Don Hahn (born 25 November 1955) is an American film producer who is credited with producing some of the most successful animated films in recent history including The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, the first animated film to be nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for an Oscar for Best Picture. He currently is Executive Producer of the Disneynature films, and owns his own film production company, Stone Circle Pictures.
[When asked what Walt Disney would think of Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)] He wouldn't like that it goes into so much detail about things behind the scenes because he wanted the audience's perception about the studio to be this kind of fantasy. At it's heart though it's a story about people and Walt would have loved that.
2
My sense of operating and working with a team of people is, you know, let's team up, let's talk about it, let's react and kinda coach and cheer-lead and psychotherapy everybody into the right room. Then it would inevitably blow up and people would run screaming with their hair on fire from the room and I think that balance of comfort and teamwork and mutual support along with terror and infighting and screaming is what makes great art. Not just in an animation studio but historically, whether you're an architect building buildings or whether you're a painter painting a ceiling. All those things go into making great art.
3
I remember when we were almost finished with The Lion King (1994) and we brought Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas down to watch it. These were two guys who taught all of us and they liked it but they had that, you know, air of "I have a few notes".
4
[on the standing ovation that an unfinished Beauty and the Beast (1991) received at the Sundance Film Festival] I felt like a cross between the pope and 'Eva Peron'. It was incredible.
5
The best thing about The Lion King (1994) is that together we made something that not one of us could have made on our own and that is a very magical thing.
6
I think animation at its heart, all good animation, is allegory for us as human beings.
7
... you tend to categorize animation as a genre as opposed to a technique.
#
Fact
1
Has a daughter named Emilie Hahn.
2
Served as a moderator for a cast/crew reunion panel discussion at the premiere of a revival/promotional screening of the 1989 Disney classic The Little Mermaid (1989) at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on September 7th, 2006. He also presented the new Roger Allers short film, The Little Matchgirl (2006), and introduced Roy Edward Disney, who paid an unannounced visit to the screening. [September 2006]
3
Last name is pronounced "Hawn".
4
One of three producers of animated films to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. The film was Beauty and the Beast (1991).
5
In 1996 he wrote a picture book entitled "Disney's Animation Magic". It explained the step by step process of creating an animated film.
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Beauty and the Beast
2017
executive producer completed
Wish List
executive producer pre-production
Richard M. Sherman: Songs of a Lifetime
2015
TV Movie executive producer
Tyrus
2015
Documentary executive producer
Maleficent
2014
executive producer
Frankenweenie
2012
executive producer
High Ground
2012
Documentary producer
Chimpanzee
2012
Documentary executive producer
African Cats
2011
Documentary executive producer: Disneynature
Hand Held
2010
Documentary producer
Christmas with Walt Disney
2009
Documentary producer
Océans
2009
Documentary executive producer: Disneynature
Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
Documentary producer
The Chestnut Tree
2007
Short executive producer
Earth
2007
Documentary executive producer
The Little Matchgirl
2006
Short producer
One by One
2004
Video short producer
Lorenzo
2004
Short executive producer
The Haunted Mansion
2003
producer
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
2001
producer
The Emperor's New Groove
2000
executive producer
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1996
producer
The Lion King
1994
producer
The Nightmare Before Christmas
1993
producer - 3D Version 2006
Beauty and the Beast
1991
producer
Michael & Mickey
1991
segment producer
Tummy Trouble
1989
Short producer
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
1988
associate producer
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
Richard M. Sherman: Songs of a Lifetime
2015
TV Movie
Hand Held
2010
Documentary
Christmas with Walt Disney
2009
Documentary
Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
Documentary
The 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films: Animation
2007
Fantasia 2000
1999
host sequences
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Aldabra: Once Upon an Island
2015
creative consultant
Pups of Liberty
2009
Short creative consultant
HGTV Showdown
2009
TV Series production team - 1 episode
Mickey's Christmas Carol
1983
Short production assistant
The Small One
1978
Short production assistant
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
High Ground
2012
Documentary
Chimpanzee
2012
Documentary written by
Fantasia 2000
1999
written by - host sequences
Production Manager
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Great Mouse Detective
1986
production manager - uncredited
The Black Cauldron
1985
production manager
Animation Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Pete's Dragon
1977
assistant animator - uncredited
Assistant Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Fox and the Hound
1981
assistant director
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Eden
2016/I
Short special thanks completed
The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows
2015
Video special thanks
Love
2015/I
Documentary short grateful thanks
What the F@#- Is Cancer and Why Does Everybody Have It?
