Joe Hale obit

Joe Hale, Disney Animation Veteran and ‘Black Cauldron’ Producer, Dies at 99

He was an animator on 'Peter Pan,' a layout artist on ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and an VFX Oscar nominee on ‘The Black Hole.’  

He was not on the list.

Joe Hale, who spent 35 years as an animator, layout artist and producer at Disney and received an Oscar nomination for his effects work on the 1979 film The Black Hole, has died. He was 99.

Hale died Jan. 29 of natural causes at his home in Atascadero, California, his wife of nearly 60 years, Beverly Hale, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hale started out as an inbetweener on Alice in Wonderland (1951) and worked on such other classics as Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), The Fox and the Hound (1981), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and Pete’s Dragon (1977).

In 1980, Hale was named a first-time producer on The Black Cauldron (1985), a project that had been languishing at Disney for about seven years, and he oversaw a staff of 300 artists — including a young Tim Burton — and a big budget of $44 million.

When some children found scenes in the dark fantasy disturbing during a test screening, new Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered the film to be re-edited against Hale’s wishes, and its release was delayed from Christmas 1984 until the following July.

The Black Cauldron grossed less than $22 million at the box office, and Hale was fired from Disney in 1986.

One of nine kids, Joseph Hale was born on June 4, 1925, in Newland Village, Indiana. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 during World War II.

He was nearby when his fellow soldiers planted a U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi. “We were dug in on the beach, and a friend of mine said, ‘Hey, look — they’re raising the flag up there,’” Hale recalled in 2015. “And I said, ‘Oh, OK, great’ — and kept digging.”

After his 3 1/2-year stint in the service, he attended the Michigan Academy of Arts and graduated from the Lukits Academy of Fine Arts in Los Angeles, then was hired at Disney in April 1951. Following Alice in Wonderland, he served as an assistant animator under Ollie Johnston, one of Disney’s legendary Nine Old Men.

Hale segued to the layout department in 1955, and while working on The Wonderful World of Disney and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color TV programs, he got experience combining live action and animated characters.

He moved into animated special effects, working on such films as Return From Witch Mountain (1978), The Cat From Outer Space (1978), The Watcher in the Woods (1980) and The Black Hole, on which he served as animation special effects supervisor. He shared his Oscar nom with Peter Ellenshaw, Art Cruickshank, Eustace Lycett, Danny Lee and Harrison Ellenshaw (Peter’s son).

For The Black Cauldron, based on five mythological Chronicles of Prydain books by Lloyd Alexander, Hale was tasked with “trying to pull the whole thing together. So, that’s basically what I did,” he said in a 2010 interview.

After that film, Hale and his team began developing a film adaptation of T.H. White’s Mistress Masham’s Repose, a sequel to Gulliver’s Travels. Katzenberg didn’t like it, and Hale and his staff were laid off soon afterward.

In 2008, he was given an honorary Disney Legend Award by the National Fantasy Fan Club.

Hale did not work in Hollywood after Disney but spent a great deal of time as a sculptor, his wife said. Survivors also include his son, Steven, and his grandchildren, Camille and Travis.

Writer

Nigel Hawthorne, Grant Bardsley, John Byner, Phil Fondacaro, and Susan Sheridan in The Black Cauldron (1985)

The Black Cauldron

6.3

story

1985

 

Producer

Nigel Hawthorne, Grant Bardsley, John Byner, Phil Fondacaro, and Susan Sheridan in The Black Cauldron (1985)

The Black Cauldron

6.3

producer

1985

 

Art Director

Man in the Vault (1956)

Man in the Vault

5.9

Art Director

1956

 

Visual Effects

The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

The Watcher in the Woods

6.1

alien designer: Other World sequence

animation supervisor: Other World sequence

1980

 

The Black Hole (1979)

The Black Hole

5.9

animation special effects

1979

 

Bette Davis, Christopher Lee, Kim Richards, and Ike Eisenmann in Return from Witch Mountain (1978)

Return from Witch Mountain

5.7

stop motion animation

1978

 

Animation Department

Vincent Price, Val Bettin, Eve Brenner, Candy Candido, Diana Chesney, Barrie Ingham, Melissa Manchester, Susanne Pollatschek, Frank Welker, and Alan Young in The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

The Great Mouse Detective

7.1

additional layout artist (uncredited)

1986

 

Nigel Hawthorne, Grant Bardsley, John Byner, Phil Fondacaro, and Susan Sheridan in The Black Cauldron (1985)

