View source for Bill Justice

{{Short description|American animator}}
{{Similar names|William Justice (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox person
| image       =<!-- Deleted image removed:  [[File:Walt disney234r.jpg|thumb|right|insert a caption here]] -->
| name        = Bill Justice
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1914|2|9}}
| birth_place = [[Dayton, Ohio|Dayton]], Ohio, U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2011|2|10|1914|2|9}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], California, U.S.
| occupation  = Disney animator and Imagineer
| education   = The [[Herron School of Art and Design]]
| yearsactive = 1937–1979
| notable_works = ''[[Chip 'n' Dale]]''
}}
'''William Barnard Justice''' (February 9, 1914{{spaced ndash}}February 10, 2011) was an American animator and engineer for the [[The Walt Disney Company|Walt Disney Company]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Amidi |first=Amid |date=2011-02-10 |title=Disney Legend Bill Justice, RIP |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disney-legend-bill-justice-rip-36360.html |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=[[Cartoon Brew]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Disney Legend Bill Justice Passes Away |url=https://www.awn.com/news/disney-legend-bill-justice-passes-away |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=[[Animation World Network]] |language=en}}</ref> He was a graduate of the [[Herron School of Art and Design]] in Indianapolis.

==Biography==
Justice joined [[Walt Disney Pictures|Walt Disney Studios]] as an animator in 1937 and worked on such features as ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', ''[[The Three Caballeros]]'', ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'', and ''[[Peter Pan (1953 film)|Peter Pan]]''.  He is arguably best known as the animator of the rabbit [[Thumper (Bambi)|Thumper]] from ''[[Bambi]]'' and chipmunks [[Chip 'n Dale]].  He was the director of ''[[The Truth About Mother Goose]]'', ''Noah's Ark'', and ''[[A Symposium On Popular Songs]]'', all of which were nominated for [[Academy Award]]s as Best Short Subject, Cartoon.  In total, Justice worked on 57 shorts and 19 features.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/bill-justice/|title=Bill Justice}}</ref>

In 1960, Justice started redesigning and making new Disney character costumes for Disneyland, and later for the other Disney parks and resorts.

In 1965, Justice joined Walt Disney Imagineering, where he programmed figures for several Disney attractions such as [[Pirates of the Caribbean]], the [[The Haunted Mansion|Haunted Mansion]] and [[Country Bear Jamboree]].

Justice retired from the Disney Company in 1979 and was named a [[Disney Legend]] in 1996. He is the author of ''Justice for Disney'', which chronicles his years with the company.

Justice died of natural causes at a nursing home in Santa Monica, California, one day after his 97th birthday.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-feb-11-la-me-bill-justice-20110211-story.html|title=Bill Justice dies at 97; Walt Disney Studios animator worked on 'Fantasia' and 'Bambi'|author=McLellan, Dennis|date=February 11, 2011|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=February 12, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Disney Legend Bill Justice Dies at Age 97 |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2011/02/disney-legend-bill-justice-dies-at-age-97/ |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=[[Animation Magazine]]}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Further reading==
*Bill Justice. ''Justice for Disney''. Tomart Publications, 1992. {{ISBN|0914293133}}
*John Province. "From Snow White to Disney World (and Almost Everything Inbetween: An Interview with Bill Justice". ''Animato'' no.20 (Summer 1990), pp.&nbsp;38–41.

==External links==
*{{IMDb name| id=0433143 | name=Bill Justice}}
*[https://d23.com/bill-justice/ Listing from Disney Legends]
*[http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID10019010.asp Listing from LaughingPlace.com]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929022930/http://www.robrichards.com/el_capitan.cfm?sr=85 Biography from Bob Richards]
*[http://thedisneyblog.com/2011/02/10/disney-legend-bill-justice-has-died-at-age-97-rip/ Disney Legend Bill Justice has died at age 97, RIP]

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Bill Justice
|list =
{{Disney Legends Awards 1990s}}
{{Winsor McCay Award 2000s}}
}}
{{Walt Disney Animation Studios}}

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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Justice, Bill}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Animators from Ohio]]
[[Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people]]
[[Category:Disney imagineers]]
[[Category:Artists from Dayton, Ohio]]
[[Category:Writers from California]]
[[Category:Writers from Dayton, Ohio]]
[[Category:Herron School of Art and Design alumni]]


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