Roger Allers, the Disney film-maker who co-directed The Lion King and worked on films including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, has died aged 76.
Allers’ colleague at the Walt Disney Company, Dave Bossert announced his death on social media on Sunday morning, remembering him as “an extraordinarily gifted artist and film-maker, a true pillar of the Disney Animation renaissance”.
“I had the privilege of being part of the crew with Roger on many films in the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s,” Bossert wrote. “And he was, without question, one of the kindest people you could hope to know and work alongside. He went on to co-direct The Lion King, a phenomenal success, yet it never went to his head … he carried a sense of wonder, generosity, and enthusiasm that lifted everyone around him.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger remembered Allers as “a creative visionary whose many contributions to Disney will live on for generations to come”.
“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. Our hearts are with his family, friends, and collaborators,” Iger wrote in a statement.
Born in New York in 1949 but raised in Arizona, Allers became a fan of animation at the age of five after seeing Disney’s Peter Pan. He got his start at Disney on Tron (1982) as part of the storyboard team, then working as a storyboard artist on Oliver & Company (1988), The Little Mermaid (1989) and The Rescuers Down Under (1990) before becoming head of story on Beauty and the Beast (1991) and working on Aladdin (1992).
In 1994, Allers and Rob Minkoff co-directed The Lion King, which became the highest-grossing film of 1994. It was temporarily the second-highest-grossing film of all time, behind Jurassic Park. The Lion King remains the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film of all time, as well as the bestselling film on home video, having sold more than 55m copies around the world.
Allers and Minkoff won the Golden Globe for best motion picture musical or comedy for The Lion King, with Allers going on to write the 1998 Tony-winning Broadway adaptation of The Lion King with Irene Mecchi, which continues to be performed in theatres around the world.
Allers also worked on Lilo & Stitch and the story of what would later become The Emperor’s New Groove while at Disney. He also co-directed Open Season, Sony Pictures Animation’s first feature film, with Jill Culton.
