Bruce Reitherman

Last updated

Bruce Reitherman
Bruce Reitherman.jpg
Reitherman on stage during a presentation
Born (1955-09-15) September 15, 1955 (age 68)
Occupation(s)Actor (formerly), filmmaker
Years active1963–present
SpouseErika Hill
Children1
Parent(s) Wolfgang Reitherman (father)
Janie McMillan (mother)

Bruce Reitherman (born September 15, 1955) [1] is an American filmmaker and former child actor. He voiced Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and Mowgli in The Jungle Book .

Contents

Early life and work

Born in Burbank, California, [1] Reitherman is the son of German-American Disney animator Wolfgang Reitherman, [2] one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and Janie Marie McMillan, and provided the voices of Mowgli in The Jungle Book and Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree . [1]

He graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1977 with an independent major in natural resources and a minor in Spanish. [1]

Career

After graduating from Berkeley, he had stints as a river guide, field biologist, naturalist, expedition leader and biological consultant. [1] He has worked on natural history productions in exotic locations from Alaska to Australia. Starting out as a freelance cameraman in 1983, Reitherman has gone on to produce documentaries broadcast by PBS, National Geographic Television, The Discovery Channel, the BBC and Canal Plus. He served as cameraman, producer, writer and director, in the 1990s in shows like In the Wild , Nature , and Big Bear Week .[ citation needed ]

Reitherman was also part of a Members Only Preview for the behind-the-scenes exhibition titled Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book: Making a Masterpiece during a special talk alongside Andreas Deja, Darleen Carr and Floyd Norman which took place on June 22, 2022. [3] The exhibition took place at The Walt Disney Family Museum from June 23, 2022 to January 8, 2023. [4]

Personal life

He lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife, artist Erika Hill, and their daughter. [1]

Filmography

Film

Director, writer, producer

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tigger</span> Fictional tiger-like character

Tigger is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic stuffed tiger. He was originally introduced in the 1928 story collection The House at Pooh Corner, the sequel to the 1926 book Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed toy animals. He appears in the Disney animated versions of Winnie the Pooh and has also appeared in his own film, The Tigger Movie (2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Robin</span> Fictional character created by A. A. Milne

Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and Winnie-the-Pooh stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney adaptations of the Pooh stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eeyore</span> Character from Milnes Winnie-the-Pooh-books

Eeyore is a fictional character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh)</span> Fictional character

Piglet is a fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. Piglet is Winnie‑the‑Pooh's closest friend amongst all the toys and animals featured in the stories. Although he is a "Very Small Animal" of a generally timid disposition, he tries to be brave and on occasion conquers his fears.

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (1967 film) 1967 animated Disney film

The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Based very loosely on Rudyard Kipling's 1894 book of the same title, it is the final animated feature film to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. It was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson, and Vance Gerry. Featuring the voices of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley, and Bruce Reitherman, the film's plot follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as his friends, Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear, try to convince him to leave the jungle before the ruthless tiger Shere Khan arrives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Holloway</span> American actor (1905–1992)

Sterling Price Holloway Jr. was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in Dumbo, Adult Flower in Bambi, the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, Kaa in The Jungle Book, Roquefort the Mouse in The Aristocats, and the title character in Winnie the Pooh, among many others.

<i>The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh</i> 1977 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a 1977 American animated musical anthology comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It was first released on a double bill with The Littlest Horse Thieves on March 11, 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfgang Reitherman</span> German-American animator (1909–1985)

Wolfgang Reitherman, also known and sometimes credited as Woolie Reitherman, was a German–American animator, director and producer and one of the "Nine Old Men" of core animators at Walt Disney Productions. He emerged as a key figure at Disney during the 1960s and 1970s, a transitionary period which saw the death of Walt Disney in 1966, with him serving as director and/or producer on eight consecutive Disney animated feature films from One Hundred and One Dalmatians through The Fox and the Hound.

<i>The Book of Pooh</i> US childrens TV series

The Book of Pooh is an American children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne's works; the other two were the live action Welcome to Pooh Corner and the animated The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which ran from 1988 to 1991. It premiered on January 22, 2001 and completed its run on July 8, 2003. It was repeated on Playhouse Disney until June 2, 2006. The show is produced by Shadow Projects. Walt Disney Pictures released the first of two films, a direct-to-video spin-off film based on the puppetry television series titled The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart in 2001.

