Ward Kimball

Known for Visual EffectsBorn 1914-03-04Died 2002-07-08Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

While Kimball was a brilliant draftsman, he preferred to work on comical characters rather than realistic human designs. Animating came easily to him and he was constantly looking to do things differently. Because of this, Walt Disney called Ward a genius in the book The Story Of Walt Disney. While there were many talented animators at Disney, Ward's efforts stand out as especially unique.Kimball created several classic Disney characters including the Crows in Dumbo; Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland; the Mice and Lucifer the Cat from Cinderella; and Jiminy Cricket fromPinocchio. He also animated the famous "Three Caballeros" musical number from the Disney film of the same name.In 1953, Kimball became a director and was responsible for the Academy Award-winning short Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, and three Disney television shows about outer space that put the United States into the space program. He received anAcademy Award for the short animated cartoon It's Tough to Be a Bird.Ward Kimball was profiled by the Academy Award-winning producer Jerry Fairbanks in his Paramount Pictures film short series Unusual Occupations. This 35mm Magnacolor film short was released theatrically in 1944 and focused on Kimball's backyard railroad and full sized locomotive.Kimball was also a jazz trombonist. He founded and led the seven-piece Dixieland band Firehouse Five Plus Two, in which he played trombone. The band made at least 13 LP records and toured clubs, college campuses and jazz festivals from the 1940s to early 1970s. Kimball once said that Walt Disney permitted the second career as long as it did not interfere with his animation work.Kimball continued to work at Disney up until the early 1970s, working on the Disney anthology television series, being one of the writers for Babes in Toyland, creating animation for Mary Poppins, directing the animation for Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and working on titles for feature films such as The Adventures Of Bullwhip Griffin and Million Dollar Duck. His last staff work for Disney was producing and directing the Disney TV show The Mouse Factory. He continued to do various projects on his own, even returning to Disney to do some publicity tours. Additionally, Kimball worked on an attraction for Disney's EPCOT Center called The World Of Motion.Read more

Movies & web series

From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men

From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella

The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show

Mars and Beyond

Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6

The Mouse Factory

A Wish Came True: The Making of 'Pinocchio'

The Fantasia Legacy: The Concert Feature

Dad... Can I Borrow the Car?

The Pixar Story

Man and the Moon

The Disneyland Story

Apollo: Missions to the Moon

The Wonderful World of Disney

The Story Behind Walt Disney's 'Fun and Fancy Free'

Waking Sleeping Beauty

Mickey: The Story of a Mouse

Mary Poppins

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Disneyland '59

Operation Wonderland

Fantasia

Peter Pan

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Alice in Wonderland

Eyes in Outer Space

Cinderella

Chicken Little

Pinocchio

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Hockey Homicide

Man in Space

How to Play Baseball

Dumbo

Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi

One Hour in Wonderland

Peter and the Wolf

The Wizard of Speed and Time

Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom

Victory Vehicles

Ferdinand the Bull

The Autograph Hound

It's Tough to Be a Bird

The Reluctant Dragon

Pluto's Judgement Day

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The Tortoise and the Hare

The Wise Little Hen