Eric Goldberg (animator)

Eric Allen Goldberg (born May 1, 1955) is an American animator, voice actor, film director, and producer known for his work at Disney's Walt Disney Animation Studios and 20th Century Animation, as well as Warner Bros. Animation.

Eric Goldberg
Born
Eric Allen Goldberg

(1955-05-01) May 1, 1955 (age 69)
Occupations
  • Animator
  • voice actor
  • film director
  • producer
Years active1977–present
Employers
Spouse
Susan Goldberg
(m. 1982)
[1]
Awards

Life and career

edit

Goldberg was born and raised in Levittown, Pennsylvania, and moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey as a child, where he attended Cherry Hill High School East.[2][3] Goldberg later studied at Pratt Institute, where he majored in illustration. He first entered the industry in the mid-1970s working on Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure for the Richard Williams studio, eventually moving to Williams' London studio and rising through the ranks from assistant to director. During the 1980s, Goldberg started his own London-based studio, Pizazz Pictures, to produce television commercials.

Later, Goldberg closed his studio to work at Disney Animation Studios, Burbank, California, to work on the film Aladdin, for which he became the lead animator on the character Genie, and later the lead animator on Phil in Hercules (1997). Goldberg also was one of the directors of Disney's 1995 feature Pocahontas. During his time as the lead animator for the Genie, he also provided the majority of the original animation for MC Skat Kat's "Big Time" music video, which was finished in 1992 but left unaired.

In December 1998, Goldberg began plans to produce an animated short set to the music of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. His film eventually became part of Disney's Fantasia 2000 after Goldberg was allowed to use the Disney staff to complete the film during a production hiatus. He also served as director for Fantasia 2000's "The Carnival of the Animals" segment. Goldberg's wife Susan served as art director on both segments.[1]

Goldberg served as the director of animation for Warner Bros.' 2003 live-action/animation hybrid feature Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and also provided the voices of Bugs Bunny (one line), Marvin the Martian, Tweety, and Speedy Gonzales. Although the film was not commercially successful at the box office, it was met with relatively positive reviews from film critics, and Goldberg was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Directing in an Animated Feature Production for his animation direction. He animated the title sequence of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 2006 remake of The Pink Panther, with Bob Kurtz of Kurtz and Friends.

In 2006, Goldberg returned to Disney,[4] where he directed four minutes of animation for the Epcot attraction Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros and contributed to the 2007 animated short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, which starred Goofy. Most recently, he was the supervising animator for Louis in The Princess and the Frog (2009), Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh (2011), and Maui's tattoos in Moana (2016).

Goldberg has also animated Mickey Mouse on Nighttime Spectaculars in DisneyParks and Resorts, including Disney Gifts of Christmas and Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo Disneyland, and "We Love Mickey" Main Street Projection Show in Hong Kong Disneyland.

In April 2022, Goldberg confirmed plans within the Disney studio to once again return to hand-drawn animation.[5]

In August 2024, Goldberg wrote and directed the special Donald Duck episode of the popular internet series Hot Ones.[6]

Preservation

edit

Two of Goldberg's early films, For Sale and Good Old Fashioned Cartoon Violence, were preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.[7]

