View source for Don Hahn

{{Short description|American film producer and director (born 1955)}}
{{About|the film producer|the baseball player|Don Hahn (baseball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = Don_Hahn_on_the_Director%27s_panel_at_the_Boulder_International_Film_Festival_(cropped).jpg
| caption            = Hahn in 2012
| birth_name         = Donald Paul Hahn
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1955|11|26}}
| birth_place        = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Artist|film producer|film director}}
| years_active       = 1977–present
| spouse             = Denise Meara-Hahn (1987–present)
}}
'''Donald Paul Hahn''' (born November 26, 1955) is an American film producer who is credited with producing some of the most successful animated films in history, including Disney’s ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' (the first out of three animated films to be nominated for the Academy Award for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]) and ''[[The Lion King]]''.
Hahn is currently executive producer of [[Disneynature]] films, and owns his own film production company, Stone Circle Pictures.
==Early life==
Hahn was born in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]. His father was a [[Lutheran]] minister. When Hahn was three, his family moved to [[Bellflower, California]], where he went to school and shot his first animated shorts in the high school film club.  His family then moved to [[Burbank, California]], when he was a teenager. He graduated from [[North Hollywood High School]] (where he was a drum major) in 1973, went on to study music at [[Los Angeles Valley College]], and majored in Music and minored in fine art at [[California State University Northridge]]. At both colleges, he was also a drum major as he also was in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716023908/http://50.6.125.104/ Royal Cavaliers Youth Band] of [[Van Nuys, Los Angeles|Van Nuys]], California. He was a percussionist in the [[Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic Orchestra]]. He worked as a drum head tester for Remo Inc. and was the percussion instructor at [[Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California)|Notre Dame High School]] to put himself through college.
==Career==
He began his career in animation working for [[Disney Legend]] [[Wolfgang Reitherman]] as an assistant director on ''[[The Fox and the Hound]]''.  He worked closely with director [[Don Bluth]] on the production of ''[[Pete's Dragon (1977 film)|Pete's Dragon]]'' and even worked in Bluth's garage on the animated short ''[[Banjo the Woodpile Cat]]''.  He later became production manager of ''[[The Black Cauldron (film)|The Black Cauldron]]'' (1985) and ''[[The Great Mouse Detective]]'' before moving on as an associate producer of Disney/Amblin's ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' (1988).
In 1989, Hahn made his first mark as producer for Disney and [[Amblin Entertainment]]'s first Roger Rabbit short, ''[[Tummy Trouble]]'', producing along with [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Kathleen Kennedy (film producer)|Kathleen Kennedy]], and [[Frank Marshall (film producer)|Frank Marshall]]. He then became the producer for the benchmark animated feature, 1991's ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'', which was the first animated film to be nominated for the [[Oscar for Best Picture]]. His next production, 1994's ''[[The Lion King]]'', set worldwide box office records for an animated film and quickly became the highest grossing traditionally animated film in history. In 1996 he produced ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', and in 2000 he was an executive producer on ''[[The Emperor's New Groove]]''.
Hahn directed [[Steve Martin]], [[James Earl Jones]], [[Quincy Jones]], [[Itzhak Perlman]], and [[Angela Lansbury]] in the host sequences of ''[[Fantasia 2000]]''.  The next year in 2001, ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'' was released for which he was producer. ''Atlantis'' performed poorly at the box office, even lower than his previous films. In 2003, Hahn reunited with ''Lion King'' co-director [[Rob Minkoff]] to produce ''[[The Haunted Mansion (2003 film)|The Haunted Mansion]]'' starring [[Eddie Murphy]], making it Hahn's first live-action film to produce.
==Later works==
He also produced the Oscar-nominated animated short ''[[Lorenzo (film)|Lorenzo]]'' (2004).
In 2006, Hahn was interim head of Disney's animation division during its successful merger with [[Pixar]].  Hahn received his second [[Academy Award]] nomination that same year in the category of Best Animated Short for ''[[The Little Matchgirl (film)|The Little Match Girl]]'', an adaptation of the classic [[Hans Christian Andersen]] tale which was originally intended for inclusion in a version of ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]''.
