For nearly a century, audiences have been enchanted by the fascinating art form of animation.
It's a medium with the ability to bring characters and tales to life in ways that have captivated generations.
Some individuals have grown to become true legends in the world of animation via ingenuity, inventiveness, and breakthrough approaches.
This article will honor the ten greatest animators of all time—masters who have made an everlasting impression on the world of animation.
1. Walt Disney
Walt Disney, the pioneer of animation, would be absent from any list of the best animators. As the founder of Disney Studios, he introduced famous characters such as Mickey Mouse and developed timeless classics such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Cinderella.”
At the age of 18, Walt Disney began his career in animation. Recognizing the promise of the new cel animation method, he and his brother Roy founded the Walt Disney Company to produce animated shorts starring their hallmark character Mickey Mouse.
2. Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli and is known for his profoundly imaginative and emotionally powerful films such as “Spirited Away,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” and “Princess Mononoke.”
Hayao Miyazaki, on the other hand, is one of the few Japanese animators to break through and become a household name around the world, and for a good cause.
3. Tex Avery
Tex Avery was a forefather of comedy and surreal animation. He developed some of the most recognizable characters in animation history, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and others from the Looney Tunes franchise.
Avery began his career in the early days of animation when short films were the predominant type. Avery landed a position at Warner Bros. after fraudulently claiming to be an experienced director. He went on to work on the early Looney Tunes shorts.
4. Matt Groening
We don't need to say much more than ‘Matt Groening invented The Simpsons' to illustrate how significant Matt Groening is in the world of animation.
In 1978, he began his career as a cartoonist by selling his self-published comic book Life in Hell in the corner of the record store where he worked. He'd recently moved to Los Angeles, and the comic strip was his way of telling his buddies about life there.
If that wasn't enough, Groening also produced the fantastic Futurama and, most recently, Disenchantment, making him one of the most successful cartoon artists of all time.
5. John Lasseter
John Lasseter, one of the co-founders of Pixar Animation Studios, was instrumental in redefining animation with revolutionary CGI films such as “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo.”
John Alan Lasseter is now an American film director, producer, screenwriter, computer animator, professional animator, and voice actor, and the head of animation at Sky Dance Animation.
John Lasseter was a film director and animator who served as the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disney Toon Studios.
6. Don Bluth
Don Bluth is a well-known American animator who is best known for his animated feature films and video games from the 1980s and 1990s. Bluth began his career at Disney, where he worked on animation teams for films such as Snow White, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and The Fox and the Hound.
He then left Disney to start his own studio. After being independent, Bluth began directing his own feature pictures, which were well-received by audiences. The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time, and All Dogs Go to Heaven are among his works from this era.
Bluth was also a pioneer in video games, directing Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, both of which merged traditional animation with choose-your-own-adventure gameplay.
7. Joe Murray
Joseph David Murray is an animator, writer, illustrator, producer, director, and actor from the United States. He is best known for creating the Nickelodeon animated series Rocko's Modern Life and the Cartoon Network animated comedy Camp Lazlo.
8. Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi is most known as an animator and filmmaker who defied the majority of animated films of his time. With shows like South Park, Family Guy, and King of the Hill ushering in an era of adult animation in the early 2000s, animation is now as much for adults as it is for children.
Fritz the Cat, based on the R. Crumb comic strip, was the first X-rated animated feature to be released. The film garnered harsh criticism at its initial release, yet it helped Bakshi achieve success.
Over the next 20 years, he directed a slew of films in his grim manner, including Heavy Traffic and Cool World, Wizards, and an animated Lord of the Rings adaption.
9. Genndy Tartakovsky
Genndy Tartakovsky, a Russian-American animator, is another graduate of the California Institute of the Arts. His family is originally from Moscow, but he came to the United States when he was seven years old because his parents were afraid about the influence antisemitism would have on his life.
Tartakovsky discovered comics after moving to Chicago from Columbus, Ohio, and fell in love with what he encountered.
He worked as an animator after graduating from CalArts, but it wasn't until he was hired by Hanna-Barbera that things truly took off for Tartakovsky.
He originally collaborated with Craig McCracken on 2 Stupid Dogs, and it was during this time that he began work on his own brainchild, Dexter's Laboratory.
Tartakovsky was finally commissioned by the Cartoon Network to create Dexter's Laboratory, and he has since worked on numerous famous animated shows and films.
10. Rebecca Ree Sugar
Rebecca Ree Sugar is a cartoonist, screenwriter, director, producer, composer, and songwriter from the United States.
She is well known for developing the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe, which made her a famous animator and the network's first female creator.
