Introduction
Mark Henn is a celebrated Disney animator and director who joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1980 and became known for supervising the animation of beloved characters including Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, and Tiana. Over his four-decade career, he contributed to numerous Disney classics, mentored generations of animators, received the Winsor McCay Award in 2013, and was honored as a Disney Legend in 2024.
Mark Henn (Animator/Director) has been a major player in the industry and at Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1980 when he started as an in-betweener on “The Fox and the Hound.” Less than a year later, he was given the plumb assignment of animating Mickey Mouse in “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” (which marked the first big screen appearance for Mickey in thirty years). Following “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” Henn rose quickly through the ranks. Taking up the mantle once held by animation giant Marc Davis, he became known for supervising the animation of some of Disney’s most beloved princesses and heroines including Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan and Tiana. He has since gone on to become one of the most prolific and respected animators in the industry and was honored with the Winsor McCay Award from ASIFA-Hollywood in 2013 for lifetime achievement in animation at the Annie Awards. Henn retired from Disney Animation at the end of 2023 and was honored as a Disney Legend, the highest honor bestowed by The Walt Disney Company, in 2024.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Henn was just seven years old when he announced that he wanted to be an animator after being inspired by the Disney Animation classic, “Cinderella.” In 1980, he successfully completed the character animation program at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), then began his career at Disney Animation under the guidance of animator and Disney Legend Eric Larson.
In his first stint as supervising animator, Henn animated Basil, Dr. Dawson, Olivia and Flaversham in “The Great Mouse Detective.” He was among the first of Disney’s top animators to make the move to Orlando to work at Walt Disney Animation’s Florida Studio. His other Disney feature film and featurette credits include “The Little Mermaid,” “The Rescuers Down Under,” “The Prince and the Pauper,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King” (supervising Young Simba), “Pocahontas”, “Mulan,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Home on the Range,” “Winnie the Pooh” (as supervising animator for Winnie and Christopher Robin), “Meet the Robinsons,” and “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater.”
Henn continued to work on feature films and mentor the next generation of animators on titles including “Wreck-It Ralph” (as lead 2D animator), “Frozen” (lead 2D animator), “Moana” (animator), “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (lead 2D animator), and “Frozen 2.” He also contributed animation to the Cirque du Soleil show, “Drawn to Life,” was supervising animator on the hand- drawn “Disney Presents Goofy in How to Stay at Home” episode “Binge Watching,” and lent his talents as animator and supervising animator on numerous projects for Disney Experiences around the world. Henn was Mickey Mouse’s official portraitist in honor Mickey’s 90th birthday in 2018. Most recently, he wrote and directed the new Donald Duck short, “D.I.Y. Duck,” which debuted on Disney+ in celebration of 90 years of the famous duck in June 2024.