From the moment he saw the Technicolored splendors of Disney's first animated feature, Willie Ito knew what he wanted to do by way of a career ....
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"I saw those dwarfs marching across that log bridge, and I was hooked. I knew I wanted cartooning to be my life's work."
Willie Ito grew up in San Francisco (with a two-and-a-half year residency at a World War II internment camp), but when he finished high school Mr. Ito headed for Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles to pursue his passion for drawing. However, his art education was cut short when he found himself hired by Walt Disney Productions to work on Lady and the Tramp.
From that day on, full-time college attendance was a thing of Willie's past ...
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2 comments:
I didn't meet Mr. Ito until the sixties over at Bob Clampett's Hollywood studio. Since that time I've had the pleasure of working with this animation giant at both Hanna-Barbera and Walt Disney.
He's an amazing talent and one helluva nice guy.
I suppose the TV title Ito was talking about was "Prince Varmint" for the cartoon originally called "Prince Violent".
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