Milt Kahl(1909-1987)
- Animation Department
- Actor
- Art Department
Milt Kahl was a veteran animator from San Francisco. He became one of "Disney's Nine Old Men", a board of supervising animators who headed the production staff of the Walt Disney Animation Studios from c. 1945 to 1977.
Kahl was born in San Francisco. His parents were the saloon bartender Erwin Kahl and his wife Grace. Kahl was one of several young animators hired by the Disney studio in the mid-1930s. He worked on the animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), animating various forest animals. He is also thought to have worked on scenes involving the film's unnamed prince.
Kahl was noticed by the studio's executives while working on a subsequent film, Pinocchio (1940). Kahl insisted that the eponymous sentient puppet should primarily look like a "cute little boy", not like a real puppet. Kahl was allowed to design the film's version of Pinocchio as a boy with a Tyrolean hat and Mickey Mouse-style gloves on his hands. Walt Disney embraced Kahl's vision and urged the writers to evolve Pinocchio into a more innocent figure that would match Kahl's design. In the film itself, Kahl animated several scenes involving Pinocchio himself, Jiminy Cricket, and Geppetto.
Kahl served as a supervising animator on Bambi (1942), working on scenes involving Bambi and Thumper. In Saludos Amigos (1942), Kahl animated a sequence which depicted Donald Duck riding a llama. Kahl was one of the animators in two segments of Make Mine Music (1946): "The Martins and the Coys" and "All the Cats Join In". Kahl directed the Tar Baby sequence in Song of the South (1946), a film adaptation of the short story "Tar-Baby" (1881) which featured a doll made of tar and turpentine. Kahl worked on the "Bongo" segment of the anthology film Fun and Fancy Free (1947). He was responsible for animating both the female lead, Lulubelle, and the villain, Lumpjaw.
Kahl was one of the directing animators in the anthology film Melody Time (1948). He was responsible for the scenes depicting Johnny Appleseed, Johnny's guardian angel, Pecos Bill, Widowmaker (Pecos' horse), and Slue Foot Sue (Pecos' love interest). Kahl worked as a directing animator in both segments of the anthology film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). He worked on animating characters from both "The Wind in the Willows" (1908) by Kenneth Grahame and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820) by Washington Irving.
In Cinderella (1950), Kahl animated scenes involving the Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming, the King, and the Grand Duke. In Alice in Wonderland (1951), Kahl was responsible for scenes involving Alice herself, the White Rabbit, and the Dodo. In Peter Pan (1953), Kahl animated scenes involving Peter Pan, Wendy Darling, John Darling, Michael Darling, Mr. Darling, Mrs. Darling, and their dog Nana. In Lady and the Tramp (1955), Kahl worked on scenes involving Lady, the Tramp, and the supporting character Trusty.
In Sleeping Beauty (1959), Kahl animated the co-protagonist Prince Philip, and the supporting characters King Hubert and King Stefan. In One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Kahl worked on scenes involving the main characters Roger, Anita, Pongo, and Perdita. Kahl worked as both a directing animator and a character designer for the Arthurian film The Sword in the Stone (1963). Among several other characters in this film, Kahl worked on scenes involving the witch Madam Mim.
In The Jungle Book (1967), Kahl worked on scenes involving most of the film's main characters, including Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Khan, King Louie, and, Kaa. In The Aristocats (1970), Kahl worked on scenes involving Thomas O'Malley, Duchess, Madame Bonfamille, and Edgar. In Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Kahl animated King Leonidas. In Robin Hood (1973), Kahl worked on nearly every major character in the cast, including Robin Hood himself and Maid Marian.
In The Rescuers (1977), Kahl worked primarily on scenes involving the villain Madame Medusa and the orphan girl Penny. It was the last time Kahl was credited as a directing animator. Kahl went into semi-retirement in the late 1970s, though he is thought to have done uncredited work for Disney as a character designer in the early 1980s. Kahl was brought out of retirement during the production phase of The Black Cauldron (1985). The Disney studio wanted him to provide new character designs for Taran, Eilonwy, and Fflewddur Fflam.
