Eric Cleworth

Eric Alfred Cleworth was an American animator, writer, and director, who worked at Disney and contributed to films, like One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, and Robin Hood.
He started at Disney in 1939 and slowly worked his way up to full-time animator who specialized in character design and movement, studying live action references in order to find the correct actions for the character. Here is what Cleworth said about studying rattlesnake footage for the dragon fight in Sleeping Beauty:
"The dragon's motions have a ponderous, reptilian grace that suggests powerful muscles moving a bulky body over the rocky terrain. The long neck and narrow head dart with serpentine fluidity."
Cleworth worked with Wolfgang Reitherman's unit during Lady and the Tramp, where he did some of the action sequences, including Tramp scarring off the other dogs when Lady has a muzzle, and in The Jungle Book with John Lounsbery animating the elephant inspection sequence.
Outside of Disney, Cleworth worked on projects, like Popeye the Sailor, a revamped Pink Panther show, and Richard Williams' The Thief and the Cobbler.
Despite initially retiring in the 1970s with his Disney stock options and had a long and comfortable retirement in Morro Bay, Cleworth returned to help animate the television shows The Wuzzles and Adventures of the Gummi Bears. He died on December 10, 1999.
==Filmography==
Year 	Film 	Position
1951 	Alice in Wonderland 	Animator - uncredited
1953 	Peter Pan 	Character animator
1953 	Ben and Me 	Animator
1955-1963	The Magical World of Disney 	AnimatorSequence director: "Holiday for Henpecked Husbands"Segment director: "A Salute to Father"
1955 	Lady and the Tramp 	Character animator
1957 	The Truth About Mother Goose 	Animator
1959 	Sleeping Beauty 	Character animator: Dragon
1959 	Donald in Mathmagic Land 	Animator
1960 	Goliath II 	Character animator
1961 	One Hundred and One Dalmatians 	Character animator: Jasper and Horace, Nanny
1963 	The Sword in the Stone 	Character animator
1967 	The Jungle Book 	Character animator: Hathi and elephants
1970 	The Aristocats 	Character animator: Hound dogsStory
1973 	Robin Hood 	Animator - uncreditedStory sequences
1977 	The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh	Animator: "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree"Story: "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too"
1985 	The Wuzzles 	Animator
1985-1989	Adventures of the Gummi Bears 	Animator
==Gallery==
Disney12.jpg|Cleworth (second farthest back leading towards the table behind John Lounsbery) retired a few years after this photo was taken.
===Character Gallery===
Profile - Peter Pan.jpeg|Peter Pan
Captain-hook1.jpg|Captain Hook
Mr. Smee Profile.jpg|Mr. Smee
Tramp-disneyscreencaps com-5220.jpg|Lady and Tramp
Profile - Jock.jpeg|Jock
Sleeping-beauty-disneyscreencaps.com-1686.jpg|Maleficent
101-dalmatians-disneyscreencaps.com-3006.jpg|Jasper and Horace
101dalmatians 235.jpg|Nanny
Merlin Sword in the Stone.jpeg|Merlin
Sword-disneyscreencaps com-1661.jpg|Sir Ector
Profile - Sir Kay.png|Sir Kay
Profile - Colonel Hathi.jpeg|Colonel Hathi
Profile - Hathi, Jr..jpeg|Hathi, Jr.
Profile - King Louie.jpeg|King Louie
Junglebook448.jpg|Elephants
Jungle-book-disneyscreencaps.com-465.jpg|Akela
Profile- Napoleon and Lafayette .webp|Napoleon and Lafayette
==External links==
*
Category:Males
Category:Writers
Category:Directors
Category:Animators
Category:1920s births
Category:1990s deaths
Category:People from Minnesota
Category:Deceased
Category:American people
Category:Alice in Wonderland
Category:Peter Pan
Category:Ben and Me
Category:Lady and the Tramp
Category:Sleeping Beauty
Category:Goliath II
Category:101 Dalmatians
Category:The Sword in the Stone
Category:The Jungle Book
Category:The Aristocats
Category:Robin Hood
Category:The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Category:The Wuzzles
Category:Adventures of the Gummi Bears
Category:Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Category:Donald Duck
Category:The Disney Afternoon
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios