Floyd Norman

Floyd E. Norman (born June 22, 1935)[1] is an American animator, writer, and comic book artist. Over the course of his career, Norman has worked for a number of animation companies, among them Walt Disney Animation Studios, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Ruby-Spears, Film Roman and Pixar.

Floyd Norman
Norman, 2016
Born
Floyd E. Norman

(1935-06-22) June 22, 1935
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Notable work
Sleeping Beauty
The Sword in the Stone
The Jungle Book
Mary Poppins
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Toy Story 2
Monsters, Inc.
Mickey Mouse comic strip
TitleAnimator, writer, artist
AwardsBlack Filmmakers Hall of Fame, 1979
Winsor McCay Award, 2002
Disney Legend, 2007
Inkpot Award, 2008
Sergio Award, 2013
Friz Freleng Award, 2015
AAFCA Special Achievement Award, 2016
Milton Caniff Award, 2019
Websitehttp://floydnormancom.squarespace.com
Signature

Life and career

Norman's love for animated pictures started when he watched the Disney feature films Dumbo and Bambi.[2] He had his start as an assistant to Katy Keene comic book artist Bill Woggon, who lived in the Santa Barbara, California, area Norman grew up in. In 1957, Norman was employed as an inbetweener on Sleeping Beauty (released in 1959) at The Walt Disney Company, becoming the first African-American artist to remain at the studio on a long-term basis.[3] Following his work on Sleeping Beauty, Norman was drafted, and returned to the studio after his service in 1960 to work on One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and The Sword in the Stone (1963).[3] After Walt Disney saw some of the inter-office sketches Norman made to entertain his co-workers, he was reassigned to the story department, where he worked with Larry Clemons on the story for The Jungle Book.[3]

After Walt Disney's death in 1966, Floyd Norman left the Disney studio to co-found Vignette Films, Inc., with business partner animator/director Leo Sullivan. Vignette Films, Inc. produced six animated films and was one of the first companies to produce films on the subject of black history.[4][5] Norman and Sullivan worked together on various projects, including segments for Sesame Street and the original Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert television special conceived by Bill Cosby, which aired in 1969 on NBC.[3][6] In 1972, a different Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Saturday morning cartoon series was produced for CBS by Filmation Associates. In 1999, Norman and Sullivan created a multicultural internet site, afrokids.com, designed to present a variety of African-American images to children.

Norman returned to Disney at one point in the early 1970s to work on the Disney animated feature Robin Hood, and worked on several animated television programs at Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears. In the 1980s he worked as a writer in the comic strip department at Disney and was the last scripter for the Mickey Mouse comic strip before it was discontinued.[7]

He has worked on motion pictures for Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, having contributed creatively as a story artist on films such as Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. for Pixar and Mulan, Dinosaur and The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Walt Disney Animation Studios, among others, including Reel FX's Free Birds.

Norman has also published several books of cartoons inspired by his lifetime of experiences in the animation industry, Faster! Cheaper!: The Flip Side to the Art of Animation ISBN 9780942909029; Son of Faster, Cheaper!: A Sharp Look Inside the Animation Business ISBN 9781881368373; How the Grinch Stole Disney ISBN 9781881368380; Disk Drive: Animated Humor in the Digital Age; and Suspended Animation: The Art Form That Refuses To Die. [8]

Norman has also authored a semi-biographical animation primer, titled: Animated Life: A Lifetime of tips, tricks, techniques and stories from an animation Legend (Animation Masters) ISBN 0240818059, that was published by Focal Press in 2013. He is the subject of the 2016 documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life.[9]

He is a columnist for the websites JimHillMedia.com and AfroKids.com.

In 2016 Norman was appointed to the education and outreach committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.[10][11]

Debuting at the 2017 D23 Expo, Disney Editions published the picture book: A Kiss Goodnight ISBN 9781484782286 written by Richard M. Sherman and illustrated by Norman.[12]

