Ron Clements

Ron Clements was an Oscar-nominated writer and director of such acclaimed animated films as "The Little Mermaid" (1989), "Aladdin" (1992), and 2009's "The Princess and the Frog." Having worked for Disney throughout the majority of his career, Clements began his training as an animator in the company's prestigious Talent Development Program. It was during this period that he learned the fundamentals of 2-D animation, which he later applied as an animator on "The Rescuers" and "Pete's Dragon," both of which were released in 1977. Despite having a successful career as an animator, Clements' chief ambition was always to direct, and in 1986 he co-directed his first feature "The Great Mouse Detective," along with David Michener, Burny Mattinson, and John Musker (the last of whom would become a lifetime collaborator). Clements and Musker wrote and directed several more features throughout their career, including the timeless animated classics "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin." Clements and Musker's career hit a bit of a snag in the early 2000s, as the industry's preference for animated movies turned to computer generated images, but in 2009, with the immense success of his and Musker's 2-D animated feature, "The Princess and the Frog," Clements proved that after 30 years in the business, he was just getting started.