Biography
Born in Fresno, California, Frank Thomas attended Stanford University, where he was a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity and worked on campus humor magazine The Stanford Chaparral with Ollie Johnston. After graduating from Stanford, he attended Chouinard Art Institute, then joined The Walt Disney Company on September 24, 1934 as employee number 224. There he animated dozens of feature films and shorts, and also was a member of the Dixieland band Firehouse Five Plus Two, playing the piano.
Known For
Complete Filmography

Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
as Self (archive footage)
By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovat...

The Making of 'Pinocchio': No Strings Attached
2009
as Himself (Archive Footage)
Documentary focusing on the making-of the 1940n adaptation of Pinocchio by the Disney studio, often considered the artistic pinnacle of the Disney fea...

The Pixar Story
2007
as Self
A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of it...

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

From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men
2005
as Self (Archive Footage)
Film critic Joel Siegel gets together with a group of animators, directors and producers to discuss and pay tribute to their mentors and Walt Disney's...

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of 'Mary Poppins'
2004
as Self
Using archival, never-before-released footage and newly shot interviews, this is a definitive behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney's moviemaking magi...

The Incredibles
2004
as Additional Voices (voice)
Bob Parr has given up his superhero days to log in time as an insurance adjuster and raise his three children with his formerly heroic wife in suburbi...

The Incredibles
2004
Thanks
Bob Parr has given up his superhero days to log in time as an insurance adjuster and raise his three children with his formerly heroic wife in suburbi...

Passing the Baton: The Making of The Fox and the Hound
2003
as Self
A look at the making of the classic 1981 Disney film that saw the transition from Disney's Nine Old Men to the new guard who would usher in the Disney...

Frank and Ollie... and Mickey
2002
Documentary regarding two of the "nine old men" of Disney animators.

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 Making of 'Lady and the Tramp II': From Tramp to Scamp
2001
as Self - Veteran Animator, 'Lady and the Tramp'
Making of featurette about the sequel to the beloved film.

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

The Iron Giant
1999
as Additional Voices (voice)
In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfi...

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Story Behind the Masterpiece
1996
as Self - Animator
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Story Behind the Masterpiece is a behind-the-scenes documentary narrated by Corey Burton on the making of ...

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...

The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born
1994
as Self - Supervising Animator
The making of this classic Disney masterpiece about the life of a young faun. Includes archive footage of Walt Disney and his team of animators.

It All Started with a Mouse: The Disney Story
1989
as Self
The story of Walt Disney and the company he built.

The Chipmunk Adventure
1987
Thanks
The Chipmunks and the Chipettes go head to head in a hot air balloon race, and the winner gets $10,000. Unbeknownst to the participants, the "race" is...

The Fox and the Hound
1981
Supervising Animator
When a feisty little fox named Tod is adopted into a farm family, he quickly becomes friends with a fun and adorable hound puppy named Copper. Life is...

The Rescuers
1977
Author, Animation
Two agents of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society search for a little orphan girl kidnapped by sinister treasure hunters.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
1977
Animation
Whether we’re young or forever young at heart, the Hundred Acre Wood calls to that place in each of us that still believes in magic. Join pals Pooh, P...

Robin Hood
1973
Animation
With King Richard off to the Crusades, Prince John and his slithering minion, Sir Hiss, set about taxing Nottingham's citizens with support from the c...

The Aristocats
1970
Screenplay, Animation
When Madame Adelaide Bonfamille leaves her fortune to Duchess and her children—Bonfamille’s beloved family of cats—the butler plots to steal the money...

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
1968
Animation Director
Winnie the Pooh and his friends experience high winds, heavy rains, and a flood in Hundred Acre Wood.

The Jungle Book
1967
Animation Director
The boy Mowgli makes his way to the man-village with Bagheera, the wise panther. Along the way he meets jazzy King Louie, the hypnotic snake Kaa and t...

Mary Poppins
1964
Animation
Mr Banks is looking for a nanny for his two mischievous children and comes across Mary Poppins, an angelic nanny. She not only brings a change in thei...

The Sword in the Stone
1963
Animation
Wart is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for him...

One Hundred and One Dalmatians
1961
Animation
When a litter of dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella De Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fas...

Disneyland '59
1959
as Self
Walt Disney and Art Linkletter co-host a live celebration of Disneyland's 1959 expansion that consisted of the debuts of Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Disn...

Sleeping Beauty
1959
Animation
Cursed to die by the evil fairy Maleficent when she was a baby, Princess Aurora is sent into hiding under protection from three good fairies. As she g...