<i>Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree</i> 1966 film directed by Wolfgang Reitherman

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree is a 1966 American animated featurette based on the first two chapters of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions, and released by Buena Vista Distribution on February 4, 1966, as a double feature with The Ugly Dachshund. It was the last short film produced by Walt Disney, who died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966, ten months after its release. Its songs were written by the Sherman Brothers and the score was composed and conducted by Buddy Baker.

<i>Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day</i> 1968 short film directed by Wolfgang Reitherman

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is a 1968 American animated featurette based on the third, fifth, ninth, and tenth chapters of Winnie-the-Pooh and the second, eighth, and ninth chapters from The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne. The featurette was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company on December 20, 1968, as a double feature with the live-action comedy feature The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit. This was the second of the studio's Winnie the Pooh theatrical featurettes. It was later added as a segment to the 1977 film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The music was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. It was notable for being the last Disney animated short to be produced by Walt Disney, who died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966, two years before its release.

<i>Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too</i> 1974 film directed by John Lounsbery

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too is a 1974 American animated featurette based on the third chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh and the fourth and seventh chapters of The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne. The featurette was directed by John Lounsbery, produced by Wolfgang Reitherman, released by Walt Disney Productions, and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It was released on December 20, 1974, as a double feature with the live-action feature film The Island at the Top of the World. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, but lost to Closed Mondays.

<i>Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore</i> 1983 animated short film directed by Rick Reinert

Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore is a 1983 American animated featurette based on the sixth chapter of both books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. Produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution, the short initially received limited release on March 11, 1983, before expanding to a wide release on March 25 as part of a double feature with the re-issue of The Sword in the Stone (1963), which it accompanied in most countries except Australia where it accompanied a reissue of Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). Directed by Rick Reinert, the featurette featured the voices of Hal Smith, John Fiedler, Will Ryan, Ralph Wright, and Paul Winchell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnie the Pooh (Disney character)</span> Fictional teddy bear created by A. A. Milne

Winnie the Pooh is a fictional bear and the main character in Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, based on the character Winnie-the-Pooh created by English author A. A. Milne and English artist and book illustrator E. H. Shepard, being one of the most popular characters adapted for film and television by The Walt Disney Company. Disney first received certain licensing rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, characters, and trademarks from Stephen Slesinger, Inc. and the estate of A. A. Milne in 1961.

Nikita Matthew Hopkins is an American screenwriter, visual artist, and former child voice actor and singer who had a career for seven years as the singing and speaking voice of young Roo in six movies and videos of Winnie the Pooh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Wright</span> American writer and animator (1908–1983)

Ralph Waldo Wright was a Disney animator and story/storyboard writer who provided the gloomy, sullen voice of Eeyore from the popular Winnie the Pooh franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnie-the-Pooh</span> Fictional character created by A. A. Milne

Winnie-the-Pooh is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925. The character is based on a stuffed toy that Milne had bought for his son Christopher Robin in Harrods department store.

<i>A Valentine for You</i> 1999 American film

Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You is a Valentine's Day special based on A. A. Milne's treasured stories, originally broadcast on ABC on February 13, 1999. This is the final role of Paul Winchell as Tigger before his retirement from the role a few days after its release. He did, however, voice Tigger for the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction at Walt Disney World Resort. A Valentine for You was released on VHS in 2000 and 2001 and on DVD in 2004 and 2010. It was made available for streaming on Disney+ on February 11, 2022.

<i>Winnie the Pooh</i> (franchise) Disney media franchise

Winnie the Pooh is a media franchise produced by The Walt Disney Company, based on A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's stories featuring Winnie-the-Pooh. It started in 1966 with the theatrical release of the short Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gross, Ed (August 3, 2020). "Here's What Happened to Disney's Original 'Winnie the Pooh' Voice Cast". Closer Weekly. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  2. Tims, Anna (July 29, 2013). "How we made The Jungle Book". the Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  3. "Members Only Preview: Walt Disney's The Jungle Book: Making a Masterpiece Member Preview Night". The Walt Disney Family Museum. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  4. "Walt Disney's The Jungle Book: Making a Masterpiece". The Walt Disney Family Museum. Retrieved May 7, 2022.