The Black Cauldron

6.3

additional layout artist (uncredited)

1985

 

Wayne Allwine, Dick Billingsley, and Alan Young in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

Mickey's Christmas Carol

8.0

Short

additional layout artist (uncredited)

1983

 

Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.4

TV Series

layout artist

layout

animator

1955–1982

26 episodes

 

Corey Feldman, Jack Albertson, Pearl Bailey, Richard Bakalyan, Pat Buttram, Candy Candido, Keith Coogan, Clarence Nash, Jeanette Nolan, Paul Winchell, and 'Squeeks' the Caterpillar in The Fox and the Hound (1981)

The Fox and the Hound

7.2

layout

1981

 

Charlie Callas and Sean Marshall in Pete's Dragon (1977)

Pete's Dragon

6.3

layout artist

1977

 

Eva Gabor, Joe Flynn, Jim Jordan, James MacDonald, Bob Newhart, and Geraldine Page in The Rescuers (1977)

The Rescuers

6.9

layout

1977

 

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

layout artist

1977

 

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974)

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too

7.8

Short

layout artist

1974

 

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

layout

1973

 

Angela Lansbury, Dal McKennon, Bob Holt, Cindy O'Callaghan, Roy Snart, David Tomlinson, Ian Weighill, and Lennie Weinrib in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

7.1

layout

1971

 

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

additional layout artist (uncredited)

1970

 

Dad... Can I Borrow the Car? (1970)

Dad... Can I Borrow the Car?

6.8

TV Movie

layout artist

1970

 

It's Tough to Be a Bird (1969)

It's Tough to Be a Bird

6.7

Short

layout artist

1969

 

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day

7.9

Short

additional layout artist (uncredited)

1968

 

Understanding Stresses and Strains (1968)

Understanding Stresses and Strains

6.1

Short

layout artist

1968

 

The Jungle Book (1967)

The Jungle Book

7.6

additional layout artist (uncredited)

1967

 

Scrooge McDuck and Money (1967)

Scrooge McDuck and Money

6.7

Short

layout artist

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

additional layout artist (uncredited)

1966

 

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

Mary Poppins

7.8

layout (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

additional layout artist (uncredited)

1963

 

The Litterbug (1961)

The Litterbug

6.5

Short

layout artist

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

layout artist

1961

 

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Sleeping Beauty

7.2

layout

1959

 

Barbara Luddy and Larry Roberts in Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Lady and the Tramp

7.3

layout assistant (uncredited)

1955

 

Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953)

Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom

7.1

Short

layout artist (uncredited)

1953

 

Ben and Me (1953)

Ben and Me

7.4

Short

assistant animator (uncredited)

1953

 

Mel Blanc, June Foray, Kathryn Beaumont, Tony Butala, Paul Collins, Hans Conried, Bobby Driscoll, Robert Ellis, Connie Hilton, Margaret Kerry, Tommy Luske, John Wilder, Jeffrey Silver, Stuffy Singer, and Anne Whitfield in Peter Pan (1953)

Peter Pan

7.3

assistant animator (uncredited)

1953

 

Mel Blanc, Sterling Holloway, Heather Angel, Kathryn Beaumont, Lucille Bliss, Jerry Colonna, Pinto Colvig, Verna Felton, Larry Grey, Richard Haydn, Joseph Kearns, Bill Lee, Queenie Leonard, Doris Lloyd, Tommy Luske, James MacDonald, Marni Nixon, J. Pat O'Malley, Thurl Ravenscroft, Max Smith, Bill Thompson, Dink Trout, Ed Wynn, Norma Zimmer, The Mellowmen Quartet, and Bob Hamlin in Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Alice in Wonderland

7.3

breakdown and inbetween artist (uncredited)

1951

 

Additional Crew

Cloris Leachman, Susan Clark, Barbara Harris, Patsy Kelly, and Karen Valentine in The North Avenue Irregulars (1979)

The North Avenue Irregulars

6.7

title designer

1979

 

Thanks

Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.4

TV Series

friends of Mickey Mouse

1968

1 episode

 

Self

Find Your Future Reality (2018)

Find Your Future Reality

TV Series

Self

2018

1 episode

 

Backstage at Disney (1983)

Backstage at Disney

5.6

TV Movie

Self

1983

 

Archive Footage

Damien Duvot in Les Chroniques du Mea (2012)

Les Chroniques du Mea

6.7

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2019

1 episode

 

An Oral History of: The Fox and the Hound

Video

Self (archive footage)

2017