Legendary Animator Mark Henn Retires From Disney After 43 Years
Disney’s “lady’s man” is retiring after 43 years with the studio.
Mark Henn, a legendary animator who supervised the animation of five Disney Princesses (Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, and Tiana), will retire this week.
Disney’s Lady’s Man
Henn started his career at Disney in 1980. After working on films such as The Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers Down Under, the animator began work on Disney’s breakthrough classic The Little Mermaid.
Alongside animator Glen Keane, Henn would supervise the animation of the film’s titular character, Ariel.
It was Henn who, taking inspiration from live-action model Sherri Stoner, gave Ariel her trademark lip bite.
“One of [those gestures],” he said, “was her habit of biting her bottom lip when she was intent on something. I used that, and the gesture made her personality real for a lot of people.”
When supervising the animation of Belle for Beauty and the Beast, Henn was inspired by Paige O’Hara, who provided the character’s voice.
“I was looking for a physical trademark for her personality, and one thing that struck me was the lock of hair that – no matter how much hairspray she uses – just won’t stay in place. So Paige just had an unconscious habit of continually brushing her hair out of her face. As I grew up with two sisters, and certainly observed them fixing or adjusting their hair, it seemed true-to-Belle to me to have her do that.”
Relocation to Orlando
When Disney opened a second animation studio at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Henn moved to Florida. While the studio was initially envisioned as a place for the production of short-form animation, under Henn’s leadership, Orlando would soon be creating feature films of its own.
For his Orlando studio, Henn would supervise the animation of Mulan, animate Lilo and Stitch’s iconic hula scene, and animate Jasmine for Disney’s Aladdin.
In fact, the later “A Whole New World” scene was created with Henn drawing Jasmine in Florida and Glen Keane animating Aladdin in Burbank.
The End of Hand-Drawn Animation
In 2000, Henn returned to California, just as Disney began to adapt CGI animation. Henn tried to adapt the new technology for Meet the Robinsons, but in the end, decided to stick with 2D animation. It was a dark time for the animator.
“From a spiritual point of view, from my world view, it was very eye-opening, because I didn’t realize how ingrained being at Disney and being a Disney animator [was] … the roots were so deep that when that got threatened, it really hurt. It really hurt. I remember I called a friend of mine and I was just in tears saying, ‘I don’t know what to do. This is all I know how to do,’” he recalled.
In deference to Henn’s talent and leadership ability, Disney found work for the animator wherever it could. Henn would animate the Maui tattoos in Moana, work on Enchanted, and help bring Get a Horse! to life.
A Well Earned Retirement
Beginning with 2013’s Frozen and continuing through today, Henn took on a new role as mentor and coach. Now the elder statesman, Henn, would help guide the next generation of animators.
After 43 years of making Disney magic, Mark Henn has earned his retirement. Still, the Walt Disney Company will be worse off for seeing him go.
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