Nik Ranieri
Encyclopedia
Nik Ranieri is a character animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. He has been supervising animator of many characters.
"After graduating from the Classical Animation Program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Ranieri went to work for Atkinson Film-Arts animation production studio (in Ottawa, Ontario)."
He began animating for Disney in 1987 on the London, England-based animation crew of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
, working with director Richard Williams. Soon after that he moved to Disney's feature animation studio in Glendale, CA where he animated on The Little Mermaid
(working primarily on the character of Ursula the sea witch, under supervising animator Ruben Aquino). On his next film Ranieri was promoted to Supervising Animator on the character of "Wilbur" in The Rescuers Down Under
.
In 1997 he won an Annie Award
in the category 'Individual Achievement in Character Animation' for his animation of Hades in Hercules.
While Ranieri is regarded as one of the modern-day masters of hand-drawn character animation (especially excelling in subtle dialogue scenes and facial expressions) he also successfully made the switch to animating in CG on films such as Chicken Little
and Meet the Robinsons
.
Ranieri returned to his roots in classic hand-drawn animation for the 2009 Disney animated film
The Princess and the Frog
"After graduating from the Classical Animation Program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Ranieri went to work for Atkinson Film-Arts animation production studio (in Ottawa, Ontario)."
He began animating for Disney in 1987 on the London, England-based animation crew of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, working with director Richard Williams. Soon after that he moved to Disney's feature animation studio in Glendale, CA where he animated on The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
(working primarily on the character of Ursula the sea witch, under supervising animator Ruben Aquino). On his next film Ranieri was promoted to Supervising Animator on the character of "Wilbur" in The Rescuers Down Under
The Rescuers Down Under
The Rescuers Down Under is a 1990 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990...
.
In 1997 he won an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
in the category 'Individual Achievement in Character Animation' for his animation of Hades in Hercules.
While Ranieri is regarded as one of the modern-day masters of hand-drawn character animation (especially excelling in subtle dialogue scenes and facial expressions) he also successfully made the switch to animating in CG on films such as Chicken Little
Chicken Little (2005 film)
Chicken Little is a 2005 computer-animated science fiction family comedy film loosely based on the fable The Sky Is Falling. It was the 46th animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation...
and Meet the Robinsons
Meet the Robinsons
Meet the Robinsons is a 2007 American computer-animated family film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 30, 2007. The forty-seventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, the film was released in both the United States and the...
.
Ranieri returned to his roots in classic hand-drawn animation for the 2009 Disney animated film
The Princess and the Frog
Supervising Animator
- Wilbur - The Rescuers Down UnderThe Rescuers Down UnderThe Rescuers Down Under is a 1990 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990...
(1990) - Lumiere - Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast (1991 film)Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
(1991) - Meeko - PocahontasPocahontas (1995 film)Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
(1995) - Hades - HerculesHercules (1997 film)Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...
(1997) - Kuzco/Kuzco Llama - The Emperor's New GrooveThe Emperor's New GrooveThe Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures through Buena Vista Distribution on December 15, 2000. It is the 40th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics...
(2000) - Buck Cluck - Chicken LittleChicken Little (2005 film)Chicken Little is a 2005 computer-animated science fiction family comedy film loosely based on the fable The Sky Is Falling. It was the 46th animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation...
(2005) - Lewis - Meet the RobinsonsMeet the RobinsonsMeet the Robinsons is a 2007 American computer-animated family film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 30, 2007. The forty-seventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, the film was released in both the United States and the...
(2007) - Charlotte - The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Animator
- The Body ElectricThe Body ElectricThe Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life is a book by Robert O. Becker and Gary Selden in which Becker, an orthopedic surgeon at the time working for the Veterans Administration, describes his research into "our bioelectric selves"....
(TV) (1985) - "The RaccoonsThe RaccoonsThe Raccoons is a Canadian animated television series which was originally broadcast from 1985 to 1991 with four preceding television specials beginning in 1980. The series was created by Kevin Gillis, and produced at Atkinson Film-Arts first-hand from 1984 to 1985, then at Hinton Animation Studios...
" (7 episodes) (1985) - The Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
(TV - Opening Title, one shot only) (1987) - Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
("Roger Rabbit") (1988) - The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid (1989 film)The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
("Ursula") (1989) - Aladdin ("Jafar") (1992)
- Treasure PlanetTreasure PlanetTreasure Planet is a 2002 animated science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 27, 2002...
("Dr. Doppler") (2002) - Tangled (2010)
- Winnie the Pooh (2011)
Awards
In 2011 Nik Ranieri was named the 20th most influential animator in Disney history on the blog the 50 Most Influential Disney Animators (http://50mostinfluentialdisneyanimators.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/20-nik-ranieri/.)Annie Awards
- Best Individual Achievement: Character Animation for 'Hades' in HerculesHerculesHercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
- Best Individual Achievement for Animation for 'Meeko' in PocahontasPocahontasPocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
National Cartoonist Society
- 'NCS Division Award' in Feature Animation (for Hades)