Roger Allers, co-director of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ The Lion King has died. Disney CEO Bob Iger released a statement saying, “Roger Allers was a creative visionary whose many contributions to Disney will live on for generations to come. He understood the power of great storytelling – how unforgettable characters, emotion, and music can come together to create something timeless. His work helped define an era of animation that continues to inspire audiences around the world, and we are deeply grateful for everything he gave to Disney. Our hearts are with his family, friends, and collaborators.”
Disney author and historian Dave Bossert also shared , “I am deeply saddened by the news that our friend Roger Allers has passed on to his next journey. We were just trading emails this past week while he was traveling in Egypt, which makes this loss feel all the more unreal. Roger was an extraordinarily gifted artist and filmmaker, a true pillar of the Disney Animation renaissance … Roger treated everyone with genuine kindness and respect, regardless of title or position. I worked very closely with him on The Little Matchgirl, and it was nothing short of a joy—he carried a sense of wonder, generosity, and enthusiasm that lifted everyone around him. Roger had a joyful, luminous spirit, and the world is dimmer without him. Rest in peace, my friend. Until we meet again on the other side.”
Allers quiet influence helped shape the Disney Renaissance of the 1980s and early 1990s. A documentary is being worked on about his life by his daughter, filmmaker Leah Allers. While already an interesting project, this will now be even more poignant after the filmmaker’s passing.
Roger Allers was born on June 29, 1949 in Rye, New York. He would soon find himself growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was there he discovered a love of animation when he saw Peter Pan at the age of 5. He would go on to study fine arts at Arizona State University. After taking a class at Harvard University, he found his patron for animation reignited. His first jobs in the field were with Boston-based Lisberger Studios. There, he worked on Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Make a Wish various commercials as an animator.
In 1978, he moved to Los Angeles and worked on Steven Lisberger’s 1980 movie Animalypmics as story artist, character designer and animator. His next film saw him moving to Disney and working as a storyboard artist on 1982’s Tron. In the coming years, he found work in both Hollywood and Tokyo before once again landing at Disney.
At Disney, he found himself working as a storyboard artist on 1988’s Oliver & Company. This was followed by more work at Disney Animation as a storyboard artist on The Little Mermaid (1989), The Prince and the Pauper (1990) and The Rescuer’s Down Under (1990). He was promoted to head of story for 1991’s Beauty and the Beast. He also worked on some storyboards for Aladdin. His next project was The Lion King. He worked with Brenda Chapman, Chris Sanders, Don Hahn, Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale and co-director Rob Minkoff to bring this masterpiece to life.
Following the success of Disney’s animated The Lion King, Allers went on to write the libretto for The Lion King on Broadway in 1994. This was done with co-screenwriter Irene Mecchi. They earned a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. He would go on and work on Kingdom of the Sun for Disney. This became 2000’s The Emperor’s New Groove. He would leave this project due to creative differences with director Mark Daniel and Peter Schneider, who was president of the studio at the time. His next project was Lilo & Stitch (2000), for which he was a story artists.
His final project during his run at Disney was on an animated short called The Little Matchgirl. This was originally set to be a part of Fantastia 2006 project. After the project was scrapped, the film was released as a stand-alone short and received an Oscar nomination.
Allers moved on to Sony after Disney and co-directed Open Season with director Jill Culton and co-director Anthony Stacchi. He then worked on an animated adaptation of Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet. He was in charge of the narrative structure and also supervised production of the anthology with multiple directors taking on different chapters.
The passing of Roger Allers is a painful one for the animation community for which he gave so much through the years. He is survived by his children, Leah and Aidan.
