Legendary Disney Animator Joe Hale Passes at 99

By Brian Delpozo Leave a Comment

Legendary Disney animator and special effects pioneer Joe Hale has passed away at the age of 99, just months shy of his 100th birthday.

©Hollywood Reporter

Hale was a presence at Disney for well over 30 years, working on a litany of the studio’s animated films, including Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty. Later in his career, he also began dabbling in live-action special effects as well, culminating in an Oscar nomination for The Black Hole.

Hale was born in Indiana in 1925, and like many of his generation, he saw combat in World War II, including fighting in the battle for Iwo Jima. After the war, Hale set his sights on art, eventually graduating from the Lukits Academy of Fine Arts in Los Angeles. Following graduation, Hale began working at Disney, with his first project being in-betweens on Alice in Wonderland.

©Disney

Hale worked on many Disney films during his years with the company, including animation on One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, and The Fox and the Hound. In addition, an aptitude for working with animated effects in live-action led to Hale working on many of Disney’s hybrid films of the period including Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete’s Dragon, Return From Witch Mountain, The Cat From Outer Space, and The Watcher in the Woods. This work culminated in his aforementioned Oscar nomination.

In the early 1980s, Hale was named producer on The Black Cauldron. However, the film would prove to be the end of his time at Disney. Production on The Black Cauldron was troubled by story issues and cost overruns. In addition, after a disastrous test screening, then-new Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered a re-edit of the film to remove some of its darker edges, much to Hale’s chagrin. Shortly after the film’s box office failure, Katzenberg fired Hale.

After the end of his career at Disney, Joe Hale left the film industry, spending the rest of his life working as a sculptor before passing away on January 29th. Hale was survived by his wife of nearly 60 years Beverly, as well as their son Steven, and grandchildren, Camille and Travis. We here at DFB extend condolences to Joe Hale’s family.