Tricks of Our Trade
1957
With examples from Disney feature-length films, Walt Disney gives a behind-the-scenes look at the improvements in animation made by his studio's in-ho...

Lady and the Tramp
1955
Animation, Animation Director
Lady, a golden cocker spaniel, meets up with a mongrel dog who calls himself the Tramp. He is obviously from the wrong side of town, but happenings at...

A Story of Dogs
1954
as Self

Peter Pan
1953
Animation, Animation Director
Leaving the safety of their nursery behind, Wendy, Michael and John follow Peter Pan to a magical world where childhood lasts forever. But while in Ne...

Alice in Wonderland
1951
Animation
On a golden afternoon, wildly curious young Alice tumbles into the burrow and enters the merry, madcap world of Wonderland full of whimsical escapades...

One Hour in Wonderland
1950
as Self - Firehouse Five Plus Two
Airing on Christmas Day, 1950, this holiday special was the first Disney TV production. It features Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Sn...

Cinderella
1950
Animation Director
Cinderella has faith her dreams of a better life will come true. With help from her loyal mice friends and a wave of her Fairy Godmother's wand, Cinde...

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
1949
Animation, Animation Director
The Wind in the Willows: Concise version of Kenneth Grahame's story of the same name. J. Thaddeus Toad, owner of Toad Hall, is prone to fads, such as ...

The Wind in the Willows
1949
Animation
This animated fairy tale for kids tells the classic story of a dapper, automobile loving fellow named Mr. Toad, whose passion becomes a problem when h...

In Dutch
1946
Animation
In Holland, Pluto acts as a milkman (dog?) leaving canisters of milk on the town's doorsteps. While going about his job, he falls head over heels in l...

The Flying Gauchito
1944
Animation
A brave gaucho lad arms himself with a knife and bolo. He leaves the floor of the pampas and climbs into the mountains looking for prey. In a nest he ...

The Three Caballeros
1944
Animation
For Donald's birthday he receives a box with three gifts inside. The gifts, a movie projector, a pop-up book, and a pinata, each take Donald on wild a...

Camouflage
1944
Director
This film is a treasure. It's one of the best examples of the theory and practice of the art of camouflaging military targets from air observation &am...

The Winged Scourge
1943
Animation
The Seven Dwarfs fight malaria.

Victory Vehicles
1943
Animation
Goofy demonstrates a number of crazy vehicles.

Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi
1943
Animation
A propaganda film during World War II about a boy who grows up to become a Nazi soldier.

Saludos Amigos
1942
as Self
A whimsical blend of live action and animation, "Saludos Amigos" is a colorful kaleidoscope of art, adventure and music set to a toe-tapping samba bea...

Bambi
1942
Supervising Animator
Bambi's tale unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns about life, love, and friends.

Fantasia
1940
Animation
Walt Disney's timeless masterpiece is an extravaganza of sight and sound! See the music come to life, hear the pictures burst into song and experience...

Pinocchio
1940
Animation, Animation Director
A little wooden puppet yearns to become a real boy.

The Pointer
1939
Animation
Mickey and Pluto go hunting for quail. Pluto scares away the first ones they see; Mickey scolds him, then relents. He shows Pluto how to be a pointer,...

The Practical Pig
1939
Animation
After his two brothers are captured, the third little pig invents a machine to capture the big bad wolf.

Brave Little Tailor
1938
Animation
When a giant threatens the land, the cityfolk mistake Mickey's boast of killing seven flies with one blow to be giants. He is then forced to fight the...

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1938
Animation
A beautiful girl, Snow White, takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen. The Queen is jeal...

Little Hiawatha
1937
Animation
The "fearless warrior" of the poem is a very small child whose pants keep falling down. He tries to shoot a grasshopper with his arrow, but the grassh...

More Kittens
1936
Animation
Thrown out of the house into the backyard, the three kittens are sheltered by a giant Saint Bernard and are tormented by a turtle and a bluebird.

Mickey's Elephant
1936
Animation
A friend shipped Mickey a baby elephant named Bobo as a playmate for Pluto. Pluto's first introduction is to Bobo's trunk, through a fence. He's not t...

Mickey's Circus
1936
Animation
Mickey is ringmaster of a circus for orphans. Donald has a trained sea lion act, and does a bit of juggling himself. Mostly, though, he fights with a ...

Music Land
1935
Animation
Musical instruments are the stars of a romantic fable set in the Land of Symphony and the Isle of Jazz, two islands separated by the Sea of Discord. T...

The Cookie Carnival
1935
Animation Production Assistant
Cookies, pastries, and other desserts have a parade.