Don was Executive Producer for the landmark nature film "[[Earth (2007 film)|''Earth'']]" the premiere film project from the [[Disneynature]] film label.  In 2010 he once again served as Executive Producer on “[[Oceans (film)|''Oceans'']]" the epic documentary on the seas, and 2011's "''[[African Cats]]''" from Disneynature.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/44351|title=Tim Burton's FRANKENWEENIE is set to begin Stop Motion Photography shortly!|website=Aint It Cool News}}</ref>
Three of his films have been adapted into stage musicals: ''[[Beauty and the Beast (musical)|Beauty and the Beast]]'', ''[[The Lion King (musical)|The Lion King]]'' and ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (musical)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''. In all, his films have been nominated for 18 Academy Awards.
Hahn produced the remake of Tim Burton's Oscar-nominated ''[[Frankenweenie (2012 film)|Frankenweenie]]''.
At the 2015 [[D23 (Disney)|D23 Expo]], which marked the 20th anniversary of ''The Lion King'', it was announced that a new film titled ''[[The Lion Guard|The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar]]'' would be released. Hahn was introduced to the crowd, and told them all the history of the ''Lion King'' franchise and informed the audience that the new film as well as its follow up series will continue the original film's story, before introducing the [[executive producer]] of the new film; [[Ford Riley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdXFYGzuIaQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/jdXFYGzuIaQ |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=THE LION GUARD - Disney D23 Expo Presentation: Sneak Peek Theme Song Performance by Disney News from Stitch Kingdom on YouTube|website=[[YouTube]] }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
==Documentaries==
''[[Waking Sleeping Beauty]]'' is Don Hahn's feature directorial debut.  The film is the true story of the perfect storm of people and circumstances that led to the animation renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s.  The film had its world premiere at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival, and won the audience award at the Hampton's Film Festival.  It offers a candid perspective of what happened in the creative ranks set against the dynamic tensions among the top leadership, [[Michael Eisner]], [[Jeffrey Katzenberg]] and [[Roy E. Disney]].
[[Hand Held (film)|''Hand Held'']] is Hahn's second documentary feature.  When Hahn took a year sabbatical from his job at Disney, he set out to make a very personal film about photographer Mike Carroll, one of the first photojournalists to uncover the pediatric AIDS epidemic in post communist eastern Europe.  Hahn filmed extensively in Bucharest, Transylvania, and in Carroll's home town of Boston.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegram.com/article/20100224/NEWS/2240392/1011|title=Bleak picture changing in Romania. Pepperell photographer laid groundwork for relief program|newspaper=Worcester Telegram & Gazette|date=February 24, 2010|access-date=July 13, 2011|archive-date=June 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611212353/https://www.telegram.com/article/20100224/NEWS/2240392/1011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
''Christmas With Walt Disney'' (2009) is a feature documentary commissioned by the [[Walt Disney Family Museum]] and directed by Hahn. The film chronicles Disney's life as husband, father, and film maker centered around the holidays.  Hahn directed the film, narrated by [[Walt Disney]]'s daughter [[Diane Disney Miller]].  The film runs every holiday season at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.waltdisney.org/education/films/double-feature-christmas-walt-disney-2009-mickeys-christmas-carol-1983|title=Double Feature: Christmas with Walt Disney (2009) & Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) &#124; The Walt Disney Family Museum|website=www.waltdisney.org}}</ref>
Hahn serves as executive producer of numerous [[Disneynature]] documentaries such as ''[[Earth (2007 film)|Earth]]'', ''[[Oceans (2009 film)|Oceans]]'', and ''[[African Cats]]'' all of which placed in the top five nature movies of all time.  He is Executive Producer on the Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield directed ''[[Chimpanzee (film)|Chimpanzee]]''.
