Don Hahn
Don Hahn | |
|---|---|
 Hahn in 2012 | |
| Born | Donald Paul Hahn November 26, 1955 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse | Denise Meara-Hahn (1987–present) |
Donald Paul Hahn(born November 26, 1955) is an American film producer who is credited with producing some of the most successful animated films in recent history, including Disney’sBeauty and the Beast(the first out of three animated films to be nominated for the Academy Award forBest Picture) andThe Lion King.
Hahn is currently executive producer ofDisneynaturefilms, and owns his own film production company, Stone Circle Pictures.
Early life[edit]
Hahn was born inChicago,Illinois.His father was aLutheranminister. When Hahn was three, his family moved toBellflower, California,where he went to school and shot his first animated shorts in the high school film club. His family then moved toBurbank, California,when he was a teenager. He graduated fromNorth Hollywood High School(where he was a drum major) in 1973, went on to study music atLos Angeles Valley College,and majored in Music and minored in fine art atCalifornia State University Northridge.At both colleges, he was also a drum major as he also was in theRoyal Cavaliers Youth BandofVan Nuys,California. He was a percussionist in theLos Angeles Junior Philharmonic Orchestra.He worked as a drum head tester for Remo Inc. and was the percussion instructor atNotre Dame High Schoolto put himself through college.
Career[edit]
He began his career in animation working forDisney LegendWolfgang Reithermanas an assistant director onThe Fox and the Hound.He worked closely with directorDon Bluthon the production ofPete's Dragonand even worked in Bluth's garage on the animated shortBanjo the Woodpile Cat.He later became production manager ofThe Black Cauldron(1985) andThe Great Mouse Detectivebefore moving on as an associate producer of Disney/Amblin'sWho Framed Roger Rabbit(1988).
In 1989, Hahn made his first mark as producer for Disney andAmblin Entertainment's first Roger Rabbit short,Tummy Trouble,producing along withSteven Spielberg,Kathleen Kennedy,andFrank Marshall.He then became the producer for the benchmark animated feature, 1991'sBeauty and the Beast,which was the first animated film to be nominated for theOscar for Best Picture.His next production, 1994'sThe Lion King,set worldwide box office records for an animated film and quickly became the highest grossing traditionally animated film in history. In 1996 he producedThe Hunchback of Notre Dame,and in 2000 he was an executive producer onThe Emperor's New Groove.
Hahn directedSteve Martin,James Earl Jones,Quincy Jones,Itzhak Perlman,andAngela Lansburyin the host sequences ofFantasia 2000.The next year in 2001,Atlantis: The Lost Empirewas released for which he was producer.Atlantisperformed poorly at the box office, even lower than his previous films. In 2003, Hahn teamed up withLion Kingco-directorRob Minkoffto produceThe Haunted MansionstarringEddie Murphy,making it Hahn's first live-action film to produce.
Later works[edit]
He also produced the Oscar-nominated animated shortLorenzo(2004).
In 2006, Hahn was interim head of Disney's animation division during its successful merger withPixar.Hahn received his secondAcademy Awardnomination that same year in the category of Best Animated Short forThe Little Match Girl,an adaptation of the classicHans Christian Andersentale which was originally intended for inclusion in a version ofFantasia.
Don was Executive Producer for the landmark nature film "Earth"the premiere film project from theDisneynaturefilm label. In 2010 he once again served as Executive Producer on “Oceans"the epic documentary on the seas, and 2011's"African Cats"from Disneynature.[1]
Three of his films have been adapted into stage musicals:Beauty and the Beast,The Lion KingandThe Hunchback of Notre Dame.In all, his films have been nominated for 18 Academy Awards.
Hahn produced the remake of Tim Burton's Oscar-nominatedFrankenweenie.
At the 2015D23 Expo,which marked the 20th anniversary ofThe Lion King,it was announced that a new film titledThe Lion Guard: Return of the Roarwould be released. Hahn was introduced to the crowd, and told them all the history of theLion Kingfranchise and informed the audience that the new film as well as its follow up series will continue the original film's story, before introducing theexecutive producerof the new film;Ford Riley.[2]
Documentaries[edit]
Waking Sleeping Beautyis Don Hahn's feature directorial debut. The film is the true story of the perfect storm of people and circumstances that led to the animation renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s. The film had its world premiere at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival, and won the audience award at the Hampton's Film Festival. It offers a candid perspective of what happened in the creative ranks set against the dynamic tensions among the top leadership,Michael Eisner,Jeffrey KatzenbergandRoy E. Disney.
Hand Heldis Hahn's second documentary feature. When Hahn took a year sabbatical from his job at Disney, he set out to make a very personal film about photographer Mike Carroll, one of the first photojournalists to uncover the pediatric AIDS epidemic in post communist eastern Europe. Hahn filmed extensively in Bucharest, Transylvania, and in Carroll's home town of Boston.[3]
Christmas With Walt Disney(2009) is a feature documentary commissioned by theWalt Disney Family Museumand directed by Hahn. The film chronicles Disney's life as husband, father, and film maker centered around the holidays. Hahn directed the film, narrated byWalt Disney's daughterDiane Disney Miller.The film runs every holiday season at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.[4]
Hahn serves as executive producer of numerousDisneynaturedocumentaries such asEarth,Oceans,andAfrican Catsall of which placed in the top five nature movies of all time. He is Executive Producer on the Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield directedChimpanzee.
