William Barnard Justice (February 9, 1914February 10, 2011) was an animator and engineer for 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 October ...

. He was a graduate of the

Herron School of Art and Design Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public art school at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional art school and has been accredite ...

in Indianapolis. Justice joined Walt Disney Studios as an animator in 1937 and worked on such features as '' Fantasia'', ''

The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on ...

'', '' Alice in Wonderland'', and ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

''. He is arguably best known as the animator of the rabbit Thumper from ''

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 ...

'' and chipmunks

Chip 'n Dale Chip and Dale (also spelled Chip 'n' Dale) is a cartoon duo of anthropomorphic chipmunks created in 1943 by The Walt Disney Company. Concept The characters were first drawn by Bill Justice and introduced in the 1943 Pluto short '' Private ...

. He was the director of '' The Truth About Mother Goose'', ''Noah's Ark'', and '' A Symposium On Popular Songs'', all of which were nominated for

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

s as Best Short Subject, Cartoon. In total, Justice worked on 57 shorts and 19 features. In 1960, Justice started redesigning and making new Disney character costumes for Disneyland, and later for the other Disney parks and resorts. In 1965, Justice joined Walt Disney Imagineering, where he programmed figures for several Disney attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean, the

Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displa ...

and

Country Bear Jamboree The Country Bear Jamboree is an attraction in the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort and at Tokyo Disneyland in the Tokyo Disney Resort. The attraction also existed at Disneyland Park. All versions of the attraction are simi ...

Retirement & Awarded As A Disney Legend

Justice retired from the Disney Company in 1979 and was named a

Disney Legend 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 speci ...

in 1996. He is the author of ''Justice for Disney'', which chronicles his years with the company.

Death

Justice died of natural causes at a nursing home in Santa Monica, California, one day after his 97th birthday.

References

External links

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Listing from Disney LegendsListing from LaughingPlace.comBiography from Bob RichardsDisney Legend Bill Justice has died at age 97, RIP
1914 births 2011 deaths Animators from Ohio Walt Disney Animation Studios people Disney imagineers Artists from Dayton, Ohio Writers from California Writers from Dayton, Ohio Herron School of Art and Design alumni {{US-animator-stub

Retirement & Awarded As A Disney Legend

Death

References

Further reading

External links