2014
Documentary thanks
Bolt
2008
special thanks
How to Hook Up Your Home Theater
2007
Short special thanks
Disney's Animation Magic: Beauty and the Beast
2002
Video documentary short thanks
Tale as Old as Time: The Making of 'Beauty and the Beast'
2002
Video documentary thanks
The Making of 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire'
2002
Video documentary thanks
Celebrating Dumbo
2001
Video documentary short thanks
Disney's 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs': Still the Fairest of Them All
2001
Video documentary short thanks
The Fantasia Legacy: Fantasia Continued
2000
Video documentary thanks
The Lion King
1994
Video Game special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Celebrating Dumbo
2001
Video documentary short
Himself
Disney's 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs': Still the Fairest of Them All
2001
Video documentary short
Himself - Producer, Walt Disney Feature Animation
The Fantasia Legacy: Fantasia Continued
2000
Video documentary
Himself - Director
Most Unlikely Heroes
1996
TV Special
Himself
The Making of Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'
1996
TV Movie documentary
Himself - Producer
The Making of 'The Lion King'
1994
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Lion King: A Musical Journey with Elton John
1994
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Making of 'Beauty and the Beast'
1991
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition
2011-2016
TV Series
Himself
Content Censored
2016
Documentary short
Himself
Floyd Norman: An Animated Life
2016
Documentary
Himself
Tyrus
2015
Documentary
American Experience
2015
TV Series documentary
Himself
The What? Series
2014
TV Series documentary
Himself (2014-2015)
What the F@#- Is Cancer and Why Does Everybody Have It?
2014
Documentary
Himself
Made in Hollywood
2011
TV Series
Himself
Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
Documentary
Narrator (voice)
The Making of 'Pinocchio': No Strings Attached
2009
Video documentary
Himself
The Pixar Story
2007
Documentary
Himself
Tinker Bell: A Fairy's Tale
2007
Video short
Himself
Lady's Pedigree: The Making of 'Lady and the Tramp'
2006
Video documentary
Himself
A Perfect Little Lady: The Story of Lady and the Tramp
2006
Video documentary short
Himself
Pretty as a Picture Art and Design
2006
Video documentary short
Himself
Ruff Animation
2006
Video documentary short
Himself
The 100 Greatest Family Films
2005
TV Movie documentary
Himself
From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men
2005
Video documentary short
100 Greatest Cartoons
2005
TV Special documentary
Himself
Cinderella That Almost Was
2005
Documentary short
Himself
Behind the Tunes: Bugs - A Rabbit for All Seasonings
2003
Video documentary short
Himself
Behind the Tunes: Merrie Melodies - Carl Stalling and Cartoon Music
2003
Video documentary short
Himself
Irreverent Imagination: The Golden Age of the Looney Tunes
2003
Video documentary
Himself
Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit
2003
Video documentary short
Himself
Disney's Animation Magic: Beauty and the Beast
2002
Video documentary short
Himself - Producer, 'Beauty and the Beast'
Tale as Old as Time: The Making of 'Beauty and the Beast'
2002
Video documentary
Himself - Producer
The Making of 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire'
2002
Video documentary
Himself - Producer
Redefining the Line: The Making of One Hundred and One Dalmatians
2001
Video documentary short
Himself
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2016
June Foray Award
Annie Awards
2003
Special Achievement Award
Heartland Film Festival
For his contribution to animation.
1997
Golden Satellite Award
Satellite Awards
Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2014
BAFTA Children's Award
BAFTA Awards
BAFTA Kids Vote - Feature Film
Maleficent (2014)
2014
BAFTA Children's Award
BAFTA Awards
Best Feature Film
Maleficent (2014)
2014
IFMCA Award
International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA)
Best Archival Release of an Existing Score - Re-Release or Re-Recording
The Lion King (1994)
2007
Oscar
Academy Awards, USA
Best Short Film, Animated
The Little Matchgirl (2006)
2003
DVDX Award
DVD Exclusive Awards
Best New Movie Scenes (Finished-Edited Into Movie or Stand-Alone)
The Lion King (1994)
2002
OFTA Film Award
Online Film & Television Association
Best Animated Picture
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
1996
Annie
Annie Awards
Best Individual Achievement: Producing
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
1995
PGA Award
PGA Awards
Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
The Lion King (1994)
1992
Oscar
Academy Awards, USA
Best Picture
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
1992
PGA Award
PGA Awards
Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
$18 Million
