Mike Gabriel

Mike Gabriel (born November 5, 1954) is an American animator and film director, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios and as co-director of the Disney animated films The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and Pocahontas (1995).

Early life

He was born in Long Beach, California, although he grew up in various small towns like Salina, Kansas while moving around due to his father's Air Force job.

Career

Gabriel was inspired with animation after watching Sleeping Beauty (1959) at the age of five. Soon after, he started drawing and practicing it for six hours every day to meet his goal as an Animation Director. It was in 1979 when he got his first chance to make his debut. Gabriel originally began his career as an assistant on The Fox and the Hound (1981). He later was assigned as a Disney animator on the animated short Fun with Mr. Future (1982). He was mentored under Eric Larson's training program, and went to work on The Black Cauldron (1985). He also served as an animator on The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Technological Threat and Oliver & Company (1988). Hendel Butoy joined Gabriel to direct The Rescuers Down Under, a sequel to the 1977 Disney animated film The Rescuers, while Eric Goldberg and Gabriel collaborated on Pocahontas.

In 2004, Gabriel directed an animated short for Disney entitled Lorenzo, a hybrid of traditional and computer animation about a lazy cat who has a spell cast on his tail that forces it to tango with him.

Accolades

Lorenzo was nominated for the 2005 Academy Award for Best Animated Short. It was also included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2004.

Personal life

He was hired to re-design the Walt Disney cinematic logo which plays before every Walt Disney picture since 2006.

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Animator	Actor	Role	Notes
1981	The Fox and the Hound			Template:Yes			Assistant Animator (Uncredited)
1982	Luau				Template:Yes	Bob
	Fun with Mr. Future			Template:Yes
1985	The Black Cauldron			Template:Yes			Character Animator: Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch
1986	The Great Mouse Detective			Template:Yes			Character Animator: Toby and Felicia
1988	Oliver & Company		Template:Yes	Template:Yes			Writer: Story Character Designer Supervising Animator: Oliver
	Technological Threat		Template:Yes				Character Designer
1990	The Rescuers Down Under	Template:Yes					With Hendel Butoy
1994	The Lion King			Template:Yes			Animator: Special Edition
1995	Pocahontas	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes			With Eric Goldberg Writer: Based On An Idea Visual Development Artist Character Designer
1996	Quack Pack			Template:Yes			One episode Character Designer Supervising Animator
1999	Fantasia 2000			Template:Yes			Yo-yo Tricks
2000	Dinosaur			Template:Yes			Additional Visual Development
2004	Lorenzo	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes			Production Designer
	Home on the Range			Template:Yes			Visual Development Artist
	The Cat That Looked at a King			Template:Yes			Character Designer Supervising Animator
2008	Bolt			Template:Yes			Additional Story Artist
2009	The Princess and the Frog			Template:Yes			Additional Art Director
2011	Winnie the Pooh			Template:Yes			Visual Development Artist
2012	Brave			Template:Yes			Development Artist
	Frankenweenie			Template:Yes			Art Department Illustrator: Los Angeles
	Wreck-It Ralph			Template:Yes			Production Designer
2014	Big Hero 6			Template:Yes			Departmental Leadership: Walt Disney Animation Studios
2016	Zootopia			Template:Yes			Departmental Leadership: Walt Disney Animation Studios
2019	Frozen II			Template:Yes			Creative Legacy: Walt Disney Animation Studios
2020	Elephant in the Room			Template:Yes			Thought Painter Visual Development
2021	Raya and the Last Dragon			Template:Yes			Creative Legacy: Walt Disney Animation Studios

External links

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