SCREENING + TALK | HUZ: Drawn to Life with Animator Ron Husband and Disney Legend Don Hahn

Join us for a screening of Don Hahn’s latest documentary feature, HUZ: Drawn to Life, and an exclusive fireside chat between Hahn and the film’s subject Ron Husband—the author of a distinguished 38-year career at The Walt Disney Company.

Children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult who shall be responsible for the child at all times.

• Walt’s Circle Donors: Tuesday, September 29 at noon PT by emailing the Membership team
• Founding, Supporter, and Friend-level members: Wednesday, September 30 at noon PT by emailing the Membership team
• All member levels: Thursday, October 1 at noon PT online
• Public (non-members): Friday, October 2 at noon PT online

Join as a member or upgrade your current membership to receive priority access and discounts to programs like these. For more information, please visit our Membership page.

Ron Husband, born and raised in Monrovia, CA is a 38-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company. He joined Disney Animation in 1975 as an animation trainee. He worked his way up, holding the distinction of being the first African American animator and the first African American supervising animator for The Walt Disney Studios. After 30 years in Feature Animation, he transitioned to the Disney Publishing Group as a character artist before retiring from the company in 2013.

Husband received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973 from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and currently teaches at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA. He has taught animation, character design, and animation at Gnomon School of Visual Arts and Laguna College of Art and Design. He has conducted workshops and lectured at Xavier University in New Orleans, LA, Biola University in La Mirada, CA, California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita, CA; as far away as Mexico City, Mexico, Sydney, Australia and Tokyo, Japan.

His animation screen credits from Walt Disney Feature Animation include Djali in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), elk in The Firebird Suite and rats in Piano Concerto No.2, Allegro, Opus 102 segments of Fantasia 2000, Dr. Sweet in Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) as well as many characters in Disney films ranging from The Fox and the Hound (1981) to Treasure Planet (2002), including many beloved films of the “Disney renaissance” of the 1990’s. Other screen credits include Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), Fat Albert, The Movie (2004) and animation of the cool cat in the Paula Abdul music video, Opposites Attract (1989). Husband has also illustrated numerous children’s books and magazines.

From 1991 to 1996, Husband was a featured speaker at the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in Oakland, California. He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center. He also designed a Neighborhood Treasure Landmark Post, cast in bronze, for the city of Monrovia, CA. In 2019, he was inducted into the College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (2019). Husband was recognized by the California State Legislature as Assemblymember Chris Holden’s choice as the 41st Assembly District’s Unsung Hero Award 2023 and in this same year the Co-Grand Marshall in the Monrovia Day Parade in Monrovia, CA, and awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award and given the Award of Excellence by the Monrovia-Duarte Black Alumni Association and named Citrus College Alumnus of the year 2024.

In 2013, he authored Quick Sketching with Ron Husband, which was translated into Japanese and Chinese. Ron illustrated ‘Steamboat School’ published in 2016. It was selected for a Junior Library Guild Award, named to several ‘best of’ lists, and awarded the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award (Books for Younger Children). His beautiful pen and ink illustrations from Steamboat School were selected by Jury for the Original Art 2016: An Exhibition of Children’s Book Illustration, The Society of Illustrators, New York, NY, and the illustrations are included in the PBS documentary ‘Missouri! A Bicentennial Celebration’.

He appeared in a commercial for Louis Vuitton (2023) and is the subject of a documentary (HUZ: Drawn To Life 2026).

Ron has been married for 54 years and is the father of three adult children and six grandchildren.

Don Hahn is an Academy Award®-nominated producer, director, author, and Disney Legend whose work helped shape the modern era of animation. A longtime collaborator, advisory committee member, and guest curator for The Walt Disney Family Museum, Hahn has also devoted much of his career to preserving and sharing the history of Disney art and filmmaking. 

Hahn began his Disney career in 1976, working with Woolie Reitherman and members of Walt Disney’s legendary “Nine Old Men.” He went on to produce Beauty and the Beast (1991), the first animated feature nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Picture, and The Lion King (1994), as well as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). His other credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), and Disney’s Disneynature documentary films. 

As a director, Hahn made Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009), chronicling the creative resurgence of Disney animation in the 1980s and ’90s. He has written numerous books on Disney art and history, including Before Ever After, Yesterday’s Tomorrow, and The Happiest Place on Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney’s Disneyland. 

For The Walt Disney Family Museum, Hahn curated Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men: Masters of Animation and most recently served as guest curator of The Happiest Place on Earth: The Disneyland Story. In 2025, he received the museum’s Diane Disney Miller Lifetime Achievement Award.

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