James Algar (June 11, 1912 – February 26, 1998) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked 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 ...

for 43 years and received the

Disney Legends The Disney Legends Awards is a Hall of Fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. Established in 1987, the honor was traditionally awarded annually during a spec ...

award in 1998. He was born in

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

and died in

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and municipal corporation, incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its n ...

Controversy

Algar directed an Oscar-winning documentary '' White Wilderness,'' which contains a scene that supposedly depicts a mass lemming migration, and ends with the lemmings leaping into the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. In 1982, the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

news magazine program '' The Fifth Estate'' broadcast a documentary about animal cruelty in Hollywood called ''Cruel Camera'', focusing on ''White Wilderness'', as well as the television program ''

Wild Kingdom ''Wild Kingdom'', also known as ''Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'', is an American documentary television program that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and it was revived in 2002. The show's second ...

''. Bob McKeown, the host of the CBC program, discovered that the lemming scene was filmed at the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

near downtown

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

, and not in the Arctic Ocean as implied by the film. McKeown interviewed a lemming expert, who claimed that the particular species of lemming shown in the film is not known to migrate, much less commit mass suicide.

Selected filmography

* ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as ...

'' (1937 - animator) * ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

'' (1940 – director) * ''

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 Salten ...

'' (1942 - director) * ''

Victory Through Air Power ''Victory Through Air Power'' is a 1942 non-fiction book by Alexander P. de Seversky. It was made into a 1943 Walt Disney animated feature film of the same name. Theories De Seversky began his military life at a young age. After serving in ...

'' (1943 – director) * '' Seal Island'' (1948 – director) * ''

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad ''The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' is a 1949 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions, released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney and James Algar with Ben Sharpsteen as producti ...

'' (1949 – director) (The Wind in the Willows segment) * '' In Beaver Valley'' (1950 – director) * '' Nature's Half Acre'' (1951 – director) * ''

The Olympic Elk ''The Olympic Elk'' is a 1952 American short documentary film directed by James Algar and produced by Walt Disney as part of the ''True-Life Adventures'' series of nature documentaries. Summary A photographic study of the Olympic elk which abou ...

'' (1952 – director and writer) * '' Bear Country'' (1953 – director and writer) * '' Prowlers of the Everglades'' (1953 – director and writer) * '' The Living Desert'' (1953 – director and writer) * ''

The Vanishing Prairie ''The Vanishing Prairie'' is a 1954 American documentary film directed by James Algar and released by Walt Disney Productions. The theme music was given a set of lyrics by Hazel "Gil" George. It was rechristened as "Pioneer's Prayer" in ''Wes ...

'' (1954 – director and writer) * '' The African Lion'' (1955 - director and writer) * '' Secrets of Life'' (1956 – director and writer) * '' White Wilderness'' (1958 – director and writer) * ''

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

'' (1958 – director) * '' Jungle Cat'' (1960 – director and writer) * '' Ten Who Dared'' (1960 – producer) * ''

The Legend of Lobo ''The Legend of Lobo'' is a 1962 American animal-adventure film that follows the life and adventures of Lobo, a wolf born and raised in southwestern North America. Based upon "Lobo the King of Currumpaw "Lobo, the King of Currumpaw" is the fir ...

'' (1962 – director, producer and writer) * '' The Incredible Journey'' (1963 – writer) * '' The Gnome-Mobile'' (1967 – producer) * '' The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures'' (1975 – director, producer and writer) * ''

Fantasia 2000 ''Fantasia 2000'' is a 1999 American animated musical anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distin ...

'' (1999 – director)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Algar, James 1912 births 1998 deaths American male screenwriters American film producers People from Modesto, California Film directors from California Screenwriters from California Walt Disney Animation Studios people Directors of Golden Bear winners 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Disney Legends