John Musker
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
John Musker was an Oscar-nominated writer and director best known for co-directing "The Little Mermaid" (1989) and "Aladdin" (1992), two of the most celebrated animated Disney films of the late 20th century. Musker began his training as an animator in the 1970s, and by the early 1980s he was working as a character animator on major animated features like "The Fox and the Hound" (1981). However, Musker always dreamed of becoming a director, and in 1986 he, along with three other collaborators, which included Ron Clements, helmed the animated feature "The Great Mouse Detective." After working together on "The Great Mouse Detective," Musker and Clements found that they shared a similar sensibility and style with their work, and together, formed one of the most successful directing teams of their era. Together, Musker and Clements co-directed "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and "The Princess and the Frog" (2009), all three of which are considered modern animated classics. He may have started his career as a lowly animator but by the mid-2010s, John Musker had proven himself as one of the most respected animated feature film directors of his generation.
Born into an Irish Catholic family in a working class neighborhood of Chicago, Musker found out very early in life that he loved to draw. He would often spend his days doodling in a notebook during school, and his evenings copying the images he saw in Mad Magazine and on TV cartoons. When it came to enroll in college, Musker chose CalArts, where Tim Burton and John Lasseter where among his classmates. After graduating from the university, Musker was hired by Disney as an assistant animator and before long was working on such high-profile projects as "The Fox and the Hound" and "The Black Cauldron" (1985). Then in 1986 Musker, along with Ron Clements and two other collaborators, made his directorial debut with "The Great Mouse Detective." The film was a moderate success and instilled in Musker the confidence he needed to co-direct his second feature, along with Clements, "The Little Mermaid." That massive success of that film marked an era in the studio's history known as "The Disney Renaissance," which returned the studio back to the prominence it enjoyed under its founder, Walt Disney. For their follow-up feature, Musker and Clements decided to make a movie about a down and out street kid who employs the magical powers of a genie (memorably voiced by Robin Williams) to make a beautiful princess fall in love with him. That film, 1992's "Aladdin," was an even bigger hit than "The Little Mermaid," earning two Oscar nods and thus signaling the rise of Musker and Clements as two of the most celebrated animated film directors of their generation. Although Musker and Clements' next two films, "Hercules" (1997) and "Treasure Planet" (2002), were not as well-received by the public, as audiences were gravitating more towards computer-generated animation, by the mid-2000s the public started to long for the 2-D animation of old. Musker and Clements satisfied that yearning for the old days of paper-drawn animation by directing 2009's "The Princess and the Frog." A return to form for the duo, the film was a bona-fide hit, racking up three Oscar nods, including Best Animated Film of the Year. Musker reteamed with his longtime collaborator Ron Clements once again for "Moana," an animated adventure tale set in Polynesia and scheduled to be released in 2016.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Animation (Feature Film)
Art Department (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1977
Started working at Disney as an animator
1981
Credited with character animation on "The Fox and the Hound"
1985
Credited as a story contributor for "The Black Cauldron"
1986
Made directing debut with "The Great Mouse Detective"
1989
Producer, co-director and co-screenwriter for "The Little Mermaid," with partner Ron Clements
1992
Producer, co-writer and director of the Disney animated film, "Aladdin"
1997
Co-produced, co-wrote and co-directed Disney's "Hercules"
2002
Again teamed with Clements for the sci-fi film, Treasure Planet"; nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
2009
With Clements directed Disney's animated feature, "The Princess and the Frog"; film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature
Companions
