Floyd Norman was the primary Black animator employed by the Walt Disney Animation Studios, a legacy that may stay cemented in time. He was featured in a documentary, “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life” in 2016.
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Norman was born June 22, 1935 in Santa Barbara, Calif., a far cry from the Jim Crow South that he skilled later as a boy. With out the overt racism that was prevalent all through a lot of America on the time, Norman grew up in a comparatively sheltered atmosphere which fueled his creativeness.
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In 1956, Norman acquired a giant break in his profession when Disney employed him as a part-time animator when he was simply 21. Previous to this, Norman labored as a cartoonist’s assistant. The primary movie Norman labored on was “Sleeping Magnificence,” launched in 1959. Different early works that employed Norman’s experience was the unique “Jungle E book,” “101 Dalmatians” and different smaller movies.
In previous interviews, Norman defended the notoriously choosy and hands-on Disney, saying that they by no means as soon as fretted about Norman’s race. The studio was particularly affected person with Norman, who initially utilized to work there contemporary out of highschool. The corporate plucked Norman out of the Artwork Middle Faculty of Design and the remaining was historical past.
In 1966, Norman and his associate Ron Sullivan fashioned Vignette Movies and labored on a sequence of tasks together with the unique 1969 “Fats Albert” particular, the animated Soul Prepare brand and plenty of different tasks. The movie studio was the among the many first to provide items on Black historical past for kids. In 1999, Norman and Sullivan created the web site, Afro Youngsters.
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Norman returned to the studio within the ’70’s, however was requested to resign on the flip of the century. Norman’s second spouse, Adrienne Brown-Norman, continues to be a Disney worker and Norman drives her into work on a regular basis as he has for the previous 15 years.
This 12 months, Norman was added to the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences’ training and outreach committee. He’s additionally the recipient of the 2002 Winsor McCay Award and the 2007 Disney Legend award, amongst different honors.
In accordance with opinions of the documentary, the movie highlights the troubles Norman’s work obsession brought about his first marriage and their kids. The documentary, “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life,” may be seen on demand on most streaming websites and on Blu-Ray.
Norman paved the way in which for future Black Disney animators like Bruce Smith who did “‘The Princess and the Frog” and is the creator of “The Proud Household.”
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