Walker made his directorial debut on the Oscar-nominated ‘Brother Bear,’ which was produced using a mix of traditional 2D and CG animation.
Robert Walker
Disney artist Robert Walker, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated animated feature Brother Bear, has passed away at the age of 54. According to a report by The Ottawa Citizen, Walker died suddenly on April 1 from a suspected heart attack.
“He was just a down-to-earth, quiet, thoughtful guy who cared about the people around him,” his younger brother Jim Walker said in the report.
Walker was born in Toronto, grew up in Ottawa and attended Sheridan College's animation program. After graduation, he was hired by Atkinson Film-Art, where he worked on TV series including The Raccoons and Dennis the Menace.
In 1989, Walker joined Disney Animation Studios in Bay Lake, FL as a layout artist on the Roger Rabbit animated short Roller Coaster Rabbit. He later became head of layout for the Florida studio, which was built inside a theme park, overseeing scenes for features including The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Mulan (1998) and Lilo & Stitch (2002).
In 2003, Walker made his directorial debut on Disney’s 44th animated feature, Brother Bear, which he co-directed with Aaron Blaise. Set in post-ice age North America, Brother Bear tells the story of an Inuit boy, Kenai, who takes on the form of a bear after killing the animal. The film, which was traditionally animated but also includes some CG elements, was voiced by Joaquin Pheonix, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. It earned over $250 million worldwide following its release in October 2004, and was nominated for an Academy Award for best animated feature, losing out to Pixar's Finding Nemo.
Walker reportedly recently retired to California to spend more time with his nine-year-old daughter and to work on his golf game, while also pursuing with more personal art projects.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
