Nine Old Mentors: Dale Baer’s Reflections

Brad Bird knew he wanted to be an animator when he first toured The Walt Disney Studios at just eleven years old. In his teens, he developed an animated version of “The Tortoise and the Hare” and sent it to Disney, where it caught the attention of several of Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men. He was offered the rare opportunity to be educated in the art of animation by a key few of the Nine Old Men—an opportunity which would change the course of his life and help rocket his career into animation superstardom. Hear from Bird as he relives stories of working with the Nine Old Men as a young protégé, how their tutelage influenced his successful career in animation, writing, and directing, and their lessons he still heeds to this day.