Roger Allers, a veteran Disney filmmaker who co-directed the original “The Lion King,” died Saturday. He was 76 years old.
The Academy Award-nominated director's decades-long work at Disney also included stints as a writer, storyboard artist and animator on such beloved films as “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”
Allers' death was announced by his colleague Dave Bossert, a former Disney animator.
“Roger was an extraordinarily talented artist and filmmaker, a true pillar of the Disney animation renaissance,” Bossert wrote Sunday on Facebook.
Bossert described his longtime collaborator as “one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet and work with.”
“Roger had a bright, cheerful spirit, and the world is darker without him,” Bossert wrote. “Rest in peace, my friend. Until we meet again on the other side.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger also paid tribute to the director, calling him “a creative visionary whose many contributions to Disney will endure for generations to come.”
“[Allers] “I understood the power of great storytelling: how unforgettable characters, emotions and music can come together to create something timeless,” Iger said Sunday in a statement on Instagram.
“His work helped define an era of animation that continues to inspire audiences around the world and we are deeply grateful for everything he gave to Disney,” the executive wrote.
Allers' tenure at Disney began more than 40 years ago, when he worked on the storyboard team for the sci-fi thriller “Tron” (1982). He went on to play “a pivotal role in the Disney animation renaissance of the late 1980s and 1990s,” Walt Disney Animation Studios wrote Tuesday in a social media post.
The multifaceted entertainment's crowning achievement came in 1994, when he and “The Lion King” co-director Rob Minkoff brought to life the film that former Times film critic Justin Chang called “one of Disney's biggest bets.”
“The Lion King” grossed approximately $42 million in its opening weekend in the United States, the highest grossing ever for the studio at the time. It remains the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time.
Allers, born in 1949 in Rye, New York, recalled the film's success in 2011, telling The Times that it “gave a chance to a lot of young animators who hadn't had the opportunity to lead a character. So they were excited to do good work; it was a pretty inclusive and creative circle.”
“Everyone was heard,” Allers said. “When it became a reality and everyone could see the message that it conveyed and the heart that the film had and that was embraced by the audience… it was very gratifying. I'm still a little overwhelmed by the response.”
Allers is survived by his children, Leah and Aidan, and his partner, Genaro, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
