Børge Ring (17 February 1921 – 27 December 2018) was a Danish animated short film writer, director and animator. His 1978 short film ''Oh My Darling'' won the Best Short Film award at the 1978

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, and his 1984 short film '' Anna & Bella'' won the Best Animated Short Film award at that year's

Academy Awards 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 in ...

Personal life and death

Børge Ring was the son of composer Oluf Ring. He was born in

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,367 (2025). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It is now part of the enlarged E ...

, Denmark, and his family later moved to

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. He married his first wife, concert pianist Nanny Elisabeth Wegener in 1944 - she died in Amsterdam in 1957 of heart failure. In 1971 he married his second wife Joanika Zwart, who worked as a sculptor, and they had two children. Ring died on 27 December 2018 at the age of 97.

Career

Early in his career Ring was active as a jazz contrabassist and guitarist, performing in several bands. Ring worked on an adaption of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

's fairy tale The Tinderbox, which was the first Danish animated feature. In 1947, Ring and his friend Arne Rønde Christensen opened up a cartoon studio in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. The studio started by doing commercials. In 1952, Ring moved to the Netherlands to work for Toonder Studios. He worked for them until 1973, when he moved to London to work for

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 ...

. His 1978 short film ''Oh My Darling'' won the Best Short Film award at the 1978

, and was nominated for the Best Animated Short Film award at the 1979 Academy Awards. The short was redubbed and aired on television in the United States as part of the short-lived series '' Jokebook''. He worked on the introduction to the 1983 film '' Curse of the Pink Panther''. Ring directed the 1984 short film '' Anna & Bella'', which won the Best Animated Short Film award at the 1985 Academy Awards. In 1986, Ring composed a flute song for the Danish cartoon ''Valhalla''. His 1999 short film ''Run of the Mill'', which focused on the effects of taking drugs, won a

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

Children's Award in 2000. Ring also worked on '' It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' (1966), '' Heavy Metal'' (1981), and '' We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'' (1993).

Later years

In 2003, Ring became a Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

. In 2012, the main award of the Danish Animation Society was renamed ''The Børge Ring Award''. In the same year, he won the Winsor McCay Award. In 2014, his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

was published.

References

External links

*
Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Borge 1921 births 2018 deaths Danish animators Danish film directors Danish animated film directors Danish comics artists Danish jazz guitarists Contrabassoonists Danish comic strip cartoonists Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion People from Ribe Danish expatriates in the Netherlands Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners