R.I.P. Richard Williams (1933-2019)

Richard Williams

On August 16, 2019, animator and voice actor Richard Williams passed away at the age of 86 in Bristol, England. With a career spanning several decades, he was best known as a beloved animator who helped bring to life such stories as Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and worked profusely and passionately on every project he was given. There were few animators like him, notably because of his dedication to craft, producing quality work with a focus and skill that few others had. His work continues to dazzle as a result, leaving behind a body of work that is breathtaking in its style and form that reflects the potential of art in film, whether through character movement or title sequences. He did it all, and had quite an impressive career as a result.

Williams was born on March 19, 1933, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of commercial illustrator Kathleen "Kay" Bell" and Leslie Lane. Lane left when he was a baby and was oon adopted by Kenneth D.C. Williams, who was a businessman in printing and design. Williams had his education at Northern Secondary School and later Ontario College of Art. Thanks to his adopted father's connections, he was able to become a commercial artist by the age of 16 who was able to make a living. He would move at the age of 20 to Ibiza. He would move to England in 1955 at the age of 22 working for George Dunning's T.V. Cartoons Ltd. on commercials. His first major work came in 1958 with the BAFTA Award-winning The Little Island.  He credited Bob Godfrey with helping him get his start.

He would continue to work through the '60s and into the '70s. In 1971, he would win an Academy Award for A Christmas Carol. He would also win an Emmy for Ziggy's Gift in 192. By 1988, he would be assigned to work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as director of the animation. This would lead to two more Oscar wins. This inspired him to write a how-to animate book called "The Animator's Survival Kit" in 2002. Among his later work was a nine-minute short called Circus Drawings, which was a silent film with live accompaniment that premiered at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Italy in September 2010.

Among his most famous projects was The Thief and the Cobbler, which took many forms over Williams' life. It was a passion project of him to make an adult version of the "Arabian Nights" mythology. Throughout the decades, he would receive financing for the project, which sometimes took form very slowly with 20 years producing only 20 minutes of completed footage. Many considered it hard to market, which became a tragic and ironic statement in 1992. He had approximately 15 minutes left to complete, but financiers were worried given that Disney was releasing the similar Aladdin on the exact same day. The film would later be bought by Miramax, where Harvey Weinstein earned his nickname Harvey Scissorhands by destroying Williams' lifelong work in re-edits that would become 1995's, Arabian Knight. As one could guess, it embarrassed Williams who refused to talk about it, believing that he wouldn't see his ideal version reassembled in his lifetime. There would be a "director's cut" shown in 2013 subtitled A Moment in Time, but alas it wasn't the completed version.

Williams' work speaks for itself thanks in large part to his dedication to craft. He helped to make animation into a prestigious art form, working on everything in order to make it pop with life. While he had some personal failures as an artist, he still manages to give everything his all, producing work that was beloved by millions and helped to inspire the next generation of artists. He leaves behind an impressive body of work that is unsurpassed. No matter how great or small the project was, he made it stand out as something special. Few were able to draw like him, and he will be missed greatly for all that he gave the world.