Glen Keane
Encyclopedia
Glen Keane is an American
animator, author, illustrator and director. Keane is best known for his character animation at Walt Disney Studios for feature films including The Little Mermaid
, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast
, Tarzan
, and Tangled. Keane received the 1992 Annie Award
for character animation and the 2007 Winsor McCay Award
for lifetime contribution to the field of animation.
, the son of cartoonist Bil Keane
, creator of the The Family Circus
, and Thelma "Thel" Carne Keane
. He was raised in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Keane's interest in art developed as a child by observing his father's work as a cartoonist. (Glen's younger self is represented in his father's comic strip as the character of "Billy"). In his early attempts to draw, his dad gave him a copy of Burne Hogarth
's Dynamic Anatomy, and instructed him to analyze the body forms and the creative approach to life drawing. After high school, Glen applied to the California Institute of the Arts
-School of Art, opting out of accepting a football scholarship from another college. In a lucky twist of fate, his application was accidentally sent to the Program in Experimental Animation (then called Film Graphics), where he was mentored under the now-renowned animation teacher Jules Engel
.
Keane left CalArts in 1974 and joined Disney the same year. His debut work, which was created over a 3-year period, was featured in The Rescuers
, for which he was an animator for the characters of Bernard and Penny, alongside the famed Ollie Johnston
. In 1975, during the production of his debut film, Keane married Linda Hesselroth, and they are the parents of design artist Claire Keane, and computer graphics artist Max Keane.
After "The Rescuers" was completed, Keane went on to animate Elliott the Dragon in Pete's Dragon
. Keane also animated the climactic bear showdown in The Fox and the Hound
. In 1982, after being inspired by the groundbreaking film Tron
, Keane collaborated with fellow animator John Lasseter
(Toy Story
, Toy Story 2
) on a 30-second test scene of Maurice Sendak
's Where the Wild Things Are
, which was optioned for them by Disney executive Tom Wilhite. The test integrated traditional character animation and computer-generated backgrounds (see YouTube), and, like Tron
, was a cooperation with MAGI
. It was also Disney's first experimentation with digital inked and painted characters. But, the project turned out to be too expensive, and the studio was unwilling to invest further in the planned featurette. The test for Where the Wild Things Are was revolutionary for its time, and a predecessor to the famous ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast
.
In 1983, Keane left Disney as a contracted employee and worked as a freelance artist. During this time, he worked on the character of Professor Ratigan in Disney's The Great Mouse Detective
. He also did some work on The Chipmunk Adventure
where he did the sequences of "Boys and Girls of Rock N' Roll" and "Getting Lucky". He returned to Disney to work on the characters of Fagin, Sykes and Georgette for Oliver & Company
. Keane rose to lead character animator, becoming one of the group sometimes referred to as the "Nine New Men". In this post he was responsible for animating some of Disney's most memorable characters in what has been referred to as the "New "Golden Age" of Disney Animation. Keane designed and animated the character of Ariel in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid
. Then the eagle Marahute in The Rescuers Down Under
. Subsequently, Keane worked as the supervising animator on the title characters for three Disney hit features: Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast
and Pocahontas
.
While living with his family in Paris, France for three years, Keane completed work on Disney's 1999 Tarzan
for which he drew the eponymous character. Keane then returned to Disney's Burbank studio as the lead animator for Long John Silver in Treasure Planet
. In 2003, Keane began work as the director of Disney's CGI animated film, Tangled (based on the Brothers Grimm
story Rapunzel
), which released in November 2010. In Tangled, Glen and his team hoped to bring the unique style and warmth of traditional cel animation to computer animation. In October 2008, due to some "non-life threatening health issues", Keane stepped back as director of Tangled, but remained the film's executive producer and an animating director.
In addition to his work as an animator
, Keane is the author
and illustrator
of a series of children's Bible
parable
books featuring Adam Raccoon and King Aren the Lion.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animator, author, illustrator and director. Keane is best known for his character animation at Walt Disney Studios for feature films including The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
, Tarzan
Tarzan (1999 film)
Tarzan is a 1999 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 18, 1999...
, and Tangled. Keane received the 1992 Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for character animation and the 2007 Winsor McCay Award
Winsor McCay Award
The Winsor McCay Award is given to individuals in recognition of lifetime or career contributions in animation. The award is presented at the annual Annie Awards, presented by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood...
for lifetime contribution to the field of animation.
Life and career
Keane was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the son of cartoonist Bil Keane
Bil Keane
William Aloysius Keane , better known as Bil Keane, was an American cartoonist. He is most notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus, which began its run in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Keane.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia,...
