The news that William Tytla died on December 29th, 1968 marked the passing of one of the great motion picture cartoon animators of the so-called “Golden Age” of animation. Many considered William Tytla the top man of that period.
Tytla joined the Disney Studio in 1934 and is credited with the creation of Dumbo, star of the Disney feature of that name. Together with Fred Moore he developed and animated the characters of the Seven Dwarfs in the first full length animated cartoon feature “Snow White.” He animated and supervised animation on “Pinocchio” and The Night on Bald Mountain sequence for “Fantasia.”
After about nine years at the Disney Studio, Tytla returned East where he directed animation for Terrytoons and for Paramount’s Famous Cartoon Studio. Then when TV opened up for animation in advertising, Tytla moved on to TV commercials, directing for several TV commercial studios. It was then a natural step for him to open his own studio, William Tytla Productions, Inc.
William Tytla did not just walk into the Disney Studio as a novice. He had begun his animation career in the early 1920’s on the East Coast and by the time he went to Hollywood, his reputation as an outstanding animator had traveled there before him.
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