Ron Clements

Feature Films
 Years Active
 Portrays

**Ronald Francis "Ron" Clements** (born April 25, 1953) is an American animation director, screenwriter and producer. He often collaborates with the fellow director John Musker.

## Career

Clements began his career as an animator for Hanna-Barbera. After a few months there, he was accepted into Disney's Talent Development Program, an animator training ground, and workshop. After that, he served a two-year apprenticeship with famed animator Frank Thomas, a supervising animator in classic Disney films such as *Peter Pan* (1953), *Lady and the Tramp* (1955), and *The Aristocats* (1970).

Clements made his feature debut as a character animator on *The Rescuers* and *Pete's Dragon* in 1977. In 1981, he became the supervising animator on *The Fox and the Hound*. Future partner John Musker worked as a character animator under him. Clements later teamed up with Musker as story artists on the ambitiously animated flop *The Black Cauldron* in 1985. In 1986, Clements made his directorial debut alongside Musker and two other collaborators on the feature *The Great Mouse Detective*. Clements previously made a pre-Disney short based on Sherlock Holmes.

Together, Musker and Clements wrote and directed *The Little Mermaid* in 1989, a touching retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale. With Oscar-winning songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the film was a huge success, bringing back critical and commercial clout for feature animation. Later on, the two wrote, directed, and produced *Aladdin* in 1992, which was an even larger success. They also directed *Hercules* in 1997, which was not as successful as the previous two films but was still profitable.

Their next directorial collaboration would be the sci-fi *Treasure Planet* (2002), critics reviews were generally positive but it was, unfortunately, a commercial failure. The film lacked the songs and colorful characters which were crucial to the success of *Aladdin* and *The Little Mermaid* although he was nominated an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

However, after Disney's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, the studio has rekindled interest towards 2-D animation thanks to new leaders John Lasseter and Edwin Catmull. A new 2-D animated feature, *The Princess and the Frog* was released in 2009, with Musker and Clements directing and Randy Newman handling the music. The film returns to the Broadway-style musical of *Aladdin*, *The Little Mermaid* and other successful Disney animated films of the late '80s and early '90s.

In late 2012, the duo announced that they will be directing a new film in the future, but they have their lips sealed for the title, the plot, and the animation style. In July 2013, it was revealed that the film, titled *Moana*, would be "a Polynesian tale involving the island folk and the idols made famous the world over," and that it is planned for 2016.

## Credits

* *The Rescuers* - character animator
* *The Fox and the Hound* - supervising animator
* *The Black Cauldron* - additional story contributions
* *The Great Mouse Detective* - director, story adaption
* *The Little Mermaid* - co-director and writer with John Musker
* *Aladdin* - director, producer and screenplay
* *Hercules* - director, producer and screenplay
* *Treasure Planet* - director, producer, story and screenplay
* *Bolt* - special thanks
* *The Princess and the Frog* - director, story and screenplay
* *Big Hero 6* - Creative Leadership
* *Moana* - director, writer