Don Bluth Film Animation Reel

A compilation of my favourite cuts of animation from works directed by Don Bluth- he wasn’t the key animator for all of these shots.
Click show more for the list of sources.

The song is Emile Pandolfi’s cover of Once Upon a December.

Don Bluth is an animator and filmmaker who worked at Disney from the 60s to the early 80s. He left Disney in the 80s and started making films that preserved the styles of Disney's 70s animated films.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure who animated any of these cuts. If you know who animated a cut please tell me in the comments and I'll credit them.

List of sources:
0:00-0:13- The Secret of NIMH
0:14-0:26- A Troll in Central Park
0:26-0:34- All Dogs Go to Heaven
0:34-0:41- The Secret of NIMH
0:42-1:00- Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp
1:01-1:25- All Dogs Go to Heaven
1:26-1:29- Anastasia
1:30-1:33- The Secret of NIMH
1:34-1:40- All Dogs Go to Heaven
1:41-1:51- An American Tail
1:52-1:56- Anastasia
1:57-2:12- An American Tail
2:13-2:27- All Dogs Go to Heaven
2:28-2:37- Space Ace
2:37-2:43- The Secret of NIMH
2:44-2:53- The Land Before Time
2:54-2:59- The Secret of NIMH
3:00-3:03- Rock-a-Doodle
3:04-3:08- Anastasia
3:09-3:12- Rock-a-Doodle
3:12-3:25- The Secret of NIMH
3:25-3:29- Anastasia
3:30-3:36- All Dogs Go to Heaven
3:37-3:45- An American Tail
3:45-3:53- The Secret of NIMH
3:54-4:05- All Dogs Go to Heaven

Bluth donated a lot of production art and resources from his films to Savannah College of Art and Design Digital Collections. It's a great place to see behind the scenes art of these movies:

[HobbesSakuga]

The list of where each clip is from, and the name of the song used, is in the description.

Also, you can press "." and ", " to go through the animations frame by frame.

[Star-The-Werewolf]

I like how Don Bluth has a dark, but yet beautiful style.

[BrokeredHeart]

He's a very brave and bold animator. The screenplays and visuals never pandered to a child audience, and they laid out some very adult themes dealing with death, violence, cultural persecution and the concepts of the afterlife. Sure, they provided the viewer with happy endings every time, but I think they didn't shy away from letting kids understand complex emotions and difficult situations. I can remember being horrified by the cats in An American Tail, or the seer owl in the Secrets of Nihm, or the hellscape in All Dogs Go To Heaven. I think Titan AE was criminally underrated, as it had the unfortunate timing of being one of the final 2D animated films to be made in the early 2000s. It's been brilliant to watch Don Bluth films.

[gatotsu]

Bluth's work has always had a visual richness beyond anything by Disney. It's a real shame he's not active anymore.

[ShatteredGlass]

i like how he slows the objects/characters movement to emphasize their action, thus giving more impact throughout the entire scene lol

[Pichukan]

god, one of the things i love most about bluth are his unique color schemes.

[parsleyisthicc]

Say what you want about Bluth and his later films from the 90s but you can't deny that he is an animation genius. His films always had an impact in my life as a kid moreso than disney films.

[krm]

Man dude this video hit me way too hard in my feels. Anastasia was probably one of my favorite films growing up. Hearing Once Upon a December playing while clips of it and many other movies I have fond memories of such as All Dogs Go To Heaven and An American Tail was absolutely breathtaking. Too much nostalgia in one video I swear

[Pianissimeat]

that climax of All Dogs Go To Heaven with the clock slowly filling with water and slowing down with a heartbeat sound is still SO INTENSE. no wonder i was such a dramatic little kid lol

[garrettstuffler]

Don Bluth also did animation for Disney, especially for “Robin Hood” and “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too”

[Inescribble]

He is so well known for his mouth movements that a few slower clips with characters speaking while shaking their heads (his signature) would’ve been great! But this video was still really nice, and a good way to celebrate him going back to Disney. Hopefully to work on another 2D film!

[TylerMcNamer]

Don's choice of color can reflect isolation and hopelessness while keeping the protagonist characters little rays of hope.

[kiplingwasafurry]

I only saw All Dogs go to Heaven once as a kid in a daycare but it has stuck with me for over a decade. I just remember the visuals being so unique and beautiful, along with the hell scene and even the concept of the movie scaring me. I need to see it again.

[MrSkysenGames]

Modern CG features may have their qualities, but give me some Don Bluth any day and I'm good.

[squidsquiddly]

To me he always represented a new beginning... he perfectly destroys and then fights to shine again. . .

[solaariz]

Seeing hand-drawn animation that's 30 years old + always blows you away, seeing computer-generated animation that's 10 years + always underwhelms.

[kennypitts]

I just saw Mr. Bluth today. I can't say "met", because I was not sure at first. Going to pay my respect to this great artist when I see him again.

[thelonerodent]

Don Bluth is my hero. I hope to make movies like this someday, no matter how long it takes. The darkness and richness is far superior than anything Disney has ever done. God bless him!

[Itachi]

all of his movies were a pat of my childhood even with age the movies are spectacular

[FikAb]

Don Bluth is underrated American Miyazaki. So sad that this genius's talent was fainted. He could done so much for the world of animation, even more than he has already done. His career died and resurrected like a phoenix from the ashes. Salute to one of the greatest artist that a world has ever seen.