Wolfgang Reitherman initially wanted to work as a watercolorist, but Walt Disney suggested he should be an animator.
12 Facts About Wolfgang Reitherman
2.
Wolfgang Reitherman was hired at Walt Disney Productions on May 21,1933, and his first project was working as an animator on the Silly Symphonies cartoon, Funny Little Bunnies.
3.
Wolfgang Reitherman continued to work on a number of Disney shorts, including The Band Concert, Music Land, and Elmer Elephant.
4.
In 1942, Wolfgang Reitherman had left the Disney studios to serve in World War II for the United States Army Air Forces, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross after serving in Africa, China, India, and the South Pacific.
5.
Wolfgang Reitherman was discharged in February 1946, having earned the rank of Major.
6.
Wolfgang Reitherman rejoined the studio in April 1947, where he animated the Headless Horseman chase in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow section in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad.
7.
Wolfgang Reitherman next directed the "Twilight Bark" sequence for One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
8.
Wolfgang Reitherman would continue to direct The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, and The Rescuers.
9.
Floyd Norman, an animator who had worked under Wolfgang Reitherman, explained it was actually easier and less time-consuming for character animators to create original drawings.
10.
Wolfgang Reitherman later moved on to several undeveloped animation projects such as Catfish Bend based on the book series by Ben Lucien Burman, and Musicana, a follow-up project to Fantasia in which he co-developed with artist Mel Shaw.
11.
Wolfgang Reitherman died in a single-car accident near his Burbank, California home on May 22,1985.
12.
Wolfgang Reitherman was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 1989.