Floyd Norman to Receive Honorary Oscar
Skip to comments
I had seen on the news that Glenn Close will be receiving an Honorary Oscar this Fall, but more importantly for us Jamie Lang at Cartoon Brew reports animator Floyd Norman will also be so honored.
Animation icon and Disney legend Floyd Norman [link added] will receive an Honorary Oscar at this year’s Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday. Norman will be honored alongside actress Glenn Close and filmmaker Ridley Scott, while producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
Norman, 90, became the first Black artist hired on a long-term basis at Walt Disney Studios in 1956. During his initial run at the studio, he worked on features including Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, and The Jungle Book, where he was part of Walt Disney’s story team.
Lang notes that Floyd went on to work at Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears, Pixar, and then back to Disney.
Academy president Janet Yang described Norman as “a trailblazing animator whose work has shaped generations of filmmakers and artists.”
Floyd has been named a Disney Legend and is in The Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.
From the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcement:
An animator and storyboard artist, Norman began his esteemed 65-year career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1956, becoming the studio’s first Black animator. His first Disney feature film was “Sleeping Beauty,” and he contributed to such classic feature films as “The Sword in the Stone,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book” and “Robin Hood,” as well as the short films “Donald in Mathmagic Land,” “Goliath II” and “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.” Norman’s other notable film credits include “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Mulan,” “Toy Story 2” and “Monsters, Inc.”
The Honorary Award is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences in any discipline, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”
The Animation Guild’s Profile of Floyd Norman.
Comments