Books[edit]
In January 1999, Hyperion Books published Don's book on creativity called "Dancing Corndogs in the Night." The best selling book is a case study of the human creative spirit.[5]Don has also written three books on Animation (one of which is "Animation Magic" from Disney Press).[6]
Don's book "Alchemy of Animation" became an extremely popular book on the process of making an animated film. The text covered traditional hand drawn animation as well as 3D digital animation, visual effects and stop motion animation.[7]Animation World Networkwrote that "Whether you're a veteran story artist, or you're trying to land your first studio job as an in-betweener, or you're delivering coffee and donuts to the higher-ups or if you're just a fan of animation, you'll want to add this to your bookshelf."[8]
Early in his career, Hahn set up and managed the Disney School of Animation, an internal training program for a generation of young artists coming up within the Disney Studio animation department. The program was mentored by veteran animators Eric Larson and Walt Stanchfield. In the spring of 2009 Focal Press released the landmark book "Drawn to Life" byWalt Stanchfieldwhich Don edited. "It was a dream project for me to bring the complete works of Walt to print," said Hahn. "Stanchfield was a brilliant teacher, and my personal mentor, and it's a thrill to be able to publish his work to inspire generations to come."[9]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Small One(Short) | Production Assistant |
| 1981 | The Fox and the Hound | Assistant Director |
| 1983 | Mickey's Christmas Carol(Short) | Production Assistant |
| 1985 | The Black Cauldron | Production Manager |
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Associate Producer |
| 1989 | Tummy Trouble(Short) | Producer |
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast | Producer |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Producer |
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Producer |
| Quack Pack(TV Series) | Producer -1 Episode | |
| 2000 | Fantasia 2000 | Director / Writer -Host Sequences |
| The Emperor's New Groove | Executive Producer | |
| 2001 | Atlantis: The Lost Empire | Producer |
| 2003 | The Haunted Mansion | Producer |
| 2004 | Home on the Range | Special Thanks |
| Lorenzo(Short) | Executive Producer | |
| One by One(Video short) | Producer | |
| 2006 | The Little Matchgirl(Short) | Producer |
| 2007 | Meet the Robinsons | Special Thanks: Executive Team |
| Earth(Documentary) | Executive Producer | |
| 2008 | Bolt | Special Thanks |
| 2009 | Waking Sleeping Beauty(Documentary) | Director / Producer / Narrator |
| 2010 | Oceans(Documentary) | Executive Producer |
| Hand Held(Documentary) | Producer / Director | |
| 2011 | African Cats(Documentary) | Executive Producer |
| 2012 | Chimpanzee(Documentary) | Executive Producer / Written by |
| High Ground(Documentary) | Producer / Writer | |
| Frankenweenie | Executive Producer | |
| 2014 | Maleficent | Executive Producer |
| 2017 | Beauty and the Beast | Executive Producer |
| 2018 | Howard | Writer/Director |
| 2019 | Wonder Park | Executive Producer |
| The Lion King | Special Thanks |
Awards and nominations[edit]
- 1991 – NominatedBest Picture–Beauty and the Beast[10][11]
- 2006 – NominatedBest Animated Short Film–The Little Match Girl[12]
- 1991 WinnerBest Picture Musical or Comedy–Beauty and the Beast[13]
- 1994 WinnerBest Picture Musical or Comedy–The Lion King[14]
National Board of Review Awards
- 1991 Best Animated FilmBeauty and the Beast
- 1991 WinnerBest Animated Feature–Beauty and the Beast
- 1994 WinnerBest Animated Feature–The Lion King
- 2011 Winner Special Award –Waking Sleeping Beauty
- 2016June Foray Awardrecipient in recognition of a significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation.[15]
California State University Northridge
- 2011 Honorary Alumni of the Year
- 2011 Honorary Doctorate
Laguna College of Art and Design
- 2012 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
- 2017 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
- 2022 honoree[16]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Tim Burton's FRANKENWEENIE is set to begin Stop Motion Photography shortly!".Aint It Cool News.
- ^"THE LION GUARD - Disney D23 Expo Presentation: Sneak Peek Theme Song Performance by Disney News from Stitch Kingdom on YouTube".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2021.
- ^"Bleak picture changing in Romania. Pepperell photographer laid groundwork for relief program".Worcester Telegram & Gazette.February 24, 2010. Archived fromthe originalon June 11, 2021.RetrievedJuly 13,2011.
- ^"Double Feature: Christmas with Walt Disney (2009) & Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) | The Walt Disney Family Museum".waltdisney.org.
- ^"Dancing Corn Dogs in the Night (1999) – Don Hahn".
- ^"Animation Magic (1996) – Don Hahn".
- ^"The Alchemy of Animation (2008) – Don Hahn".
- ^"Book Review: 'The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age'".Animation World Network.
- ^"Drawn to Life Volume One (2009) – Don Hahn".
- ^"The 64th Academy Awards | 1992".Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ^"The Silence of the Lambs Wins Best Picture: 1992 Oscars".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2021.
- ^"The 79th Academy Awards | 2007".Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ^"Winners & Nominees 1992".goldenglobes.Archived fromthe originalon January 19, 2018.RetrievedAugust 12,2020.
- ^"Winners & Nominees 1995".goldenglobes.Archived fromthe originalon December 9, 2017.RetrievedAugust 12,2020.
- ^Annie Awards - About The June Foray Award
- ^D23 (August 19, 2022)."JUST ANNOUNCED: D23 Expo to Kick off With Epic Opening Ceremony That Includes Disney Legends Awards".RetrievedAugust 19,2022.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Don HahnatIMDb
- Drawn to Life by Walt Stanchfield and Don Hahn
- Q&A With Don Hahn, Director of Waking Sleeping Beauty
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1955 births
- American film producers
- Living people
- Businesspeople from Chicago
- American animated film producers
- Film directors from Illinois
- Film producers from Illinois
- Walt Disney Animation Studios people
- Collage filmmakers
- California State University, Northridge alumni
- Golden Globe Award-winning producers
- North Hollywood High School alumni
- Disney Legends