Don Bluth

Don Bluth Bio

Donald Virgil Bluth, known professionally as Don Bluth, is an American filmmaker, animator, video game designer, and author. Born on September 13, 1937, in El Paso, Texas, he became one of the most influential figures in modern animation. He came to prominence working for Walt Disney Productions before founding his own studio in the early 1980s.

Bluth is best known for directing animated films such as The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Anastasia, and Titan A.E. He is also recognized for his work on the LaserDisc arcade game Dragon’s Lair. Throughout the 1980s, his productions served as a major competitor to Disney and helped pave the way for the Disney Renaissance.

Early Life and Background

Donald Virgil Bluth was born on September 13, 1937, in El Paso, Texas, to Emaline Pratt Bluth and Virgil Roneal Bluth. His maternal grandfather was Rey Pratt from the Pratt family, and his great-grandfather Helaman Pratt was an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through this lineage, Bluth is distantly related to politician Mitt Romney. He is of Swedish, English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent.

As a child in El Paso, he rode his horse to the local movie theater to watch Disney films. He later said that he would then go home and copy every Disney comic book he could find. At the age of six, his family moved to Payson, Utah, where he grew up on a family farm. In 1954, the family relocated to Santa Monica, California, setting the stage for his future entry into the animation industry.

Path to Directing Animated Films

After graduating high school, Bluth was hired in 1955 by Walt Disney Productions as an assistant to animator John Lounsbery on Sleeping Beauty. In 1957, he left Disney, finding the work unstimulating. He then spent two and a half years in Argentina on a church mission before returning to the United States, where he ran a local theater in Culver City, producing musicals such as The Music Man and The Sound of Music.

Bluth completed a degree in English literature at Brigham Young University. In 1967, he returned to animation at Filmation, working on The Archie Show and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. By 1971, he was back at Disney as an animation trainee, contributing to Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, The Rescuers, Pete’s Dragon, and the short The Small One. During production of The Rescuers, he was promoted to directing animator alongside Disney’s legendary Nine Old Men.

Don Bluth Career

Early Career (1955–1979)

Bluth’s earliest professional work began at Walt Disney Productions in 1955, where he served as an assistant on Sleeping Beauty. Following his mission in Argentina and his time running a community theater, he rejoined the animation industry at Filmation in 1967. His return to Disney in 1971 led to key roles on Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and Pete’s Dragon.

During his final years at Disney, Bluth produced his first independent film, the short Banjo the Woodpile Cat. On his 42nd birthday in 1979, he resigned from Disney to establish Don Bluth Productions with Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, and nine fellow Disney animators.

Breakthrough (1979–1985)

Don Bluth Productions demonstrated its early skill with Banjo the Woodpile Cat, which led to work on an animated segment of the live-action film Xanadu. The studio’s first feature-length film was The Secret of NIMH in 1982, which employed 160 animators and featured the first profit-sharing contract in the animation industry. Though only a moderate box-office success, it received strong critical reviews and became a cult classic on home video. Despite this acclaim, the studio filed for bankruptcy due to modest grosses and an industry-wide animation strike.

In 1983, Bluth partnered with Rick Dyer, Goldman, and Pomeroy to create the arcade game Dragon’s Lair, followed by Space Ace in 1984, for which Bluth provided the voice of the villain Borf. The 1983 video game crash left the Bluth Group without income, leading to a second bankruptcy filing in March 1985. In that same year, Bluth, Pomeroy, and Goldman established Sullivan Bluth Studios with businessman Morris Sullivan, later moving operations to Dublin, Ireland, to benefit from government incentives.

Spielberg Era and Fox Years (1986–2000)

Teaming with producer Steven Spielberg, Bluth directed An American Tail in 1986, which became the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film of its time, earning over 84 million dollars worldwide. Their collaboration The Land Before Time followed in 1988 and performed even better at the box office. Bluth later directed All Dogs Go to Heaven in 1989 before ending his working relationship with Spielberg.

Throughout the early 1990s, Bluth directed several films including Rock-a-Doodle, Thumbelina, A Troll in Central Park, and The Pebble and the Penguin, most of which underperformed commercially. His fortunes changed with Anastasia in 1997, produced at Fox Animation Studios in Phoenix, Arizona, which grossed nearly 140 million dollars worldwide and established 20th Century Fox as a Disney competitor. His final theatrical film, Titan A.E. in 2000, was a box-office disappointment, grossing less than 37 million dollars against a 75 million dollar budget, leading to the closure of Fox Animation Studios.

Notable Works and Milestones

Don Bluth’s signature works include The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, Anastasia, and the arcade game Dragon’s Lair. His studio’s success in the 1980s forced Disney to reconsider its animation strategy and contributed to the conditions that produced the Disney Renaissance.

Don Bluth Award Nominations

Don Bluth received industry recognition throughout his career for his contributions to animation and filmmaking, though specific nomination details beyond verified records are limited. His body of work as a director and animator earned him a respected place among his peers in the animation community.

Don Bluth Awards Won

Don Bluth was honored with the Inkpot Award in 1983, recognizing his distinguished contributions to the fields of animation and comic arts. This award underscored his impact on the animation industry during a pivotal era of competition with Disney.

Don Bluth Family

Donald Virgil Bluth was raised by his parents, Emaline Pratt Bluth and Virgil Roneal Bluth, in El Paso, Texas, before the family relocated to Payson, Utah. His brother, Toby Bluth, was also involved in the arts. Bluth has stated that he and his siblings do not communicate with each other as adults.

Through his mother Emaline, Bluth is descended from the Pratt family, including his great-grandfather Helaman Pratt, an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This lineage connects him to political figures including George W. Romney and Mitt Romney.

Personal Life

Don Bluth has long been associated with the American Southwest, having resided in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he hosted youth theater productions in his home beginning in the 1990s. These productions eventually grew into Don Bluth Front Row Theatre, which relocated to a dedicated space off Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale in 2012. Bluth has continued his work in animation and storytelling through his newer ventures and publications, including his 2022 memoir Somewhere Out There: My Animated Life.