This column originally appeared in May 2009. Al is finishing a major project.
Walt Disney animator and engineer William “Bill” Justice was born on Feb. 9, 1914, in Dayton, Ohio but grew up in Greenfield, Ind. His family moved to Indianapolis and after Bill graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1931, he attended the John Herron Art Institute (now affiliated with IUPUI in Indianapolis), where he studied to be a portrait artist.
After graduation from Herron in 1935, Bill found he couldn’t get a job in Indy as an animator. He saw an ad in a magazine for the Walt Disney Company and wrote to Walt Disney himself and received a return letter asking him to come to Hollywood for a tryout. Young Bill Justice packed his bags and headed west to join “The Walt Disney Studios” in 1937. He joined 30 others in applying for a $12.50 a week job and was one of 12 people who got jobs. His first assignment was to work on the classic, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
Justice was soon was making $25 per week working on such features as Fantasia, the Three Caballeros, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Winnie the Pooh, Lady and the Tramp and Peter Pan. He is perhaps best known as the animator of the rabbit Thumper from 1942’s Bambi and chipmunks Chip ‘n Dale (Bill animated all but one of their cartoons). During the 1950-60s, Bill directed several experimental short films, including “Jack and Old Mac” (1956), “The Truth About Mother Goose” (1957), “Noah’s Ark” (1959), and “A Symposium On Popular Songs” (1962), all of which were nominated for Academy Awards as Best Short Subject, Cartoon. Bill pioneered the painstaking technique of stop-motion animation in live-action Disney features including The Parent Trap, Babes in Toyland and Mary Poppins. In total, Justice worked on over 80 shorts and 20 features for Disney.
In the 1950s, Bill also directed the Mickey Mouse March heard and seen on Disney’s popular television series, the “Mickey Mouse Club.” Bill also had the knack for designing parades. In 1959, he designed the floats and costumes for one of the first Disneyland Christmas Parades, and also produced sketches for the Main Street Electrical Parade.
Walt Disney himself tapped Bill to join Walt Disney Imagineering in 1965, believing that an expert animator would help make the movements of his Audio-Animatronics characters at the theme park appear more natural. Bill’s first challenge was to animate the auctioneer for the Disneyland attraction, “The Pirates of the Caribbean.” He then completed the rest of the characters and began his next challenge, The Carousel of Progress. He said, “One of the most enjoyable Disneyland projects was the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ Manipulating the figures in each vignette was a multiple challenge.”
Bill programmed figures for such Disneyland attractions as Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Mission to Mars, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, and America Sings. Bill went on to help bring to life cast members in the Hall of Presidents attraction in Walt Disney World. He also masterminded the Mickey Mouse Revue featured at Walt Disney World and later, Tokyo Disneyland. Bill Justice retired after 42 years with Disney in 1979, was named a Disney Legend in 1996 and currently resides in Granada Hills, Calif., with his wife Kim; he is the author of the book “Justice for Disney,” which chronicles his years with the company, and is a frequent guest at “Disneyana” Conventions. (Editor’s note: Mr. Justice passed away in February 2011at the age of 97.)
Bill Justice loved his work at The Walt Disney Company, whether it was programming Audio-Animatronics figures for the theme parks or animating Mickey Mouse. When asked if he ever got bored drawing Mickey Mouse, Bill replied, “Have you seen me draw Mickey upside down?” He then did so — effortlessly. This native Hoosier apparently has Disney ink running through his veins all the way back to Indy’s eastside.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest books are “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View,” “Irvington Haunts. The Tour Guide,” and “The Mystery of the H.H. Holmes Collection.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