On April 19, 1987, Kahl died of pneumonia. He was 78 years old at the time of his death, and he had survived several other members of the Nine Old Men. In 2009, the centenary of his birth was celebrated with a tribute entitled "Milt Kahl: The Animation Michelangelo".
Kahl was born in San Francisco. His parents were the saloon bartender Erwin Kahl and his wife Grace. Kahl was one of several young animators hired by the Disney studio in the mid-1930s. He worked on the animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), animating various forest animals. He is also thought to have worked on scenes involving the film's unnamed prince.
Kahl was noticed by the studio's executives while working on a subsequent film, Pinocchio (1940). Kahl insisted that the eponymous sentient puppet should primarily look like a "cute little boy", not like a real puppet. Kahl was allowed to design the film's version of Pinocchio as a boy with a Tyrolean hat and Mickey Mouse-style gloves on his hands. Walt Disney embraced Kahl's vision and urged the writers to evolve Pinocchio into a more innocent figure that would match Kahl's design. In the film itself, Kahl animated several scenes involving Pinocchio himself, Jiminy Cricket, and Geppetto.
Kahl served as a supervising animator on Bambi (1942), working on scenes involving Bambi and Thumper. In Saludos Amigos (1942), Kahl animated a sequence which depicted Donald Duck riding a llama. Kahl was one of the animators in two segments of Make Mine Music (1946): "The Martins and the Coys" and "All the Cats Join In". Kahl directed the Tar Baby sequence in Song of the South (1946), a film adaptation of the short story "Tar-Baby" (1881) which featured a doll made of tar and turpentine. Kahl worked on the "Bongo" segment of the anthology film Fun and Fancy Free (1947). He was responsible for animating both the female lead, Lulubelle, and the villain, Lumpjaw.
Kahl was one of the directing animators in the anthology film Melody Time (1948). He was responsible for the scenes depicting Johnny Appleseed, Johnny's guardian angel, Pecos Bill, Widowmaker (Pecos' horse), and Slue Foot Sue (Pecos' love interest). Kahl worked as a directing animator in both segments of the anthology film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). He worked on animating characters from both "The Wind in the Willows" (1908) by Kenneth Grahame and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820) by Washington Irving.
In Cinderella (1950), Kahl animated scenes involving the Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming, the King, and the Grand Duke. In Alice in Wonderland (1951), Kahl was responsible for scenes involving Alice herself, the White Rabbit, and the Dodo. In Peter Pan (1953), Kahl animated scenes involving Peter Pan, Wendy Darling, John Darling, Michael Darling, Mr. Darling, Mrs. Darling, and their dog Nana. In Lady and the Tramp (1955), Kahl worked on scenes involving Lady, the Tramp, and the supporting character Trusty.
In Sleeping Beauty (1959), Kahl animated the co-protagonist Prince Philip, and the supporting characters King Hubert and King Stefan. In One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Kahl worked on scenes involving the main characters Roger, Anita, Pongo, and Perdita. Kahl worked as both a directing animator and a character designer for the Arthurian film The Sword in the Stone (1963). Among several other characters in this film, Kahl worked on scenes involving the witch Madam Mim.
In The Jungle Book (1967), Kahl worked on scenes involving most of the film's main characters, including Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Khan, King Louie, and, Kaa. In The Aristocats (1970), Kahl worked on scenes involving Thomas O'Malley, Duchess, Madame Bonfamille, and Edgar. In Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Kahl animated King Leonidas. In Robin Hood (1973), Kahl worked on nearly every major character in the cast, including Robin Hood himself and Maid Marian.
In The Rescuers (1977), Kahl worked primarily on scenes involving the villain Madame Medusa and the orphan girl Penny. It was the last time Kahl was credited as a directing animator. Kahl went into semi-retirement in the late 1970s, though he is thought to have done uncredited work for Disney as a character designer in the early 1980s. Kahl was brought out of retirement during the production phase of The Black Cauldron (1985). The Disney studio wanted him to provide new character designs for Taran, Eilonwy, and Fflewddur Fflam.
On April 19, 1987, Kahl died of pneumonia. He was 78 years old at the time of his death, and he had survived several other members of the Nine Old Men. In 2009, the centenary of his birth was celebrated with a tribute entitled "Milt Kahl: The Animation Michelangelo".
