Nine Dead Men

Oliver Martin "Ollie" Johnston Jr., the last member of the celebrated "Nine Old Men" of Disney animation, has died at the age of 95. Johnston created Bambi, Thumper, the Three Good Fairies in Sleeping Beauty, Pongo and Perdita and probably others of the 101 Dalmatians, and Mowgli and Baloo in The Jungle Book. Other work included Pinocchio's nose growing, the befuddled Mr. Smee trying to follow Captain Hook's orders in Peter Pan and the penguin-waiters serving Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. The Nine Old Men set the standard for movie animation, and Johnston and close friend and fellow animator Frank Thomas wrote the quintessential text books on how to imbue the animated with emotion, humor and sentiment. Thomas and Johnston were remembered by Brad Bird, currently a genius at Pixar, who hired them to provide voices in The Iron Giant and The Incredibles.