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Kendall O'Connor

Birth : 1908-06-07, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Death : 1998-05-27

History

Born in Perth, Australia, on June 7, 1908, Ken studied commercial art at Melbourne Technical College and fine art at the Australian National Gallery in Melbourne. In 1930, he emigrated with his family to the United States, settling in San Francisco, where he continued his education at the California School of Art. Among the most memorable images Ken created for the screen were the magical coach in Cinderella, the marching cards in Alice in Wonderland, and the dancing hippos in Fantasia. His other credits include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo,Make Mine Music, Melody Time, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and more. During World War II, Ken worked on training and educational films that Disney produced for the United States government, includingFood Will Win the War, as well as theatrical cartoons such as Education for Death. Later, he provided layouts for the first 3-D cartoon, Adventures in Music: Melody. He also served as art director on three “space factuals” for Disney’s television programs Man in Space, Man and the Moon, and Mars and Beyond. He also art directed the first CinemaScope cartoon, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, which won an Academy Award® in 1953. After more than 30 years with the company, Ken retired in 1978. He continued to lend his imagination and artistry, however, to such projects as Epcot Center’s Universe of Energy and World of Motion attractions. He also consulted on the Back to Neverland [sic] film, featured in the Magic of Disney Animation attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park in Florida, which introduced park guests to the animation process. Ken also taught layout and art direction at the California Institute of the Arts, helping influence an entire generation of today’s animation greats. -D23

Movies

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid

Visual Development

This colorful adventure tells the story of an impetuous mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and puts everything on the line for the chance to be with him. Memorable songs and characters -- including the villainous sea witch Ursula.

Physical Fitness and Good Health

Physical Fitness and Good Health

Art Direction

Exercise, rest and proper diet are essential for physical fitness. Diagrams show the structure and function of muscles and the importance of exercise to tone muscles, nerves and organs. With rest, muscles are cleansed of wastes and refueled. Food, our only energy source, provides fuel for the body mechanism. If the physical side of the Health Triangle is weak, the other two sides can be adversely affected.

The Social Side of Health

The Social Side of Health

Art Direction

The narrator tells of the three sides of health represented by a triangle with the physical side at the bottom, the mental side on the left, and the social side-the subject of this film-on the right.

Steps Towards Maturity and Health

Steps Towards Maturity and Health

Art Direction

There is a focus on the need for physical, mental and social health to be fully developed in order for humans to function properly within society. The film is aimed at an adolescent audience who are independently confronting developments in these aspects of their well-being for the first time.

Goofy's Freeway Troubles

Goofy's Freeway Troubles

Art Direction

After a brief review of the problems described in Freewayphobia #1 (1965), we see a new range of problems. These include: abrupt breakdowns due to poor maintenance; unsecured loads; running out of gas. We learn how to handle breakdowns properly. We also learn about situations that can affect the driver, like fatigue, alcohol, turnpike trance, and the weather.

Art Direction

Goofy demonstrates how not to drive on the freeway: first, the overly timid driver, then the overly aggressive driver, and finally the inattentive driver, shaving or eating. Some of the advice is a bit dated: following distances are still in car lengths instead of time, and of course cell phones aren't mentioned directly.

Contrasts in Rhythm

Contrasts in Rhythm

Layout Supervisor

An animated segment from the film Melody Time which includes the two shorts "Bumble Boogie" and "Trees".

Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom

Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom

Art Direction

In this short subject (which mostly represents a departure from Disney's traditional approach to animation), a stuffy owl teacher lectures his feathered flock on the origins of Western musical instruments. Starting with cavepeople, whose crude implements could only "toot, whistle, plunk and boom," the owl explains how these beginnings led to the development of the four basic types of Western musical instruments: brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion.

Layout

Cinderella has faith her dreams of a better life will come true. With help from her loyal mice friends and a wave of her Fairy Godmother's wand, Cinderella's rags are magically turned into a glorious gown and off she goes to the Royal Ball. But when the clock strikes midnight, the spell is broken, leaving a single glass slipper... the only key to the ultimate fairy-tale ending!

Donald's Tire Trouble

Donald's Tire Trouble

Layout

Donald, driving in the country, is frustrated in his attempts to fix a flat tire. The jack breaks, the radiator explodes, then the remaining three tires go flat. Donald gives up in disgust and drives on with the flats. The film features references to the rubber shortage during World War II.

Art Direction

Bambi's tale unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns about life, love, and friends.

Layout

Animated documentary promoting timely filing and payment of Federal income taxes, demonstrated by Donald Duck's difficulties with his tax return.

Art Direction

Lonely toymaker Geppetto has his wishes answered when the Blue Fairy arrives to bring his wooden puppet Pinocchio to life. Before becoming a real boy, however, Pinocchio must prove he's worthy as he sets off on an adventure with his whistling sidekick and conscience, Jiminy Cricket.

The Practical Pig

The Practical Pig

Layout

After his two brothers are captured, the third little pig invents a machine to capture the big bad wolf.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Layout

A beautiful girl, Snow White, takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen. The Queen is jealous because she wants to be known as "the fairest in the land," and Snow White's beauty surpasses her own.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Art Direction

A beautiful girl, Snow White, takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen. The Queen is jealous because she wants to be known as "the fairest in the land," and Snow White's beauty surpasses her own.

Animation

Musical instruments are the stars of a romantic fable set in the Land of Symphony and the Isle of Jazz, two islands separated by the Sea of Discord. The violin princess and the saxophone prince fall in love, but must meet secretly in order to avoid the wrath of their parents, the Symphony queen and the Jazz king. The queen finds the boy saxophone on her island, attempting to woo her daughter. She has him locked in the metronome, but the young lover manages to send a note - in fact, several musical notes on sheet music - that conveys the message that he has been imprisoned. The Isle of Jazz declares war by blasting musical notes across the sea. The only thing that can bring peace and harmony to the Sea of Discord is love.