Veteran Disney Animator and Producer of “The Black Cauldron” Joe Hale Passes Away at 99
Disney Animation veteran Joe Hale, who spent 35 years at the studio as an animator, layout artist, effects animator, and a producer, has passed away at the age of 99. Hale died on January 29th of natural causes at his home in Atascadero, California.
Born in 1925 in Indiana, Hale later spent time at the Michigan Academy of Arts and graduated from the Lutkis Academy of Fine Arts in Los Angeles before being hired by Disney Studio.
Hale started at the Walt Disney company in 1951, where he served as an assistant under Ollie Johnston. After more traditional animated fare, Hale found himself in the layout department, working on The Wonderful World of Disney and The Wonderful World of Color television programs, before moving into Effects Animation, working on films like Return From Witch Mountain, The Cat From Outer Space and The Watcher in the Woods.
It was on The Black Hole that he served as animation special effects supervisor, garnering an Oscar nomination alongside Peter Ellenshaw, Art Cruickshank, Eustace Lycett, Danny Lee, and Harrison Ellenshaw.
Despite working on animated classics like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Pete’s Dragon, Hale will most likely be remembered as the producer who oversaw The Black Cauldron.
The film, based on the five books in the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander, is well-known for almost shuttering the legendary animation studio.
Overseeing a staff of 300 artists, including future animation legend Andreas Deja and a young Tim Burton, Hale famously told then-new Disney Studios president Jeffrey Katzenberg that “animated films can’t be edited" after numerous changes were demanded after a failed test-screening.
The Black Cauldron took in less than $22 million in the box office upon release in 1985, and after Katzenberg didn’t like Hale’s next project - a film adaptation of the sequel to Gulliver’s Travels - Hale was fired from Disney in 1986.
Hale did not work in Hollywood after his time at Disney, and spent a lot of time as a sculptor. He is survived by his son, Steven, and grandchildren, Camille and Travis.