Way before Disney strayed from its habit of telling tales centered only on docile, lily-white princesses, a black animator helped bring its stories to life. Floyd Norman worked as a clean-up artist and an assistant animator on these films, respectively. Today, his art is celebrated ― in a documentary released this year, “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life.”The film follows Floyd’s work for Disney in 1959, when he was the studio’s first black animator, through his continuing contribution to the film industry today. In the film, a colleague describes Norman as “the Forrest Gump of animation,” which may seem like purplish praise. But for a man who worked on “101 Dalmatians,” “The Jungle Book,” and other classics, and who refuses to quit, the compliment feels accurate.

Source: Huffington Post November 22, 2016 20:35 UTC