Savannah College of Art and Design Receives Major Gift From Animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
ANIM8Rfsk
Bluth and Gary Goldman
SAVANNAH, Ga., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- With the signing of a major gift
agreement, the Savannah College of Art and Design recently was designated as
the recipient of a significant collection of more than 1 million pieces of
art including animation cels, drawings and sketches by producer, director
and animator Don Bluth and his artistic partner Gary Goldman.
The collection, valued in the millions, includes original animation art
from Bluth and Goldman's 30-year creative partnership, including art from
the well-known animated classics "The Secret of N.I.M.H." (1982), "An
American Tail" (1986) and "All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989)," and their classic
video games "Dragon's Lair" (1983) and "Space Ace" (1983).
"Don Bluth and Gary Goldman are icons in the animation world," said SCAD
Dean of the School of Film and Digital Media Peter Weishar. "This collection
will enhance academic studies and understanding and inspire new creative
endeavors for the more than 1,750 students in the School of Film and Digital
Media. Students studying animation, broadcast design, cinema studies,
interactive design and game development, and other disciplines will benefit
from this magnificent gift. We are very fortunate and grateful to Don Bluth
and Gary Goldman."
The Savannah College of Art and Design's reputation and growth in the
School of Film and Digital Media led Bluth and Goldman to donate the
collection to the college. "We are very familiar with SCAD's recent
accomplishments in the field of animation and their large animation student
population," said Goldman. "We felt that having access to our archive of
animation art would be of value to SCAD animation students and faculty."
Goldman went on to say that he and Bluth felt that students would
benefit from studying the collection whether seeking a career in traditional
or computer-generated animation. "A thorough knowledge of traditional or
classical animation and its history will help teach new artists in the field
of animation," he said. "Having access to the original art for
storyboarding, character and FX animation, layout and background painting,
will enable the students to see the analyzation and research involved to
bring animated characters and environmental phenomena to life."
Spanning 50 years, Bluth's illustrious career includes work with studio
giants such as Walt Disney Productions and 20th Century Fox Film
Corporation. Bluth has distributed his independent films through MGM/UA,
Universal Pictures, Warner Bros and The Samuel Goldwyn Company all produced
at his own studio, Don Bluth Entertainment. Originally an English literature
major at Brigham Young University, Bluth auspiciously began his career in
1955 as an assistant animator to John Lounsbery on Walt Disney's "Sleeping
Beauty" (1959).
Bluth has worked in all categories of traditional animation, from mixing
colors for ink and paint to writing scripts, directing scenes and even
composing songs. His career took off at Disney, where he served as an
animator for "Robin Hood" (1973), directing animator for "Winnie the Pooh
and Tigger Too" (1974) and "The Rescuers" (1976), director of animation for
"Pete's Dragon" (1977), and producer and director for "The Small One"
(1978).
Bluth's name came to the public's attention in 1979 when he resigned his
position at Walt Disney Productions along with long-time partners and fellow
animators Goldman and John Pomeroy to start Don Bluth Productions. Since
that time, Bluth has written, directed, produced and designed characters and
environments for 12 films, one featurette, the two-minute animated sequence
in the film "Xanadu," and three laser disc video games. Along with "The
Secret of N.I.M.H.," "An American Tail" and "All Dogs Go To Heaven," his
noteworthy films include "The Land Before Time" (1988) and "Thumbelina"
(1994). Working with Fox Animation Studios, Bluth also created "Anastasia"
(1997), "Bartok the Magnificent" (1999) and "Titan A.E." (2000). His video
games include the well- known "Dragon's Lair" (1983), "Space Ace" (1983) and
"Dragon's Lair II: A Time Warp" (1989).
Bluth's partner, Goldman began his career in 1972 on the animated motion
picture "Robin Hood" as a rough assistant animator to supervising animator
Frank Thomas. Goldman's career continued as an animator on Disney's "Winnie
the Pooh and Tigger Too" (1974) and "The Rescuers" (1976), and as directing
animator on "Pete's Dragon" (1977) and "The Small One" (1978).
Goldman worked as a directing animator, producer, co-director and
supervised post-production on all of their independent films including "The
Secret of N.I.M.H.," "Dragon's Lair," "Space Ace," "An American Tail,"
"Dragon's Lair II: A Time Warp," "The Land Before Time," "All Dogs Go To
Heaven," "Thumbelina," "Anastasia," "Bartok the Magnificent" and "Titan
A.E." Goldman's last three films were produced in Phoenix, Ariz., for Fox
Animation Studios, which Goldman co-helmed the establishment of in 1994 at
the invitation of 20th Century Fox executives Bill Mechanic and Peter
Chernin.
The collection is currently being assessed and cataloged and permanent
plans for the collection will be announced.
On Saturday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m. SCAD will honor Bluth and Goldman at the
Savannah Film Festival with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Animation.
SOURCE Savannah College of Art and Design