Disney director John Musker joins Chapman faculty as guest professor
A caricature drawing done by John Musker of himself and long-time co-director Ron Clements. Photos courtesy of John Musker
An illustration by John Musker of auteur Tim Burton in his Burbank Bachelor pad.
After graduating from Northwestern University with an English degree in 1975, director and animator John Musker applied to Disney’s animation training program. With only sketches from his time as a cartoonist at The Daily Northwestern to fall back on, Musker hoped for a little of that signature Disney magic to help launch his big dreams in becoming an animator.
Disney’s response? They told him he didn’t draw well.
But Musker didn’t let the initial rejection stop him. He would go on to lead an extensive career in feature animation at Disney years later, co-directing iconic childhood classics like “The Little Mermaid” and “Hercules” as well as putting underrepresented groups on screen in films like “Aladdin” and “The Princess and the Frog.”
With his fingerprints all over animation history, Musker will be taking his industry expertise to Chapman University, serving as a guest professor to aspiring animators. He’ll be teaching the Animation and Visual Effects Industry Insiders (AVE 310) class at Dodge College where students will dissect his seven feature films and break down the different departments of a feature film studio.
“It'll be a learning experience for me, and I hope the students get something out of the experience,” Musker said. “I’ve come various times to see (Chapman’s) program and I’ve been impressed with the commitment they’ve made to animation, the space they have and the enthusiasm of the students.”
In addition to teaching AVE 310, Musker will be providing mentorship to 11 senior thesis projects in increments of five 20-minute sessions each. Charlene Pham, a senior animation major who grew up drawing original stories on her Nintendo DSi atop “The Little Mermaid” themed bed sheets, was chosen as one of the 11 projects to receive Musker’s aid.
“He's such a master at writing stories,” Pham said. “There's so much I can learn from him. I think there's a lot of ideals or themes that he's explored that could definitely help with (my story)."
A priority in Musker’s work is to create culturally inclusive content that allows people of all backgrounds an opportunity to identify with the characters they see on screen. So it was a no-brainer decision when Hinano Murphy, a Tahitian cultural practitioner, contacted Musker and his co-director Ron Clements in 2016 after the debut of “Moana,” asking for the film to be dubbed in Tahitian.
Prior to filming, Musker and Clements had taken a three week trip to the Pacific Islands, bonding with the native citizens and researching their culture, where they learned that Tahitian was a dying language.
Murphy’s request was granted, and “Moana” became the first film ever to be dubbed in Tahitian. It would eventually be dubbed in Maori for those native to New Zealand and Hawaiian for those native to Hawaii. Musker said that Pita Taufatofua, a Tongan flag-bearer in the 2016 Olympics, nearly cried when he first saw the film.
A caricature drawing done by John Musker of himself, Ron Clements and Howard Ashman, a Disney lyricist and playwright.
“He felt it really represented the Tongan people,” Musker said. “It was definitely powerful to us to have that happen. We really felt like we had an obligation to those people to do a movie that they could embrace.”
Director of animation and Visual Effects (VFX) Aubry Mintz noted the longevity of Musker’s career and his ability to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the industry. Musker began his career with films in 2D animation like “The Great Mouse Detective” and finished his career by completing “Moana,” a fully computer-generated animation film.
“Students take what (professors) say about the industry with a grain of salt, and so we may provide the exact same information that the industry professional provides, but they cement it,” said Mintz. “With someone like John Musker, who (has) had such amazing credits and big productions behind him, it becomes this thing where what he says is sacrosanct. It's like it's gold.”
Mintz, who has built several animation programs at other universities and founded the 24 Hours Animation Contest, reminisced on being a 15-year-old kid in Canada, inspired by "The Little Mermaid" and singing along to “Under the Sea” under his breath. When Mintz took his position at Chapman last semester, Musker was the first name he thought of to contribute to the artist in residence program.
A cartoon drawn by John Musker of Nixon during his impeachment.
“I thought, why not start at the top?” Mintz said. "I can't think of anyone that is making great art today, in terms of animation, that wouldn't have been influenced by some of (Musker’s) films.”
In 2019, Musker visited Chapman University for a master class in which he discussed his experience in both hand-drawn and computer-generated animation. Musker had a long running history with Bill Kroyer, former dean of Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts who was an animator at Disney the same time as Musker.
While Musker has conducted several master classes in the past, he admits there’s a bit of nerves in taking on a 16-week course, being that he has five sisters — four of whom are also teachers. Nevertheless, Musker is confident that despite his teaching experience being limited, he can provide an enlightening classroom experience that gives the animation students a plethora of advice to draw from.
“I had a broad range in a liberal arts background,” Musker said. “I had some things that were very particular to development and some things were added skills relating to animation. In hindsight, I'm glad I had both because I've drawn on both in what I do.”
Despite being initially rejected by Disney, they referred him to CalArts where he spent two years studying character animation. Upon graduating, he began working under the guidance of Disney animator Eric Larson.
Shortly after, he met Clements during the production of “The Fox and the Hound,” with whom he developed a close, personal bond. They went on to co-direct seven feature length animated films.
“It was a good marriage,” Musker said. “I always joked, at least while I was at the studio, that I've been married to my wife Gale now for 42 years, and I was married to Ron for 35 years. Not everybody can do it, but we're collaborative guys. We liked bouncing ideas off each other, and we did in the writing and we did in the directing.”
After 40-years at Disney, Musker announced his retirement in 2018. Even today, Musker said he is still able to witness the lasting legacy of his films.
“I've been at Disneyland, where I've seen Tiana in the parade, and I see a little Black girl waving to her and just so caught up in the moment,” Musker said. “I feel really good about that.”
Though he may be retired from Disney, Musker said he is still practicing his craft. He is currently working on his own hand-drawn, three-and-a-half-minute short film.
AVE 310 is currently at its full capacity, and the waitlist is now closed. Submissions for Musker’s mentorship are closed as well.
