Roger Allers, a veteran Disney filmmaker who co-directed the original “The Lion King,” died Saturday. He was 76.
The Academy Award-nominated director’s decades-spanning work at Disney also included turns as a writer, storyboard artist and animator for beloved films such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”
Allers’ death was announced by his colleague Dave Bossert, a former Disney animator.
“Roger was an extraordinarily gifted artist and filmmaker, a true pillar of the Disney Animation renaissance,” Bossert wrote Sunday on Facebook.
Bossert described his longtime collaborator as “one of the kindest people you could hope to know and work alongside.”
“Roger had a joyful, luminous spirit, and the world is dimmer without him,” Bossert wrote. “Rest in peace, my friend. Until we meet again on the other side.”
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger also paid tribute to the director, whom he called “a creative visionary whose many contributions to Disney will live on for generations to come.”
“[Allers] understood the power of great storytelling — how unforgettable characters, emotion, and music can come together to create something timeless,” Iger said Sunday in a statement on Instagram.
“His work helped define an era of animation that continues to inspire audiences around the world, and we are deeply grateful for everything he gave to Disney,” the executive wrote.
Allers’ tenure at Disney began more than 40 years ago, when he worked on the storyboard team for the sci-fi thriller “Tron” (1982). He went on to play “a pivotal role in the Disney Animation renaissance of the late ‘80s and throughout the ‘90s,” Walt Disney Animation Studios wrote Tuesday in a social media post.
The entertainment multihyphenate’s crown achievement came in 1994, when he and “The Lion King” co-director Rob Minkoff brought to life the movie that former Times film critic Justin Chang referred to as “one of Disney’s biggest gambles.”
“The Lion King” boasted an estimated $42-million domestic opening weekend, the studio’s largest ever at the time. It is still the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time.
Allers — born in 1949 in Rye, N.Y. — looked back on the film’s success in 2011, telling The Times that it “gave an opportunity for a lot of young animators who hadn’t had a chance to lead a character. So they were fired up to do a good job — it was quite an inclusive and creative circle.”
“Everyone was listened to,” Allers said. “When it came to fruition and everyone could see the message it was putting out and the heart the movie had that went on to be embraced by the audience … it was very gratifying. I am still kind of overwhelmed by the response.”
Allers is survived by his children, Leah and Aidan, and his partner, Genaro, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
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