2008 Woodie Awards
UI alum finds boyhood calling at Disney
Kayla Kelley - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: Metro
When Don Hall was first assigned to work on the movie Meet the Robinsons, he never imagined that he would lend his voice to two characters: Uncle Gaston and Coach.
As the main animator for the Walt Disney Studios film, the UI alumnus worked for four years to help create the characters that he embellished with his vocal talents.
The Glenwood, Iowa, native said he has pictured himself living in California and drawing for Disney since childhood. Now, he works as the head of story for the company and has put his hand to a number of animated pictures, including Tarzan, The Emperor's New Groove, Chicken Little, and, most recently, Meet the Robinsons.
"I did imagine it," the 1991 UI graduate said. "Apparently when I was little, I told my parents that I wanted to work for Disney."
Hall pursued his dream to become an animator through middle school and high school. Before ending up at Disney, he earned degrees in drawing and painting from the UI and returned home for a year after graduation, working at a bank until he was admitted to a California art school.
It was during an experimental animation class at the UI that he was able to create his first animated work by using an old camera from the university's communication department.
"My first animated film was of Janet Jackson dancing," he said.
While Hall noted he got his first glimpse of animation at the UI, he said he doesn't feel he applied himself fully to the curriculum, because he was so focused on Disney.
"I got good grades, but I didn't really immerse myself in drawing and painting [during his undergraduate years]," he said. "If I could go back, I would definitely paint more, because it is something I don't get to do as much now."
Hall moved to the West Coast to attend art school in 1992, where he studied animation for three years before snagging a job with Disney as a story artist in 1995.
Since then, excluding a five-month period during which he worked for DreamWorks, Hall has driven to his Disney office in Burbank, Calif., every workday morning.
As the main animator for the Walt Disney Studios film, the UI alumnus worked for four years to help create the characters that he embellished with his vocal talents.
The Glenwood, Iowa, native said he has pictured himself living in California and drawing for Disney since childhood. Now, he works as the head of story for the company and has put his hand to a number of animated pictures, including Tarzan, The Emperor's New Groove, Chicken Little, and, most recently, Meet the Robinsons.
"I did imagine it," the 1991 UI graduate said. "Apparently when I was little, I told my parents that I wanted to work for Disney."
Hall pursued his dream to become an animator through middle school and high school. Before ending up at Disney, he earned degrees in drawing and painting from the UI and returned home for a year after graduation, working at a bank until he was admitted to a California art school.
It was during an experimental animation class at the UI that he was able to create his first animated work by using an old camera from the university's communication department.
"My first animated film was of Janet Jackson dancing," he said.
While Hall noted he got his first glimpse of animation at the UI, he said he doesn't feel he applied himself fully to the curriculum, because he was so focused on Disney.
"I got good grades, but I didn't really immerse myself in drawing and painting [during his undergraduate years]," he said. "If I could go back, I would definitely paint more, because it is something I don't get to do as much now."
Hall moved to the West Coast to attend art school in 1992, where he studied animation for three years before snagging a job with Disney as a story artist in 1995.
Since then, excluding a five-month period during which he worked for DreamWorks, Hall has driven to his Disney office in Burbank, Calif., every workday morning.
Be the first to comment on this story