings'' and ''The Care Bears Battle the ...

and worked on the animated shows '' Dennis the Menace'' and ''

The Raccoons ''The Raccoons'' is a Canadian animated television series that ran on CBC from November 11, 1985, to March 19, 1991, in Canada and on Disney Channel from July 4, 1985, to August 28, 1992, in the U.S., with three preceding television specials ...

.'' Walker joined

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 ...

at their Florida location in 1989. His first project with Disney was the ''Roger Rabbit'' short film ''

Roller Coaster Rabbit The ''Roger Rabbit'' shorts are a series of three live-action/animated short films produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation from 1989 to 1993. They feature Roger Rabbit, the animated protagonist from ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988), being enli ...

''. He also worked on ''

The Rescuers Down Under ''The Rescuers Down Under'' is a 1990 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''The Rescuers'' (1977). In ''The Rescuers Down Under'', Bernard and Bianc ...

'' (1990), ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' (1991), ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' (1992), ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' (1994), ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...

'' (1998), and ''

Lilo & Stitch ''Lilo & Stitch'' () is a 2002 American animated Science fiction film, science fiction comedy-drama film, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It was written and directed by Chris Sanders and De ...

'' (2002). He died of a heart attack at his California home in 2015, aged 54.

References

External links

* 1961 births 2015 deaths American animated film directors Artists from Ottawa Artists from Toronto Canadian animated film directors Canadian emigrants to the United States Film directors from Ottawa Film directors from Toronto Sheridan College alumni Walt Disney Animation Studios people {{Canada-animator-stub