Don Bluth
| Don Bluth | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Donald Virgil Bluth September 13, 1937 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University |
| Occupation | Film Director, producer Co-founder of Sullivan Bluth Studios and Fox Animation Studios |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Known for | Various animation work with Walt Disney Animation Studios and other companies |
Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth (born September 13, 1937) is an American animator, film director, producer, writer, production designer, video game designer, and animation instructor who is known for directing animated films, such as The Secret of NIMH (1982), An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), and Anastasia (1997), and for his involvement in the LaserDisc game Dragon's Lair (1983). He is also known for competing with former employer Walt Disney Productions during the years leading up to the films that would make up the Disney Renaissance. He is the older brother of late illustrator, Toby Bluth.
Bluth was born in El Paso, Texas, the son of Emaline (née Pratt) and Virgil Ronceal Bluth. His great-grandfather was Helaman Pratt, an early leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is of Swedish, English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent.
As a child in El Paso, he rode his horse to the town movie theater to watch Disney films; Bluth said later, "then I'd go home and copy every Disney comic book I could find". At the age of six, his family moved to Payson, Utah where he lived on a family farm. Bluth has stated that he and his siblings do not have much communication with each other as adults. In 1954, his family moved to Santa Monica, California, where he attended part of his final year of high school before returning to Utah and graduating from Springville High School. Bluth attended Brigham Young University in Utah for one year and after got a job at The Walt Disney Company. He started in 1955 as an assistant to John Lounsbery for Sleeping Beauty. In 1957 Bluth left Disney only two years after being hired. Afterward, Bluth spent two and a half years in Argentina on a mission for the LDS Church. He returned to the United States where he opened the Bluth Brothers Theater with his younger brother Fred, though he occasionally worked for Disney.
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