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

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 ...

-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. The 44th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Wa ...

'' 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 Academy ...

Career

Walker was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and raised in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, 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 of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded in ...

. 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 th ...

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 from ...

.'' Walker joined

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 fro ...

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 animated short films produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation from 1989 to 1993. The anthology features Roger Rabbit, the animated protagonist from ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', being enlisted the task o ...

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

'' (1990), ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'' (1991), ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

'' (1992), ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

'' (1994), ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

'' (1998), and ''

Lilo & Stitch ''Lilo & Stitch'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 42nd Disney animated feature film, it was written and directed by Chris Sande ...

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

References

External links

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