, creator of the The Family Circus
The Family Circus
The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from...
, and Thelma "Thel" Carne Keane
Thelma Keane
Thelma "Thel" Keane was the Australian-born American wife of The Family Circus newspaper cartoonist, Bil Keane...
. He was raised in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Keane's interest in art developed as a child by observing his father's work as a cartoonist. (Glen's younger self is represented in his father's comic strip as the character of "Billy"). In his early attempts to draw, his dad gave him a copy of Burne Hogarth
Burne Hogarth
Burne Hogarth was an American cartoonist, illustrator, educator, author and theoretician, best known for his pioneering work on the Tarzan newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books.-Biography:...
's Dynamic Anatomy, and instructed him to analyze the body forms and the creative approach to life drawing. After high school, Glen applied to the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
-School of Art, opting out of accepting a football scholarship from another college. In a lucky twist of fate, his application was accidentally sent to the Program in Experimental Animation (then called Film Graphics), where he was mentored under the now-renowned animation teacher Jules Engel
Jules Engel
Jules Engel was a Jewish-Hungarian American filmmaker, painter, sculptor, graphic artist, set designer, animator, film director, and teacher...
.
Keane left CalArts in 1974 and joined Disney the same year. His debut work, which was created over a 3-year period, was featured in The Rescuers
The Rescuers
The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
, for which he was an animator for the characters of Bernard and Penny, alongside the famed Ollie Johnston
Ollie Johnston
Oliver Martin Johnston, Jr. was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death. He was recognized by The Walt Disney Company with its Disney Legend Award in 1989...
. In 1975, during the production of his debut film, Keane married Linda Hesselroth, and they are the parents of design artist Claire Keane, and computer graphics artist Max Keane.
After "The Rescuers" was completed, Keane went on to animate Elliott the Dragon in Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical film from Walt Disney Productions and the first Disney film to be recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system...
. Keane also animated the climactic bear showdown in The Fox and the Hound
The Fox and the Hound (film)
The Fox and the Hound is a 1981 animated feature loosely based on the Daniel P. Mannix novel of the same name, produced by Walt Disney Productions and released in the United States on July 10, 1981...
. In 1982, after being inspired by the groundbreaking film Tron
Tron
-Film:*Tron , a franchise that began in 1982 with the Walt Disney Pictures film Tron** Tron , a 1982 science fiction film by Disney, starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan, Dan Shor and David Warner...
, Keane collaborated with fellow animator John Lasseter
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering....
(Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
, Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...
) on a 30-second test scene of Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...
's Where the Wild Things Are
Where The Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short in 1973 , a 1980 opera, and, in 2009, a live-action feature film...
, which was optioned for them by Disney executive Tom Wilhite. The test integrated traditional character animation and computer-generated backgrounds (see YouTube), and, like Tron
Tron
-Film:*Tron , a franchise that began in 1982 with the Walt Disney Pictures film Tron** Tron , a 1982 science fiction film by Disney, starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan, Dan Shor and David Warner...
, was a cooperation with MAGI
Mathematical Applications Group, Inc.
Mathematical Applications Group, Inc. was an early computer technology company founded in 1966 by Dr. Philip Mittelman, it was located in Elmsford, New York. It was one of four companies hired to create the CGI animation for the film Tron...
. It was also Disney's first experimentation with digital inked and painted characters. But, the project turned out to be too expensive, and the studio was unwilling to invest further in the planned featurette. The test for Where the Wild Things Are was revolutionary for its time, and a predecessor to the famous ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
.
In 1983, Keane left Disney as a contracted employee and worked as a freelance artist. During this time, he worked on the character of Professor Ratigan in Disney's The Great Mouse Detective
The Great Mouse Detective
The Great Mouse Detective is a 1986 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures...
. He also did some work on The Chipmunk Adventure
The Chipmunk Adventure
The Chipmunk Adventure is a 1987 American animated film featuring the characters from NBC's Saturday morning cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks. The Chipmunk Adventure was directed by Janice Karman from a screenplay by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr....
where he did the sequences of "Boys and Girls of Rock N' Roll" and "Getting Lucky". He returned to Disney to work on the characters of Fagin, Sykes and Georgette for Oliver & Company
Oliver & Company
Oliver & Company is a 1988 American animated film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated...
. Keane rose to lead character animator, becoming one of the group sometimes referred to as the "Nine New Men". In this post he was responsible for animating some of Disney's most memorable characters in what has been referred to as the "New "Golden Age" of Disney Animation. Keane designed and animated the character of Ariel in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
. Then the eagle Marahute in The Rescuers Down Under
The Rescuers Down Under
The Rescuers Down Under is a 1990 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990...
