Creator / Eric Goldberg

Eric Goldberg (born May 1, 1955) is one of the modern masters of animation, noted for his bouncy and rhythmic style, a callback to the great animation masters of the past.

He started out at Richard Williams' studio in the late 1970s, where he gained tips and from several Golden Age animators who worked there, including Art Babbitt, Ken Harris and Gerry Chiniquy. In the early 1990s, he arrived at the Walt Disney Studios, where his first assignment would be animating the wacky Genie in Aladdin. Afterward, he co-directed the animated feature Pocahontas, while continuing to animate on films as Hercules and Fantasia 2000, as well as some of Chuck Jones' final shorts. In the early 2000s, he served as animation director for Looney Tunes: Back in Action as a personal tribute to Jones. He, along with Mark Henn and Randy Haycock, is presently the only 2D animator from the studio's "Renaissance" era still working at Disney. In preparation for the company's 100th anniversary, he began advising 4K remasters of Walt Disney's shorts and movies, ensuring that the images would remain faithful to the original artists' intents.

Aside from features, Goldberg animated for several attractions in Disney's theme parks, including a CGI version of Genie for Tokyo DisneySea's Magic Lamp Theater and 2D animation of Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito for Epcot's Gran Fiesta Tour.

In 2008, he published the Character Animation Crash Course, a how-to book containing his acquired tips about the ins and outs of making animated films, which has been acclaimed by amateurs and professionals alike as one of the best books on animation out there.

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Filmography

Films

• Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977): Assistant Animator; his first professional animation job.
• Ziggy's Gift (1982): Animator
• Aladdin (1992): Supervising Animator (Genie)
• Chariots of Fur (1994): Animated the scene where Wile E. Coyote tries to use a giant spring to catch the Road Runner. Credited as "Claude Raynes".
• Pocahontas (1995): Co-Director
• Pullet Surprise (1997): Additional Animation
• Hercules (1997): Supervising Animator (Phil)
• From Hare to Eternity (1997): Animator
• Fantasia 2000 (1999): Directed the "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Carnival of the Animals" segments (the latter of which he animated entirely by himself)
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003): Animation Director; voice of Tweety, Speedy Gonzales and Marvin the Martian
• Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry (2005): Character Layout Artist
• The Pink Panther (2006): Animated the cartoon Panther for the opening credits, a tribute to the franchise's creative title sequences.
• A Monkey's Tale (2006): Director; created for Hong Kong's "Ngong Ping 360" tourism project.
• The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006): Animator
• How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007): Animator
• Pups of Liberty (2009): A featurette he and his fellow Disney animators made in their off-time.
• The Princess and the Frog (2009): Supervising Animator (Louis)
• Winnie the Pooh (2011): Supervising Animator (Rabbit)
• Paperman (2012): A final line artist for the CG characters.
• Get a Horse! (2013): Supervising Animator (2D sequences)
• Moana (2016): Supervising Animator (Maui's tattoos)

Television

• Tom and Jerry Tales (2006-08): Animated on the title sequence.
• The Simpsons, "Fland Canyon" (2016): Director and Animator on the Couch Gag.
• Goofy in How to Stay at Home (Disney+) (2021): Animated the short "How To Wear A Mask".

Theme Parks

• The Magic Lamp Theater (Tokyo DisneySea): CGI animator for the Genie
• Gran Fiesta Tour, Starring The Three Caballeros (Epcot): 2D animator for Donald, Jose and Panchito.
• Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney (Disney California Adventure): 2D animator for Mickey Mouse

Other

• Music video for "Big Time" by MC Skat Kat (1992): Animator ^note Never released or completed.

Tropes associated with him:

• Creator Backlash: He's very critical of Warner Bros. keeping both him and Joe Dante under thumb during the production of Looney Tunes: Back in Action, which robbed the Looney Tunes of much of their trademark anarchy.
• What Could Have Been
  • He was originally going to supervise the animation for a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and animated this CG test animation of Roger.
  • He pitched to direct a CGI film version of Where the Wild Things Are to Universal Pictures, but Executive Meddling dropped him from the project in favor of a live-action version from Spike Jonze.
  • When Wreck-It Ralph was being developed as a traditionally animated film, he was the supervising animator for King Candy. Some footage of this has recently been made public.