Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Photo by Karen Quincy Loberg, courtesy of and © 1995 the Walt Disney Company. All Rights Reserved.

I.

He watched the yellow leaves drift from the trees; 'twas Halloween
Cartoonish costumes skipping down the street
Brought a smile this birthday, sad yet sweet,
The ninety-fifth such day the man had seen.

There, a child dressed as Mickey, black ears globed against the sky --
In his mind, the wheels turned, the old train huffed;
He held aloft an ancient hand, worn and scuffed,
And gave a laugh that melted to a sigh.

Lifting a pencil sitting by his cuff,
With that leathered hand began to lightly draw.
Until that famous mouse he shortly saw.
"Good enough," he whispered, "Still good enough."

Sitting back, his deep-lined eyes closed in repose.
Drifting back through time, as dark as ink
That drew his perfect lines on countless cels; he tried to think
Of how it all began, this life he chose.

His first drawing? It was a charming train
His name printed neatly on the side
Encouraged in his eager child's pride,
He sketched and drew again and yet again

When a man, in Stanford's ivied halls
The brush and paint a magic shadow cast
Upon him as he learned of masters past
Art became his life, his love, his call.

The days of college passed, his painter's eye
Was shared with one Frank Thomas, a campus friend
Little could they know that fate would send
That friendship to a fame that could not die.

When the days of art school were no more,
He sought to find a living in his art
When none did fit the passions of his heart,
He followed Frank on through Walt Disney's door

At Fred Moore's side he toiled day and night
Striving to make his drawings feel and act,
To move, reveal an inner life, react,
Learning his craft, he helped to craft Snow White.

And there, between dwarfs seeking to be born,
Classes, training, practice that consumed the hours,
Enthralled by animation's skill and powers,
He pledged himself to master it, and thus forsworn,

His talent shone, and Walt could not deny
The forms and faces that young Ollie drew
Were poems of structure rare and emotions true.
The time had come to set the standard high.

Pinocchio was Walt's first challenge, then centaurettes
That pranced through Fantasia. Better still
Was Disney's gracious bow to Ollie's skill:
A leader's role in Bambi, proof of challenge met.