. Subsequently, Keane worked as the supervising animator on the title characters for three Disney hit features: Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
and Pocahontas
Pocahontas (1995 film)
Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
.
While living with his family in Paris, France for three years, Keane completed work on Disney's 1999 Tarzan
Tarzan (1999 film)
Tarzan is a 1999 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 18, 1999...
for which he drew the eponymous character. Keane then returned to Disney's Burbank studio as the lead animator for Long John Silver in Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet is a 2002 animated science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 27, 2002...
. In 2003, Keane began work as the director of Disney's CGI animated film, Tangled (based on the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
story Rapunzel
Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
), which released in November 2010. In Tangled, Glen and his team hoped to bring the unique style and warmth of traditional cel animation to computer animation. In October 2008, due to some "non-life threatening health issues", Keane stepped back as director of Tangled, but remained the film's executive producer and an animating director.
In addition to his work as an animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, Keane is the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
of a series of children's Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
books featuring Adam Raccoon and King Aren the Lion.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Credits | Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Star Trek: The Animated Series Star Trek: The Animated Series Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s... |
Layout artist | TV series by Filmation Studios | |
| 1977 | The Rescuers The Rescuers The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing... |
Character animator | Penny, Bernard | |
| 1977 | Pete's Dragon Pete's Dragon Pete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical film from Walt Disney Productions and the first Disney film to be recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system... |
Character animator | Elliot the Dragon | |
| 1979 | A Family Circus Christmas The Family Circus The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from... |
Animator/Models | ||
| 1981 | The Fox and the Hound | Supervising Animator | The Bear | |
| 1982 | A Family Circus Easter The Family Circus The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from... |
Models | ||
| 1983 | Mickey's Christmas Carol Mickey's Christmas Carol Mickey's Christmas Carol is a 1983 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company. It was directed and produced by Burny Mattinson... |
Animator | Willie the Giant | |
| 1985 | The Black Cauldron The Black Cauldron (film) The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and originally released to theatres on July 24, 1985... |
Character designer | Gurgi, Eilonwy | |
| 1986 | The Great Mouse Detective The Great Mouse Detective The Great Mouse Detective is a 1986 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures... |
Supervising Animator | Professor Ratigan | |
| 1987 | The Chipmunk Adventure The Chipmunk Adventure The Chipmunk Adventure is a 1987 American animated film featuring the characters from NBC's Saturday morning cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks. The Chipmunk Adventure was directed by Janice Karman from a screenplay by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr.... |
Animator Storyboard artist |
||
| 1988 | Oliver & Company Oliver & Company Oliver & Company is a 1988 American animated film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated... |
Supervising animator Character designer |
Sykes, Georgette, Fagin, | |
| 1989 | The Little Mermaid The Little Mermaid (1989 film) The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in... |
Supervising animator Character designer |
Ariel | |
| 1990 | The Rescuers Down Under The Rescuers Down Under The Rescuers Down Under is a 1990 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990... |
Supervising animator Character designer |
Marahute | |
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast (1991 film) Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period... |
Supervising animator | Beast | |
| 1992 | Aladdin | Supervising animator | Aladdin | |
| 1995 | Pocahontas Pocahontas (1995 film) Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures... |
Supervising animator Visual Development Story |
Pocahontas Pocahontas (Disney) Pocahontas is one of the main characters of Disney's 1995, thirty-third animated feature, Pocahontas, and its direct-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World... |
|
| 1999 | Tarzan Tarzan (1999 film) Tarzan is a 1999 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 18, 1999... |
Supervising animator Story |
Tarzan Tarzan Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer... |
|
| 2002 | Treasure Planet Treasure Planet Treasure Planet is a 2002 animated science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 27, 2002... |
Supervising animator | John Silver | |
| 2003 | Mickey's PhilharMagic Mickey's PhilharMagic Mickey's PhilharMagic is a 4-D film attraction found at the Magic Kingdom theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland and at Tokyo Disneyland. The film was directed by George Scribner, who is best known for directing Disney's 1988 animated film, Oliver and Company... |
Animator | Ariel | |
| 2010 | Tangled | Executive producer Animation director Story |
Rapunzel Rapunzel "Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698... |
|
External links
- Glen Keane lecture at CalArts on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- "The Art of Glen Keane" Blog
- Glen Keane interview for the Animation Podcast
- Interview with Glen Keane about 'Tangled', April 18, 2011