Nik Ranieri (born August 23, 1961) is a 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 creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fr ...

. 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 ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated comedy film, comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall (filmmaker), Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely ad ...

'', 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 "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...

'' (working primarily on the character of Ursula the sea witch, under directing animator

Ruben Aquino Ruben Aquino (born December 18, 1953) is a Japanese-born Filipino-American animator. A character animator and a supervising animator who has formerly worked on many films at Walt Disney Animation Studios, his work has included the several Disney c ...

). On his next film, Ranieri was promoted to supervising animator on the character of Wilbur in ''

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. The 29th Disney animated feature film and the second movie to be produced during the Disne ...

''. In 1995, he won an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...

in the category 'Individual Achievement in Character Animation' for his animation of the raccoon "Meeko" in ''

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

''. In 1997, he won an

in the category 'Individual Achievement in Character Animation' for his animation of

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

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 ...

''. 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 ''Meet the Robinsons'' is a 2007 American computer-animated science-fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 47th animated film produced by the studio, it is loosely based on t ...

'' and '' Bolt''. Ranieri returned to his roots in classic hand-drawn animation for the 2009 Disney animated film ''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 49th Disney animated feature film, it is loosely based on th ...

''. On April 6, 2013,

The Walt Disney Company 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 Octobe ...

announced that Ranieri, along with eight other animators working at

, 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 The 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ...

as Lead Character Layout for ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'' episode Wad Goals.

Filmography

Awards

* 1995 ''Best Individual Achievement: Character Animation'' for 'Hades' in ''Hercules'' * 1997 ''Best Individual Achievement for Animation'' for 'Meeko' in ''Pocahontas'' * 1997 ' NCS Division Award' in ''Feature Animation'' (for Hades) http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/feature.asp * 2021 ''Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation'',

References

External links

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