John Canemaker

Tyrus: The Tyrus Wong Story

Pamela Tom

Tyrus Wong, Lisa See

The unlikely story of 106-year old Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong, and how he overcame poverty and racism in America to become a celebrated modernist painter, Hollywood sketch artist, and “Disney Legend” for his groundbreaking work on the classic animated film, Bambi.

Cartoon Carnival

Andrew T. Smith

Howard Beckerman, Kevin Brownlow

Cartoon Carnival tells the story of the pioneering early days of the animated art-form and chronicles one film preservationist's quest to rescue pre-sound cartoons from obscurity and screen them to new, appreciative audiences.

Disney's 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs': Still the Fairest of Them All

Harry Arends

Angela Lansbury, John Canemaker

Released as a Bonus Feature for Disney's Platinum DVD Edition of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" this short documentary shows how this classic film came to life.

Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo

Paul F. Anderson, John Canemaker

The making of Dumbo (1941).

Lady's Pedigree: The Making of Lady and the Tramp

Don Hahn, Andrew Gaskill

A documentary on the making of Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp created for the 2006 Platinum DVD.

From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella

John Culhane, Christopher Finch

The making of Cinderella (1950).

Celebrating Dumbo

Clare Baren

Leonard Maltin, Andreas Deja

The people who did this movie had a talk about Dumbo.

The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation

John Canemaker

Eli Wallach, Джон Майкл Туртурро (

An animated documentary that explores the terrain of father/son relationships, as seen through Canemaker's own turbulent relationship with his father.

Bottom's Dream

John Canemaker

The short takes as its inspiration Bottom's contemplation on the "dream" he has experienced in the middle acts of Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream", in which his head is transformed into that of an ass and the Fairy Queen Titania is made to fall in love with him. Shakespeare's "Dream" has long been the most visually attractive play to adapt, and the transfer to animation opens up possibilities set designers could only dream of. Canemaker's mastery of the art and his immense creativity make this short quite a ride, exploring a few of the darker undertones in Shakespeare's text that are often excised or simply ignored.

Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat

John Canemaker

John Canemaker, Otto Messmer

Documentary short on cartoonist Otto Messmer, co-creator of Felix the Cat

Earthday Birthday

Michael Sporn

Christopher Reeve, Lainie Kazan

After learning about pollution a group of creatures called Zwibble Dibbles, decide to throw a party for the Earth to raise awareness.

Remembering Winsor McCay

John Canemaker

John Fitzsimmons

The life and career of the great cartoonist Winsor McCay is warmly recalled by his former film assistant, John Fitzsimmons, with clips of classic McCay animated films.

Hands

John Canemaker

The film follows Wing Biddlebaum, a lonely former schoolteacher whose “hands” led to a scandal that drove him from his previous town and life’s calling.

The Fantasia Legacy: The Concert Feature

Jeff Kurtti

Leonard Maltin, John Canemaker

Documentary on the making of Walt Disney’s Fantasia.

The John Lennon Sketchbook

John Canemaker

John Lennon, Yōko Ono

In 1986, seventeen years after Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s animated conversation about love and six years after the beloved Beatle’s assassination, Ono commissioned independent animator John Canemaker to create a short animated film based on Lennon’s drawings, music, and interviews. Given her penchant for the intersection of art and philosophy, Lennon’s own quirky illustrations, and the odd fact that the couple’s love began in visual poetry long before they met, it was the perfect medium for commemoration.