Ollie Johnston facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ollie Johnston
Johnston in 1989
Born	Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. (1912-10-31)October 31, 1912 Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Died	April 14, 2008(2008-04-14) (aged 95) Sequim, Washington, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	Oliver M. Johnston, Jr. Oliver M. Johnston Oliver Johnston
Alma mater	Stanford University University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Animator
Years active	1934–2004 1935–1981 (at Disney) 1982–1993 (book author)
Known for	One of Disney's Nine Old Men
Spouse(s)	Marie E. Johnston ​ ​ (m. 1943; died 2005)​
Children	2

Oliver "Ollie" Martin Johnston Jr. (born October 31, 1912 – died April 14, 2008) was a famous American animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, a group of nine main animators who worked closely with Walt Disney. Ollie was the last of these "Nine Old Men" to pass away.

The Walt Disney Company honored him with the Disney Legend Award in 1989. Later, in 2005, his amazing work was recognized with the National Medal of Arts.

Ollie's Animation Career

Ollie Johnston worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios from 1934 to 1978. He became a lead animator starting with the movie Pinocchio, which came out in 1940.

He helped create many classic Disney animated films. These include Fantasia and Bambi. His last big project for Disney was The Rescuers. In this movie, he was even drawn as one of the characters, a cat named Rufus! The very last film he worked on was The Fox and the Hound.

Ollie helped bring many well-known characters to life. Some of these are Mr. Smee from Peter Pan, the mean Stepsisters in Cinderella, and Prince John from Robin Hood. He also worked with his good friend, animator Frank Thomas. Together, they created characters like Ichabod Crane in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and Sir Hiss in Robin Hood.

Books and Documentaries

Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas wrote an important book called Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. This book teaches about the 12 basic principles of animation. These principles are key rules that animators use to make characters move in a believable way. The book helped make sure that the special animation techniques developed at Disney were remembered and passed on.

Their friendship was so strong that Frank's son, Theodore Thomas, made a documentary about them called Frank and Ollie. In 2012, Theodore also made another documentary, Growing up with Nine Old Men. This film was included with the special edition DVD of Peter Pan.

Ollie's Life Outside of Work

Ollie Johnston on his backyard railroad in 1993.

Ollie Johnston was born in Palo Alto, California. His father, Oliver, was a professor at Stanford University. Ollie went to Palo Alto High School and then to Stanford. There, he met Frank Thomas, and they became lifelong friends. Ollie later studied art at the Chouinard Art Institute.

In 1943, Ollie married Marie Worthey, who also worked at Disney as an ink and paint artist. Marie passed away in 2005.

His Love for Trains

Ollie had a lifelong passion for live steam trains. Starting in 1949, he built a miniature backyard railroad at his home in La Cañada Flintridge, California. It was called the La Cañada Valley Railroad. He had three small, working train engines that were 1:12 scale. These engines are now owned by his sons.

Ollie's backyard railroad actually inspired Walt Disney to build his own miniature railroad! This was the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, which then led to the famous railroad at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Ollie also helped start the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society.

In the 1960s, Ollie bought and fixed up a full-size, narrow gauge steam locomotive built in 1901. He named it the Marie E. after his wife. He even built a special track for it at his vacation home in Julian, California.

In 2002, the Marie E. train was sold to John Lasseter, a famous director from Pixar Studios. In 2005, Lasseter arranged for the Marie E. to run on the Disneyland Railroad for a special event honoring Ollie. It was the first time an outside train was allowed to run at a Disney Resort! The Marie E. still runs today on the Justi Creek Railway, which is at Lasseter's family winery.

Later Years and Tributes

Ollie Johnston was part of the advisory board for the National Student Film Institute in the 1980s and 90s. He often presented awards at their film festivals.

The director Brad Bird honored Ollie Johnston in two of his animated films. Ollie had a small animated appearance in the 2004 Pixar movie The Incredibles. He also had a cameo in Bird's 1999 film The Iron Giant, where he played a train engineer. Both of these cameos also included Frank Thomas.

On November 10, 2005, Ollie Johnston received the important National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush.

Ollie Johnston passed away on April 14, 2008, at the age of 95. He was the last of Disney's "Nine Old Men" to leave us.

Ollie's Filmography Highlights

Ollie Johnston worked on many animated films and shorts. Here are some of the most well-known ones:

Books Written by Ollie Johnston

Ollie Johnston co-wrote several books, mostly about Disney animation:

• Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life (1981)
• Too Funny for Words: Disney's Greatest Sight Gags
• Walt Disney's Bambi—the Story and the Film
• The Disney Villain

See Also

In Spanish: Ollie Johnston para niños

• Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts