In Walt Disney’s world of animation, there was a famous group of animators called the “Nine Old Men.” This was how Disney himself referred to this group of animators, a bit of a joke since it was his way of playing on the term President Franklin Roosevelt used to refer to the Supreme Court. Frank Thomas was one of the Nine Old Men — and even if you aren’t familiar with his name and history, you almost certainly know of one of his most popular Disney
works. He’s the man who animated the dogs nibbling a spaghetti noodle in the 1955 animated film Lady and the Tramp. If you’ve read about other Disney animators, then you’ve probably seen Frank’s name come up alongside Ollie Johnston. Ollie was another animator, and these two were good friends and collaborators...