Awards and honors

Norman was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1979.[13] Norman was a recipient of the Winsor McCay Award for "recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation" at the 2002 Annie Awards.[14] Norman was named a Disney Legend in 2007.[1] In 2008, he appeared as Guest of Honor at Comic-Con International, where he was given an Inkpot Award.[15] In 2013 Norman was honored with the "Sergio Award" from The Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS).[16] in 2014, Norman was the recipient of the DFC Disney Legend award given by the Disneyana Fan Club. [17] In 2015 Norman received the Friz Freleng Award for Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Animation from the International Family Film Festival.[18][19] In 2016, Norman was the recipient of the Special Achievement Award (Legendary Animator) from the African-American Film Critics Association. [20][21] In June 2018, Norman received an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy degree from Cogswell Polytechnical College. [22] In May 2019, Norman was honored with the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cartoonists Society.[23][24]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Notes
1959Sleeping Beautyclean-up artist/in between artist (uncredited)
1963The Sword in the Stoneassistant animator (uncredited)
1967The Jungle Bookstory artist (uncredited)
1973Robin Hoodassistant animator (uncredited)
1979Scooby Goes Hollywoodlayout artist
1994Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nightsstoryboard artist
A Flintstones Christmas Carolstoryboard artist
1996The Hunchback of Notre Damestory
1998Mulanstory
1999Toy Story 2additional story artist
2000The Tigger Movieadditional story artist
Dinosaurstory artist
2001Monsters, Inc.additional story artist
2002Cinderella II: Dreams Come Trueadditional story artist
2005Kronk's New Grooveadditional story artist
2013Free Birdsadditional story artist

Television
Year Title Notes
1969SkyhawksAnimator
1969Hot Wheelsanimator
1970Josie and the PussycatsLayout Artist
1972Sealab 2020Layout Artist
1973Goober and the Ghost ChasersLayout Artist
1974Wheelie and the Chopper BunchLayout Artist
1976Jabberjawanimator
1977I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad AliLayout Artist
1977Laff-A-LympicsLayout Artist
1978Yogi's Space RaceLayout Artst
1978–1979Godzillakey layout artist
1981The Kwicky Koala Showstory director
1981–1989The Smurfslayout artist/story director/storyboard artist
1981Super FriendsKey Layout Artist
1982Pac-Manlayout artist
1984Alvin and the Chipmunksstory director/layout artist
1984–1987Snorksstory director
1987Beverly Hills Teensstoryboard artist
1988–1994Garfield and Friendsstoryboard artist
2002Courage the Cowardly Dogstoryboard artist
2008Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turnsstoryboard artist
2015Robot Chickenstoryboard artist
gollark: ++delete <@319753218592866315>
gollark: Nobody, not everything has to be weird and NSFW.
gollark: What happened to sleep?
gollark: Sometimes, when I need to be quieter, I use a touchscreen - if I tap the right side it triggers a right click, and the same for the left.
gollark: I say "RIGHT CLICK" and it triggers a right click.

References
  1. "Disney Legends: Floyd Norman". D23.com (Disney). Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  2. Sergio (October 9, 2013). "Disney's first African-American animator: Walt never cared about my color". Salon. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  3. Shostak, Stu (03-28-2012). "Interview with Floyd Norman". Stu's Show. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  4. "Floyd Norman". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  5. AfroKids official website.
  6. Norman, Floyd. "The Real Fat Albert".
  7. Norman, Floyd. "One Mouse, two Floyds," Jim Hill Media (July 20, 2004).
  8. "Member Profile: Floyd Norman - Blurb Books".
  9. "Floyd Norman: An Animated Life". floydnormanmovie.com.
  10. "THE ACADEMY ADDS DIVERSE VOICES TO ITS LEADERSHIP". March 16, 2016.
  11. Keegan, Rebecca (March 15, 2016). "Film academy appoints three diverse new governors, others to leadership positions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  12. "D23 Expo - Book Review: A Kiss Goodnight". July 15, 2017.
  13. "Inductees". www.blackfilmmakershalloffamearchives.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016.
  14. "30th Annie Awards".
  15. "Inkpot Award". December 6, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016.
  16. "Comic Art Professional Society". July 28, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014.
  17. "DFC Awards". DISNEYANA FAN CLUB | PRESERVING THE LEGACY OF WALT DISNEY.
  18. "International Family Film Festival".
  19. "The International Family Film Festival". October 26, 2015.
  20. "Legendary Disney animator Floyd Norman to receive African American Film Critics award". October 25, 2016.
  21. Caslin, Yvette. "2017 AAFCA Special Achievement Honors highlights film and TV influencers".
  22. "Floyd Norman Shines Through Inspiration Uniqueness And Consistency". cogswell.edu.
  23. "Floyd Norman to Receive Milton Caniff Award". The Daily Cartoonist. April 30, 2019.
  24. "Floyd Norman to receive the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award!".


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