==Books==
In January 1999, Hyperion Books published Don's book on creativity called "Dancing Corndogs in the Night."  The best selling book is a case study of the human creative spirit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.donhahn.com/portfolio/dancing-corn-dogs-in-the-night/|title=Dancing Corn Dogs in the Night (1999) – Don Hahn}}</ref>  Don has also written three books on Animation (one of which is "Animation Magic" from Disney Press).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.donhahn.com/portfolio/animation-magic/|title=Animation Magic (1996) – Don Hahn}}</ref>
[[File:Don Hahn at Comicon 2009.jpg|thumb|Hahn leads a panel on the work of Walt Stanchfield at Comicon 2009.]]
Don's book "Alchemy of Animation" became an extremely popular book on the process of making an animated film.  The text covered traditional hand drawn animation as well as 3D digital animation, visual effects and stop motion animation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.donhahn.com/portfolio/alchemy-of-animation/|title=The Alchemy of Animation (2008) – Don Hahn}}</ref>  ''[[Animation World Network]]'' wrote that "Whether you're a veteran story artist, or you're trying to land your first studio job as an in-betweener, or you're delivering coffee and donuts to the higher-ups or if you're just a fan of animation, you'll want to add this to your bookshelf."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.awn.com/animationworld/book-review-alchemy-animation-making-animated-film-modern-age|title=Book Review: 'The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age'|website=Animation World Network}}</ref>
Early in his career, Hahn set up and managed the Disney School of Animation, an internal training program for a generation of young artists coming up within the Disney Studio animation department.  The program was mentored by veteran animators Eric Larson and Walt Stanchfield.  In the spring of 2009 Focal Press released the landmark book "Drawn to Life" by [[Walt Stanchfield]] which Don edited.  "It was a dream project for me to bring the complete works of Walt to print," said Hahn.  "Stanchfield was a brilliant teacher, and my personal mentor, and it's a thrill to be able to publish his work to inspire generations to come."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.donhahn.com/portfolio/drawn-to-life-one/|title=Drawn to Life Volume One (2009) – Don Hahn}}</ref>
==Filmography==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Credits
|-
| 1978 || ''[[The Small One]]'' (Short) || Production Assistant
|-
| 1981 || ''[[The Fox and the Hound]]'' || Assistant Director
|-
| 1983 || ''[[Mickey's Christmas Carol]]'' (Short) || Production Assistant
|-
| 1985 || ''[[The Black Cauldron (film)|The Black Cauldron]]'' || Production Manager
|-
| 1988 || ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' || Associate Producer
|-
| 1989 || ''[[Tummy Trouble]]'' (Short) || rowspan="4" | Producer
|-
| 1991 || ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''
|-
| 1994 || ''[[The Lion King]]''
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1996 || ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''
|-
|''[[Quack Pack]]'' (TV Series) || Producer - ''[[List of Quack Pack episodes|1 Episode]]''
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2000 || ''[[Fantasia 2000]]'' || Director / Writer - ''Host Sequences''
|-
|''[[The Emperor's New Groove]]'' || Executive Producer
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'' || rowspan="2" | Producer
|-
| 2003 || ''[[The Haunted Mansion (2003 film)|The Haunted Mansion]]''
|-
|rowspan="3"| 2004 || ''[[Home on the Range (2004 film)|Home on the Range]]'' || Special Thanks
|-
|''[[Lorenzo (film)|Lorenzo]]'' (Short) || Executive Producer
|-
|''[[One by One (2004 film)|One by One]]'' (Video short) || rowspan="2" | Producer
|-
| 2006 || ''[[The Little Matchgirl (film)|The Little Matchgirl]]'' (Short)
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2007 || ''[[Meet the Robinsons]]'' || Special Thanks: Executive Team
|-
|''[[Earth (2007 film)|Earth]]'' (Documentary) || Executive Producer
|-
| 2008 || ''[[Bolt (2008 film)|Bolt]]'' || Special Thanks
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Waking Sleeping Beauty]]'' (Documentary) || Director / Producer / Narrator
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2010 || ''[[Oceans (2010 film)|Oceans]]'' (Documentary) || Executive Producer
|-
|''[[Hand Held (film)|Hand Held]]'' (Documentary) || Producer / Director
|-
| 2011 || ''[[African Cats]]'' (Documentary) || Executive Producer
|-
|rowspan="3"| 2012 || ''[[Chimpanzee (film)|Chimpanzee]]'' (Documentary) || Executive Producer / Written by
|-
|''[[High Ground (2012 film)|High Ground]]'' (Documentary) || Producer / Writer
