Biography
John Canemaker has won an Academy Award, an Emmy and a Peabody Award for his animation and is an internationally-renowned animation historian and teacher. A key figure in American independent animation, Canemaker’s work has a distinctive personal style emphasizing emotion, personality and dynamic visual expression. His film, The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation, won an Oscar in 2005 for Best Animated Short, as well as an Emmy. A 28-minute autobiographical essay about a troubled fathe...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Cartoon Carnival
2021
as Self
Cartoon Carnival tells the story of the pioneering early days of the animated art-form and chronicles one film preservationist's quest to rescue pre-s...

Hands
2019
Director
The film follows Wing Biddlebaum, a lonely former schoolteacher whose “hands” led to a scandal that drove him from his previous town and life’s callin...

Tyrus: The Tyrus Wong Story
2015
as Himself
The unlikely story of 106-year old Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong, and how he overcame poverty and racism in America to become a celebrated modern...

King-Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution
2012
as Self
Focuses on how the legend of animation, Tex Avery, revolutionized cartoons.

Dalí & Disney: A Date with Destino
2010
as Himself
The story of the unlikely alliance between two of the most renowned innovators of the twentieth century: brilliantly eccentric Spanish Surrealist Salv...

Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo
2010
as Himself
The making of Dumbo (1941).

Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood
2009
Animation
Blending the animation of Chuck Jones’ original drawings, traditional documentary elements, and one of Jones’ most intimate interviews before his dea...

Forging the Frame: The Roots of Animation, 1921-1930
2008
as Self
A documentary about the early days of animation.

Walt & El Grupo
2008
as Self
The year was 1941, and the world was on the brink of war. In an effort to improve relations between the Americas, the Roosevelt administration called ...

Forging the Frame: The Roots of Animation, 1900-1920
2007
as Himself
A documentary about the early days of animation.

Lady's Pedigree: The Making of Lady and the Tramp
2006
as Self
A documentary on the making of Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp created for the 2006 Platinum DVD.

From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella
2005
as Self
The making of Cinderella (1950).

The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
2005
Director
An animated documentary that explores the terrain of father/son relationships, as seen through Canemaker's own turbulent relationship with his father.

The Art of Mary Blair
2005
as Self
Short Documentary on the art of Mary Blair: An extraordinary talented artist.

Shadowplay
2002
Thanks
A stop-motion film, written, animated, & directed by Dan Blank.

Celebrating Dumbo
2001
as Self
Bonus feature on the Dumbo DVD.

Disney's 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs': Still the Fairest of Them All
2001
as Himself
Released as a Bonus Feature for Disney's Platinum DVD Edition of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" this short documentary shows how this classic film ...

The Fantasia Legacy: The Concert Feature
2000
as Self
Documentary on the making of Walt Disney’s Fantasia.

The Fantasia Legacy: The Concert Feature
2000
Creative Consultant
Documentary on the making of Walt Disney’s Fantasia.

A Letter from the Western Front
1999
Thanks
In Belleau Wood, France, during the Great War, a soldier named John writes a letter home to his wife Sara in Milwaukee. He writes that her picture "he...

Frank and Ollie
1995
as Himself
Before computer graphics, special effects wizardry, and out-of-this world technology, the magic of animation flowed from the pencils of two of the gre...

Earthday Birthday
1990
as (voice)
After learning about pollution a group of creatures called Zwibble Dibbles, decide to throw a party for the Earth to raise awareness.
Santabear's High Flying Adventure
1987
Animation
It's Christmas Eve and all the children around the world are asleep and dreaming of the toys that Santa Claus will bring - except at the South Pole, w...

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile: The Musical - The House on East 88th Street
1987
Animation
The Primm family moves into an old brownstone house on East 88th Street, where they find a crocodile named Lyle in their bathtub.
The John Lennon Sketchbook
1986
Director
In 1986, seventeen years after Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s animated conversation about love and six years after the beloved Beatle’s assassination, Ono...

Bottom's Dream
1984
Director
The short takes as its inspiration Bottom's contemplation on the "dream" he has experienced in the middle acts of Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Nigh...
Byron B. Blackbear and the Scientific Method
1980
as (voice)
This educational science program features the story of Dr. Alfred Clothear and his discovery of how bears know when to sleep for the winter.

Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat
1977
as Narrator
Documentary short on cartoonist Otto Messmer, co-creator of Felix the Cat

Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat
1977
Writer, Director, Producer
Documentary short on cartoonist Otto Messmer, co-creator of Felix the Cat

Remembering Winsor McCay
1976
Editor, Producer, Director
The life and career of the great cartoonist Winsor McCay is warmly recalled by his former film assistant, John Fitzsimmons, with clips of classic McCa...
The 40s
1974
Director, Art Designer
The essence of the 1940s, to the lively beat of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." A rapidly paced collage of the fads, fashions, and personalities of wartime...
Street Freaks
1974
Director
An urban fable about a young street musician who finds competition for space to play his much a bit too tough, until he joins in the live-and-let-live...
Felix the Cat Through the Ages
N/A
as Himself
Documentary short from Felix the Cat Collector’s Edition DVD