Ward Kimball
Visual Effects
Born 1914-03-04
Died 2002-07-08
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
83 credits
Read biography
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.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 83
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Cinderella
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Pinocchio
Mary Poppins
Dumbo
Fantasia
The Wonderful World of Disney
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Fun and Fancy Free
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
The Three Caballeros
Melody Time
The Pixar Story
Mickey: The Story of a Mouse
Ferdinand the Bull
The Reluctant Dragon
Babes in Toyland
Waking Sleeping Beauty
The Tortoise and the Hare
Apollo: Missions to the Moon
Elmer Elephant
The Wise Little Hen
Peter and the Wolf
Toby Tortoise Returns
The Mouse Factory
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6
Disneyland '59
The Goddess of Spring
How to Play Baseball
The Little Whirlwind
Mars and Beyond
Man in Space
Woodland Café
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toon Town
Melody
More Kittens
Chicken Little
Willie the Operatic Whale
Pluto's Judgement Day
The Wizard of Speed and Time
Scrooge McDuck and Money
The Autograph Hound
The Story Behind Walt Disney's 'Fun and Fancy Free'
The Hot Choc-late Soldiers
Man and the Moon
Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi
The Disneyland Story
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood
It's Tough to Be a Bird
The Fantasia Legacy: The Concert Feature
The Spirit of '43
Dad... Can I Borrow the Car?
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
From Fantasia to Fantasyland
The Pelican and the Snipe
One Hour in Wonderland
Pecos Bill
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