|-
|''[[Frankenweenie (2012 film)|Frankenweenie]]'' || rowspan="3" | Executive Producer
|-
| 2014 || ''[[Maleficent (film)|Maleficent]]''
|-
| 2017 || ''[[Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''
|-
| 2018 ||''[[Howard (film)|Howard]]''|| Writer/Director
|-
|rowspan="2"|2019 || ''[[Wonder Park]]'' || Executive Producer
|-
| ''[[The Lion King (2019 film)|The Lion King]]'' || Special Thanks
|-
|}
==Awards and nominations==
[[File:Deauville-2010-critique-avant-premiere-waking sleeping beauty.jpg|thumb|Hahn at the Deauville Film Festival 2009]]
[[Academy Awards]]
*1991 – Nominated [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] – ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1992|title=The 64th Academy Awards &#124; 1992|website=Oscars.org &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ZkmJJ8320 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/28ZkmJJ8320 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=The Silence of the Lambs Wins Best Picture: 1992 Oscars|website=[[YouTube]] }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*2006 – Nominated [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Film]] – ''[[The Little Matchgirl (2006 film)|The Little Match Girl]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2007|title=The 79th Academy Awards &#124; 2007|website=Oscars.org &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref>
[[Golden Globe Awards]]
*1991 Winner [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Picture Musical or Comedy]] – ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1992|title=Winners & Nominees 1992|website=www.goldenglobes.com|access-date=August 12, 2020|archive-date=January 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119120424/https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1992|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*1994 Winner [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Picture Musical or Comedy]] – ''[[The Lion King]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1995|title=Winners & Nominees 1995|website=www.goldenglobes.com|access-date=August 12, 2020|archive-date=December 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044213/https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1995|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[National Board of Review Awards]]
*1991 Best Animated Film ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''
[[Annie Awards|ASIFA Hollywood Annie Awards]]
*1991 Winner [[Annie Award for Best Animated Feature|Best Animated Feature]] – ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''
*1994 Winner [[Annie Award for Best Animated Feature|Best Animated Feature]] – ''[[The Lion King]]''
*2011 Winner Special Award – ''[[Waking Sleeping Beauty]]''
*2011 [[June Foray Award|ASIFA Honorary Fellowship Of The Year]] in recognition of a significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation.<ref>[https://annieawards.org/juried-awards/june-foray/about-the-june-foray-award Annie Awards - About The June Foray Award]</ref>
[[California State University Northridge]]
*2011 Honorary Alumni of the Year
[[St. Xavier University]]
*2011 Honorary Doctorate
[[Laguna College of Art and Design]]
*2012 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
[[Chapman University]]
*2017 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
[[Disney Legends]]
*2022 honoree<ref>{{cite web|url=https://d23.com/disney-legends-d23-expo-2022/|title=JUST ANNOUNCED: D23 Expo to Kick off With Epic Opening Ceremony That Includes Disney Legends Awards|author=D23|date=August 19, 2022|accessdate=August 19, 2022}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Walt Disney (film)|''Walt Disney'' (2015)]]
*[[Collage film]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Don Hahn}}
* {{Official website|http://donhahn.com/}}
* {{IMDb name|353893}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090822045024/http://www.focalpress.com/Book.aspx?id=6536 Drawn to Life by Walt Stanchfield and Don Hahn]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101210072245/http://www.criticizethis.ca/2010/12/q-with-don-hahn-director-of-waking.html Q&A With Don Hahn, Director of Waking Sleeping Beauty]
{{Don Hahn}}
{{Navboxes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hahn, Don}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Chicago]]
[[Category:American animated film producers]]
[[Category:Film directors from Illinois]]
[[Category:Film producers from Illinois]]
[[Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people]]
[[Category:Collage filmmakers]]
[[Category:California State University, Northridge alumni]]
[[Category:Golden Globe Award–winning producers]]
[[Category:North Hollywood High School alumni]]
[[Category:Disney Legends]]