Animators

Walt Disney is considered to be the forerunner of the American animation industry. He has won 22 Oscars and holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual as a film producer. His The Walt Disney Company‍ has produced many successful animation films. He later established amusement theme park, Disneyland, in 1955, which has since grown manifold.

Seth MacFarlane is best known as the creator of animated television series Family Guy and American Dad. He won many awards for Family Guy, including couple of Emmys. He also created and starred in the sci-fi comedy-drama television series The Orville. He’s worked in films too and acted in and directed Ted and Ted 2. He is also an accomplished singer.

Considered one of the most prominent filmmakers in the history of animated films, Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki has gained worldwide acclaim as a maker of animated films and a masterful storyteller. Miyazaki has served as an inspiration to several world-renowned animators and directors, including James Cameron and Wes Anderson.

Jim Henson was an American animator, puppeteer, cartoonist, inventor, actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, and composer. He is credited with creating The Muppets, an ensemble cast of puppet characters, for which he achieved worldwide popularity. He is also credited with co-founding Muppets, Inc. in 1958, which eventually became The Jim Henson Company. In 2011, Jim Henson was named a Disney Legend.

Joseph Barbera was an American animator, cartoon artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is credited with co-producing Tom and Jerry along with William Hanna while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Barbera is also credited with co-founding the popular animation studio Hanna-Barbera which produced world-renowned programs like Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, and The Smurfs. Hanna-Barbera's shows have been translated into over 28 languages.

Ub Iwerks was an American cartoonist, animator, inventor, character designer, and special effects technician. He is credited with designing such popular characters as Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Apart from being honored with several Academy Awards for his work, Iwerks was also named a Disney Legend. The Ub Iwerks Award for Technical Achievement is named in his honor.

Masaaki Yuasa is a critically acclaimed Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter. He is the co-founder of Science SARU, a Japanese animation studio. He began his career as an animator before moving into directing. Famous for his idiosyncratic art style, he is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon. 

Gorō Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter. The son of a prominent animator, he consciously decided not to follow in his father’s footsteps and became a landscape architect. Later on, he did enter the film business with the anime epic fantasy film, Tales from Earthsea, his directorial debut. He also served as the screenwriter on this project. 

German-American abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter Oskar Fischinger is most-noted for creating abstract musical animation decades before development of computer graphics. Among the 50 short films he made, the short animated film Motion Painting No. 1 is listed on the United States National Film Registry. He also created special effects for the German sci-fi silent film Woman in the Moon.

Bill Melendez was a character animator, voice actor, and film director. He is best known for working on the Peanuts animated specials. He began working for Disney in 1935. In an extensive career spanning over six decades, he won six Primetime Emmy Awards. He also had five Grammy Award nominations and one Academy Award nomination.