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Ollie Johnston, Last of Disney's "Nine Old Men," Dies

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I was very sad to hear this news. Johnston, as many of you may know, was one of Walt Disney's team of hand-picked animators who worked with him from the days of Snow White. The team was called the "Nine old men," and vintage interviews with them are used on DVD's of old animated classics. Watching these features made me grow a large respect for these men, and the amazing milestones they created in animation. They are legends, like the characters they animated.

With the death of Ollie Johnston, all nine are gone. It seems to me to be a definitive close to the classic years of Disney. It's sad news indeed, though he did live to be a ripe old age of 95. His work, and the work of his fellows, will live on long after all of us alive today are gone. RIP Ollie.

Here's a link to a full article about Johnston's death: (I don't know how to make links, so you'll have to cut and paste.)
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/ollie-johnston-1912-2008
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I remember watching stuff with this guy when I was little. I really liked him. The way he described being an animator made me really want to be one.

I'm currently re-watching the "Disney Family Album" that featured him (all these years later on Youtube). I love his philosophy about animation and making things come to life in a way where they exist as themselves and we identify with them as a form of entertainment. That type of approach is why I've always preferred what Disney did over other animation projects like Loony Tunes (which I also like but not as much).

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005