Unable to attend the ceremony held at last year’s D23 Expo, earlier today a special ceremony inducting Disney Legend Don Hahn was held at the Walt Disney Studios lot where his career began in the ‘70s.
What’s Happening:
- Named a Disney Legend ahead of the D23 Expo last year, Disney Legend Don Hahn was unfortunately unable to attend the induction ceremony at the 2022 Expo, with his ceremony delayed.
- Today, that ceremony happened and Hahn’s ceremony was held at the studio lot where he career began and celebrated his contributions to the Disney legacy.
- Tweets from D23 and the Walt Disney Archives also indicate that there was a themed lunch, with the inclusion of corn dogs, popcorn, and cupcakes as well.
- Don Hahn joined The Walt Disney Studios in 1976 in the Art Props Morgue. His animation career took off when he worked as an inbetweener on Pete’s Dragon (1977), and later as assistant director on The Fox and the Hound (1981). He was Production Manager of The Black Cauldron (1985) and The Great Mouse Detective (1986), then turned to producing on Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and The Lion King (1994). His other credits include The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), Maleficent (2014), and the live-action Beauty and the Beast (2017). He executive produced the Disneynature films Earth (2009), Oceans (2010), African Cats (2011), and Chimpanzee (2012). Don is also the author of several Disney Editions books, including The Alchemy of Animation, Before Ever After, and Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Disney’s Magical Mid-Century. As director, Don has helmed such acclaimed documentaries as Waking Sleeping Beauty (2010) and Howard (2020). His most recent Disney credits include hosting the documentary Adventure Thru the Walt Disney Archives (2020).
- The Disney Legends Awards program began in 1987, when actor Fred MacMurray became the first Disney Legend. 304 Disney Legends have been named, including Tim Allen, Julie Andrews, Howard Ashman, Robert Downey Jr., Annette Funicello, Whoopi Goldberg, Sir Elton John, Angela Lansbury, George Lucas, Steve Martin, Alan Menken, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker, Robin Roberts, Marty Sklar, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, Ming-Na Wen, Betty White, and Robin Williams, among others. Beginning with the inaugural D23 Expo in 2009, thousands of Disney fans have been able to enjoy the Disney Legends Awards ceremony in-person.
- Honorees receive a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have brought to the Company. Disney Legends Award recipients will also participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the event, and their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company’s Burbank headquarters.
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