His father, a drummer with Horace Heidt’s Big Band, moved the family to Los Angeles after the band’s demise in 1945, and Mattinson continued drawing through his school years. “Ever since I saw that film, this was my dream-to work in this business,” Mattinson once recalled. Before he was 6 years old, his mother took him to the San Francisco Orpheum Theatre, where he saw Walt Disney’s Pinocchio. He will be missed, but not forgotten.”īurnett Mattinson was born in San Francisco on May 13, 1935, the first of two children. I value his cheerful friendship and lasting inspiration to me and so many other animation artists. The more I saw of his work, the more I became in awe of his breadth of talent. His storyboards were beautifully acted and wonderfully atmospheric, which I first encountered when I joined the studio for Aladdin. Speaking of Mattinson’s art, Goldberg added, “Burny was low-key, charming, inventive, and superbly gifted as a draftsperson and a storyteller. He was also, when he started, traffic boy to Walt, giving Walt his weekly spending cash.” “He literally did everything that could be done at the studio-assistant animator, animator, story artist, producer, and director of many films that made an indelible mark on our collective appreciation of the Disney ethos. “Burny was the Renaissance man of Disney Animation,” said legendary Disney animator Eric Goldberg, a close friend and colleague of Mattinson’s. He served as the story supervisor on the 2011 theatrical feature Winnie the Pooh and contributed to the 2007 Goofy short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater.įor decades, Mattinson worked to pass along the Disney legacy by inspiring new generations of storytellers and filmmakers. He served as a key member of the story team on contemporary Disney classics including Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Mulan (1998), and Tarzan (1999). Long before Strange World (2022) and Big Hero 6 (2014), he worked as an artist on such classics as Lady and the Tramp (1955), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967), and The Rescuers (1977). Mattinson was still working full-time at Walt Disney Animation Studios as a story consultant and mentor at the time of his passing.

At 18 years old, he followed his dream of working at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and for almost 70 years he lived that dream every day, inspiring all of us who had the good fortune to follow in his footsteps. I have marveled at his artistry, enjoyed his good humor, and sat enraptured by his stories of Disney history. All of us who have had the honor to know him and learn from him will ensure his legacy carries on.”Īcademy Award ®-winning Disney director Don Hall said, “For almost 30 years, I’ve had the privilege to work alongside Burny Mattinson, from Winnie the Pooh to Big Hero 6 to, most recently, Strange World. Jennifer Lee, chief creative officer, Walt Disney Animation Studios, said, “Burny’s artistry, generosity, and love of Disney Animation and the generations of storytellers that have come through our doors, for seven decades, has made us better-better artists, better technologists, and better collaborators. Mattinson was the longest-serving cast member in the history of The Walt Disney Company and was due to receive his 70th anniversary service award (the first ever) on June 4.Īmong Mattinson’s achievements were a solo directing credit on the animated featurette Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983), which returned Mickey Mouse to the silver screen for the first time in 30 years, and a role as producer as well as co-director of the 1986 Disney feature The Great Mouse Detective. Disney Legend Burny Mattinson, who worked as an animator, director, producer, and story artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios during an unprecedented 70-year career, passed away Monday, February 27, at Canyon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canoga Park, California, following a short illness.

Disney animation desk blueprint