Milt Kahl
# Milt Kahl

Milton Erwin Kahl (March 22, 1909 – April 19, 1987) was an American animator. He was one of (and often considered the most influential of) Walt Disney's supervisory team of animators, known as Disney's Nine Old Men.

## Biography

Kahl was born in San Francisco, California, to Erwin, a saloon bartender, and Grace Kahl. He had three younger sisters, Dorothy, Marion, and Gladys. He would often refine character sketches from Bill Peet, incorporating ideas of Ken Anderson. The final look of many characters in the Disney films was designed by Kahl, in his angular style inspired by Ronald Searle and Picasso. He is revered by contemporary masters of the form such as Andreas Deja, and also Brad Bird, who was his protégé at Disney in the early 1970s. In the behind-the-scenes feature "Fine Food and Film" shown on the Ratatouille DVD, Bird referred to Kahl as "tough," but in a gentle way, as he often gave Bird advice on where he could improve in animation whenever he came up short. Bird later repeated this in "The Giant's Dream" documentary on the Blu Ray for The Iron Giant.

In the book The Animator's Survival Kit, the author Richard Williams makes repeated references and anecdotes relating to Kahl, whom he befriended during his early years in the animation industry. The centenary of Kahl's birth was honored by the Academy on April 27, 2009, with a tribute entitled "Milt Kahl: The Animation Michelangelo" and featured Brad Bird as a panelist.

On April 19, 1987, Kahl died of pneumonia, aged 78, in Mill Valley, California.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Credits | Characters | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1934 | Servants' Entrance | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1935 | Mickey's Fire Brigade (Short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1935 | On Ice (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1936 | Orphans' Picnic (Short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1936 | Elmer Elephant (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1936 | Mickey's Circus (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1936 | Toby Tortoise Returns (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1937 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Animator | Forest animals | Credited as Milton Kahl |
| 1937 | Lonesome Ghosts (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1938 | Ferdinand the Bull | Animator | | Ferdinand (voice; uncredited) |
| 1938 | Farmyard Symphony (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1939 | Ugly Duckling (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1940 | Pinocchio | Animation Director | Pinocchio, Geppetto | Credited as Milton Kahl |
| 1942 | Bambi | Supervising Animator | Bambi, Thumper | Credited as Milton Kahl |
| 1943 | Saludos Amigos (Short) | Animator | Donald Duck riding the llama sequence |
| 1943 | The Grain That Built a Hemisphere (Documentary short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1943 | Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi (Short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1943 | Reason and Emotion (Short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1943 | The Winged Scourge (Documentary short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1943 | Chicken Little (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1944 | How to Play Football | Animator | | Credited as Milton Kahl |
| 1945 | The Three Caballeros | Animator | | Credited as Milton Kahl |
| 1945 | Tiger Trouble (Short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1945 | Duck Pimples (Short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1945 | Hockey Homicide (short) | Animator | | uncredited |
| 1946 | Make Mine Music | Animator | | |
| 1946 | Song of the South | Directing Animator | Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Bear, and Br'er Fox | |
| 1947 | Fun & Fancy Free | Directing Animator | Bongo | |
| 1948 | Melody Time | Directing Animator | Johnny Appleseed, Slue Foot Sue | |
| 1949 | So Dear to My Heart | Animator | | |
| 1949 | The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | Directing Animator | Water Rat, Mole, MacBadger, Brom Bones | |
| 1950 | Cinderella | Directing Animator | Fairy Godmother, the King, the Grand Duke | |
| 1951 | Alice in Wonderland | Directing Animator | Alice | |
| 1953 | Peter Pan | Directing Animator | Peter Pan, Wendy, the Darling children | |
| 1955 | Lady and the Tramp | Directing Animator | Tramp, Trusty | |
| 1959 | Sleeping Beauty | Directing Animator | Prince Philip, Sir Minstrel, Samson, King Hubert | |
| 1961 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Directing Animator | Pongo, Perdita, Roger, Anita | |
| 1963 | The Sword in the Stone | Directing Animator / Character Designer | Arthur, Merlin, Lord Ector, Sir Kay, Sir Bart, Madame Mim | |
| 1964 | Mary Poppins | Animator | | |
| 1967 | The Jungle Book | Directing Animator | Shere Khan, Kaa, Mowgli, Bagheera, King Louie | |
| 1968 | Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (Short) | Animator | Tigger | |
| 1970 | The Aristocats | Directing Animator | Thomas O'Malley, Duchess, Edgar, Madame Bonfamille, Georges Hautecourt | |
| 1971 | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Animator | King Leonidas, Fisherman Bear | |
| 1973 | Robin Hood | Directing Animator | Robin Hood, Little John, Maid Marian, Lady Kluck, the Sheriff of Nottingham | |
| 1974 | Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (Short) | Directing Animator | Tigger | |
| 1977 | The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | Animator | Tigger | |
| 1977 | The Rescuers | Directing Animator | Madame Medusa, Snoops, Penny | |
| 1995 | Frank and Ollie (Documentary) | Acknowledgment: Caricatures | | |
| 2002 | Mickey's House of Villains (Video) | Animator - Segment "Lonesome Ghosts" | | |
