During my trip to LA last month I had the amazing opportunity to talk with Disney Legend Floyd Norman. Floyd is truly a Disney Legend! He has worked on 101 Dalmatians, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Dinosaur, and The Tigger Movie!
Floyd even moved north to Pixar Studios to work as part of the story crew for Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.. Floyd shared with us the history of working at Disney and what it was like to have Walt Disney as a boss.
Disney Legend Floyd Norman
One of my favorite parts of our interview was when Floyd gave us a drawing lesson! It was amazing to see him sketch out the characters and have them come to life on paper. I took a quick video of him sketching Mickey Mouse so everyone could see it!
How cool is that to see! Can you imagine what his random doodles are like when he is just sketching for fun.
I could sit and watch him draw for hours.
One of the things I loved about visiting with Floyd Norman was how positive, uplifting, and excited he was during our interview. You could feel his passion for Disney and sharing the art of Disney as he talked to each of us.
It was amazing to hear that Floyd actually retired from Disney for a while but came back because he was hanging around the animation studios so much he figured he might as well go back to work.
Floyd is also the author of Animated Life: A Lifetime of tips, tricks, techniques, and stories from an animation Legend (Animation Masters)
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Can you guess from this picture which character Floyd Norman is drawing?
If you guess Daffy Duck you are correct!
Talking with Floyd Norman reminded me that dreams do come true and hard work really does pay off. Growing up Floyd Norman dreamed of working for the Walt Disney Company. After high school he applied for a job with Disney. He was told to go to college. Floyd went to school and re-applied for Disney. In February 1956 Floyd was sitting at home watching the Mickey Mouse Club on a Friday afternoon when he got the call asking if he could be at Disney on Monday morning.
Floyd said it was a magical opportunity to work with Disney. He said that Walt Disney had a way of choosing a job for you. That he would surprise you with the job he chose.
While working in animation Walt Disney says Floyd's drawings and told him he would be working on a story. His first job in the story department was on the movie Jungle Book.
Floyd said that Walt Disney knew us better than we knew ourselves!
During our interview, we talked about the Disney movie 101 Dalmatians. Floyd said that 101 Dalmatians came together at the right time. Technology made a huge impact in the making of the movie. It was a 2-year production to create 101 Dalmatians.
Floyd described Walt Disney as progressive, a visionary, a leader, and a father figure. He said that when you join Disney you are part of the Disney Family. Disney is a family with multiple generations of families working at Disney. Family is what makes the company great.
Floyd reminded us to bring joy to audiences, to put the fun in your drawings, and to have fun!
We met with Floyd to celebrate Disney releasing 101 Dalmatians on Blu-ray and Digital HD this week! Make sure and pick up your copy of 101 Dalmatians: Diamond Edition to see the great footage of Floyd talking about creating 101 Dalmatians along with other great features!
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Kiwi
Amazing! I loved reading Floyd's story. Disney is one of the most magical productions on the face of this Earth and so he literally got to work for the happiest place on Earth! Awesome anything Disney is awesome!
Amanda
I love Disney Movies so much! I just think it's a great way to sit back and relax and enjoy hanging with your kid or even by yourself!! It looks like you had a great time hanging out with Floyd Norman and I can't blame ya! =)
Mary O'Malley
What an amazing opportunity! I bet it was a blast going to talk with him. Those artworks are amazing too.
Angela Christopher
That is awesome you got to meet him! I bet he has some awesome stories to tell!
Echo
How awesome is that?! You got to meet an amazing Disney animator. I am extremely jealous!
XmasDolly
Oh my gosh, he's amazing and actually meet someone who Knew Mr. Disney and dang he is so so very talented. So that's how a disney cartoon is made. I would totally love to meet someone like that and just listen to him tell his stories on the set. WOW
Michelle Hwee
Wow that is so cool to see! I love the animations of it! Disney is just so fantastic and magical, I guess that's why we love it so much! Thanks for sharing.
Courtney
Omg I loved that movie when I was a kiddo!!! I wanted a Dalmatian so bad because of it!!
Heather
I love Disney! There is always so much thought that goes into designing their characters. We recently watch Saving Mrs. Baanks. It was very insightful on how Walt Disney was.
Michele
What a joy to be able to love what you do for a living enough that after retiring you actually go back and work some more! He sounds like a wonderful person from your interview!
Freya
WoW that's absolutely amazing ! Yes dreams do come true and hard work pays off. What a beautiful story. It's very impressive how quickly he makes these drawings. I love 101 Dalmatians, so I'll definitely watch it again.
Tanya Lara
Very nice. 101 Dalmatians has always been one of my favorite Disney animations. 🙂
nazma
oh wau ... lucky you. ! i would love to meet him and talented people like him
Kelly
How wonderful that you got to see Flloyd Normal in action! I loved 101 Dalmations and can just imagine all the detail that went in to the movie - had no idea it took 2 years, that's fascinating!
Olivia Douglass
What an awesome opportunity! I just saw the other day that this movie is being brought out of the Vault- it surely is a classic from my childhood. I'll be buying it for Liam, our baby boy!
Terri Ramsey Beavers
What a great interview. I love to sit and watch artists draw so I bet watching him draw would have been one of my favorite memories.
Andrea
Wow! What an incredible opportunity. Disney was my childhood, but is still a huge part of my adult life. Great post!
Robin (Masshole Mommy)
What a cool interview. I always dreamed of working at Disney World in some capacity. Maybe when I retire.....