John Ewing obit

 

John Ewing(1928-2023)

He was not on the list.

John William Ewing was an American animator and director, who worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios during the 1950s and 60s.

Boron in Wichita Falls, Texas; Ewing graduated from Midwestern State University in 1949. Prior to becoming an animator, Ewing served twice in the United States Navy, which included a tour of duty during the Korean War. After completing his formal art training at the Chouinard Art Institute, he joined Disney in 1956 and worked his way up from an inbetweener during production of Sleeping Beauty and rose up to assistant to Milt Kahl and John Lounsbery before becoming an animator. In 1967, after finishing work on The Jungle Book, he moved to New Zealand and worked on animated commercials.

Ewing's association with Disney didn't end there, though. From his studio in New Zealand, Freelance Animation Ltd, he directed some animated shorts for Disney's educational division, such as Understanding Alcohol Use and Abuse and Smoking: The Choice is Yours. Ewing also served as animation supervisor for Freelance Animators, which was hired by Disney's Australian satellite studio to work on episodes of Darkwing Duck ("Heavy Mental") and Goof Troop ("Meanwhile, Back at the Ramp").

Outside of Disney, Ewing worked on shows, like Tiny Toon Adventures, Spider-Man, Taz-Mania, and acted as a producer on the show Animaniacs. He is also the author and illustrator of children's books, such as The Cessna, The Sky...and the Cartoonist.

He was a producer, known for The Jungle Book (1967), Spider-Man (1967) and Darkwing Duck (1991). He was married to Jennifer. He died on September 15, 2023 in New Zealand.

 

Producer

Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, and Rob Paulsen in Animaniacs (1993)

Animaniacs

7.8

TV Series

producer: Freelance Animators Ltd.

1993–1994

20 episodes

 

Animation Department

The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995)

The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat

7.4

TV Series

animation director (uncredited)

1995–1996

2 episodes

 

Little Sparrow

Video

character animation supervisor

1995

 

Who's Who at the Zoo?

Video

character animation supervisor

1995

 

Matt Frewer in The Pink Panther (1993)

The Pink Panther

6.8

TV Series

animator (uncredited)

1994

9 episodes

 

Simon the Lamb (1994)

Simon the Lamb

5.7

Video

character animation supervisor

1994

 

Jim Cummings in Taz-Mania (1991)

Taz-Mania

6.7

TV Series

overseas animation supervisor

1993

1 episode

 

Tiny Toon Adventures (1990)

Tiny Toon Adventures

7.5

TV Series

overseas animation supervisor

animation director

animation supervisor

1990–1992

3 episodes

 

Goof Troop (1992)

Goof Troop

6.8

TV Series

animation supervisor: Freelance Animators Pty Ltd New Zealand (uncredited)

1992

1 episode

 

The Goofy World of Sports (1992)

The Goofy World of Sports

7.4

Video

assistant animator (uncredited)

1992

 

Darkwing Duck (1991)

Darkwing Duck

7.6

TV Series

animation supervisor

1991

1 episode

 

Santabear's High Flying Adventure (1987)

Santabear's High Flying Adventure

7.0

TV Movie

animator

1987

 

Smoking: The Choice Is Yours (1981)

Smoking: The Choice Is Yours

5.4

Short

director of animation

1981

 

Understanding Alcohol Use and Abuse (1979)

Understanding Alcohol Use and Abuse

6.0

Short

animation direction

1979

 

Sterling Holloway, John Fiedler, Clint Howard, Barbara Luddy, Junius Matthews, Howard Morris, Bruce Reitherman, Hal Smith, Timothy Turner, Jon Walmsley, Dori Whitaker, Paul Winchell, Ralph Wright, and Connor Quinn in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

7.5

animator (uncredited)

1977

 

Peter Ustinov, Brian Bedford, Pat Buttram, Ken Curtis, Andy Devine, Monica Evans, Phil Harris, Roger Miller, Carole Shelley, and Terry-Thomas in Robin Hood (1973)

Robin Hood

7.5

character animator (uncredited)

1973

 

Around the World in Eighty Days (1972)

Around the World in Eighty Days

7.6

TV Series

animator (1972)

1972–1973

 

Scatman Crothers, Eva Gabor, Sterling Holloway, Hermione Baddeley, Pat Buttram, Dean Clark, Gary Dubin, Liz English, Phil Harris, Lord Tim Hudson, George Lindsey, Roddy Maude-Roxby, Thurl Ravenscroft, Vito Scotti, and Paul Winchell in The Aristocats (1970)

The Aristocats

7.1

character animator (uncredited)

1970

 

Paul Soles in Spider-Man (1967)

Spider-Man

7.3

TV Series

layout artist

1967–1970

30 episodes

 

The Jungle Book (1967)

The Jungle Book

7.6

character animator

1967

 

Sterling Holloway, Clint Howard, Barbara Luddy, Junius Matthews, Bruce Reitherman, Hal Smith, and Ralph Wright in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966)

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree

8.0

Short

animator

1966

 

Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (1964)

Mary Poppins

7.8

animator (uncredited)

1964

 

Junius Matthews, Rickie Sorensen, Karl Swenson, and Martha Wentworth in The Sword in the Stone (1963)

The Sword in the Stone

7.1

assistant animator (uncredited)

1963

 

Aquamania (1961)

Aquamania

6.7

Short

assistant animator (uncredited)

1961

 

Rod Taylor, Sandra Abbott, Cate Bauer, Barbara Beaird, Lisa Daniels, Lisa Davis, David Frankham, Betty Lou Gerson, Mimi Gibson, Barbara Luddy, Mickey Maga, J. Pat O'Malley, Tudor Owen, Thurl Ravenscroft, Rickie Sorensen, Martha Wentworth, Mary Wickes, Frederick Worlock, and Ben Wright in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

One Hundred and One Dalmatians

7.3

assistant animator (uncredited)

1961

 

Goliath II (1960)

Goliath II

6.7

Short

assistant animator (uncredited)

1960

 

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Sleeping Beauty

7.2

breakdown and inbetween artist (uncredited)

1959

 

The Truth About Mother Goose (1957)

The Truth About Mother Goose

7.1

Short

inbetween artist (uncredited)

1957

 

Thanks

Tamatoa the Brave Warrior (1998)

Tamatoa the Brave Warrior

TV Series

special thanks

1999

1 episode

 

Self

From Len Lye to Gollum: New Zealand Animators

TV Movie

Self

2004