Awards

edit

Filmography

edit
Year Film Director Animator Voice actor Voice role Animation role Notes
1973 For Sale Yes Yes
1973 Good Old Fashioned Cartoon Violence Yes Yes
1977 Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure Yes Assistant animator
1982 Ziggy's Gift Yes (art director) Yes
1985 Rupert and the Frog Song Yes
1992 Aladdin Yes Genie Character designer/supervising animator
1993 The Thief and the Cobbler Yes Additional animator on Mad Witch and Death Machine sequences; uncredited
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire Yes Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) voice acting sequence animator (as Claude Raynes), along with Chuck Jones
1994 Chariots of Fur Yes As Claude Raynes
1995 Pocahontas Yes
1996 Superior Duck Yes Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Porky Pig, Superman As Claude Raynes
1997 Hercules Yes Phil Supervising animator
1997 Pullet Surprise Yes Additional animator as Claude Raynes
1997 From Hare to Eternity Yes As Claude Raynes
1997 Anastasia Yes Character animator
2000 Fantasia 2000 Yes Rhapsody in Blue
Yes Yes The Carnival of the Animals, Finale
Dinosaur Yes Additional Visual Development
2001 The Magic Lamp 3D Yes
2003 Looney Tunes: Back in Action Yes (animation director) Yes Yes Bugs Bunny (one line), Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Speedy Gonzales Storyboard artist
Boys Night Out Yes Additional animation
2004 Green Screen Show Yes
Fat Albert Yes
2005 Son of the Mask Yes Animated dream sequence
Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry Yes Character layout
2006 Pink Panther Yes Title sequence
A Monkey's Tale Yes
Tom and Jerry Tales Yes TV series
Opening titles
The Fox and the Hound 2 Yes Direct-to-video
2007 The Chestnut Tree Special thanks
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros Yes Short film Theme Park
How to Hook Up Your Home Theater Yes Short film
2008 Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection Yes Audio commentaries on The Cat Concerto, The Dot and the Line and Blitz Wolf
2009 Pups of Liberty Yes Yes Governor Lead animator
The Princess and the Frog Yes Louis the Alligator and miscellaneous characters Character designer/supervising animator/Annie Award for Best Character Animation in a Feature Production
2010 The 82nd Annual Academy Awards Yes Louis the Alligator Archive footage
Iron Man 2 Yes A.I.M Soldiers (voice)[10] Video game
2011 Winnie the Pooh Yes Rabbit, the Backson Supervising animator
Tom and Jerry: Golden Collection, Volume One Yes (archival recording on disc two) Audio Commentary on The Cat Concerto
2012 Paperman Yes Final line animator/Academy Award winning short
Wreck-It Ralph Yes Additional visual development
2013 Get a Horse! Yes Head of animation/short film
2016 The Simpsons Yes Yes Couch gag for Fland Canyon
Moana Yes Maui (tattoos) Hand-drawn animation supervisor
2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet Yes Additional animator
2021 How to Stay at Home Yes Yes Goofy Supervising animator on "How to Wear a Mask", Writer
2022 Mickey in a Minute Yes Mickey Mouse Animated short ahead of the documentary Mickey: The Story of a Mouse[11]
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Yes Yes Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Animated web short, also producer
2023 Once Upon a Studio Yes Yes Mickey Mouse, Genie, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Jiminy Cricket Head of hand-drawn animation[12]/Additional Voices
Wish Yes Additional 2D animation

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Q&A with Eric and Susan Goldberg About the Magical, Musical World of Fantasia 2000". D23. January 28, 2020.
  2. ^ Gaul, Lou (July 12, 2011). "Animator Eric Goldberg: This 'Pooh' is an uplifting work". Burlington County Times. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2017. According to Goldberg, who was born in Levittown, Bucks County, and in 1961 moved to Cherry Hill, much of the visual beauty in Winnie the Pooh results from employing an artistic old-school process.
  3. ^ Staff. "Cherry Hill native puts toon in 'Looney Tunes'" Archived 2012-11-07 at the Wayback Machine, Courier-Post, November 14, 2003. Accessed August 25, 2011. "When Eric Goldberg was a student at Cherry Hill High School East in the early 1970s, he used to decorate classmates' notebooks with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck."
  4. ^ "08/18/2006: "Exclusive! Another Conversation with Eric Goldberg"". www.animated-news.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Disney Animator Says Studio Will Bring Back 2D Hand-Drawn Animation - WDW News Today". 27 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Donald Duck Tries to Keep His Cool While Eating Spicy Wings". YouTube. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
  8. ^ a b c d "48th Annual Annie Awards". annieawards.org.
  9. ^ "NCS Awards". www.reuben.org.
  10. ^ Eric Goldberg - Voice Chasers Archived 2010-01-04 at the Wayback Machine VoiceChasers.com Retrieved May 31, 2012
  11. ^ Hoepfner, Fran (March 19, 2022). "'Mickey: The Story of a Mouse' Film Review: Disney Doc Explores Character, Icon, Ubiquitous Mascot". TheWrap. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  12. ^ "Once Upon a Studio: Behind the Scenes" (PDF).
edit