Legendary Disney Animator Jane Baer Has Passed Away at 91

Jane Baer, animator of classic Disney films, passed away in her sleep on February 16th at her Van Nuys, California home, per her obituary. She was 91 years old.

Baer was a pioneer for women in animation. In her six-decade career, her films were multi-generational hits from the 60’s to the 90’s.

Her filmography, per IMDB, is expansive. She started at Walt Disney Studios as a clean-up artist on 1959’s Sleeping Beauty, where she refined and polished animations by Disney legends like the Nine Old Men.

She was promoted to assistant animator for the Disney classic The Rescuers (1977). Her other works include Pete’s Dragon (1977), The Fox and the Hound (1981), Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983), The Black Cauldron (1985), and The Great Mouse Detective (1986).

In 1984, she supervised the animation of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) for Toontown sequences and Benny the Cab. The film made history as the first full-length movie to blend live action and animation.

She was story director for 36 episodes of tv show The Smurfs‘ 1987 season and 11 episodes of animated series The Foz and the Happy Days Gang with Hanna-Barbera Productions. She was also story director for the 1987 short ‘Tis the Season to Be Smurfy.

She later animated Disney films The Little Mermaid (1989), The Prince and the Pauper (1990), and Beauty and the Beast (1990). She also contributed to Warner Bro’s Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992).

According to Variety, Baer was also a founding member of Women in Animation. The non-profit organization offers panels, workshops, and mixers for women animators. They also have scholarships and mentoring programs for young and emerging female animators.

She was featured in the book Ink & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation (2017) by Mindy Johnson and the documentary Pencils vs. Pixels (2023). Her family requested donations be made in her honor to the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles.

Our thoughts are with Baer’s loved ones at this time.