Eric Allen Goldberg (born May 1, 1955) is an American animator, voice actor, film director, and producer. He is known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Warner Bros. Animation.

Life and career Goldberg was born and raised in Levittown, Pennsylvania, and moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey as a child, where he attended Cherry Hill High School East.Staff. "Cherry Hill native puts toon in 'Looney Tunes'" , Courier-Post, November 14, 2003. Accessed August 25, 2011. "When Eric Goldberg was a student at Cherry Hill High School East in the early 1970s, he used to decorate classmates' notebooks with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck." Goldberg later studied at Pratt Institute, where he majored in illustration. He first entered the industry in the mid-1970s working on Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure for the Richard Williams studio, eventually moving to Williams' London studio and rising through the ranks from assistant to director. During the 1980s, Goldberg started his own London-based studio, Pizazz Pictures, to produce television commercials.

In 1982, Goldberg married his longtime girlfriend Susan.

Later, Goldberg closed his studio to work at Disney Animation Studios, Burbank, California, animating for the film Aladdin. He became the lead animator of the character Genie, and later the lead animator for Phil in Hercules (1997). Goldberg also was one of the directors of Disney's 1995 feature Pocahontas. During his time as the lead animator for the Genie, he also provided the majority of the original animation for MC Skat Kat's "Big Time" music video, which was finished in 1992 but left unaired.

In December 1998, Goldberg began plans to produce an animated short set to the music of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. His film eventually became part of Disney's Fantasia 2000 after Goldberg was allowed to use the Disney staff to complete the film during a production hiatus. He also served as director for Fantasia 2000 "The Carnival of the Animals" segment. Goldberg's wife Susan served as art director on both segments.

Goldberg served as the director of animation for Warner Bros.' 2003 live-action/animation hybrid feature Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and also provided the voices of Bugs Bunny (one line), Marvin the Martian, Tweety, and Speedy Gonzales. Although the film was not commercially successful at the box office, it was met with relatively positive reviews from film critics, and Goldberg was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Directing in an Animated Feature Production for his animation direction. He animated the title sequence of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 2006 remake of The Pink Panther, with Bob Kurtz of Kurtz and Friends, and provided some additional animation for Fat Albert. Goldberg was offered to direct an animated opening sequence for Wes Craven’s Cursed, but Goldberg declined twice. He was also attached to direct a CG adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are at Universal Pictures, but due to creative differences, Goldberg left the project & Universal decided to make it a live-action adaptation directed by Spike Jonze.

In 2006, Goldberg returned to Disney, where he directed four minutes of animation for the Epcot attraction Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros and contributed to the 2007 animated short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, which starred Goofy. Most recently, he was the supervising animator for Louis in The Princess and the Frog (2009), Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh (2011), and Maui's tattoos in Moana (2016).

Goldberg has also animated Mickey Mouse on Nighttime Spectaculars in Disney Parks and Resorts, including Disney Gifts of Christmas and Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo Disneyland, and the "We Love Mickey" Main Street Projection Show in Hong Kong Disneyland.

In April 2022, Goldberg confirmed plans within the Disney studio to once again return to hand-drawn animation.

In August 2024, Goldberg wrote and directed the Donald Duck episode of the internet series Hot Ones.

Preservation Two of Goldberg's early films, For Sale and Good Old Fashioned Cartoon Violence, were preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Awards 1993 Annie Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Field of Animation 2000 Annie Award Outstanding Individual Achievement for Character Animation for Fantasia 2000 2000 NCS Division Award Feature Animation for Rhapsody in Blue 2010 Annie Award Character Animation in a Feature Production for The Princess and the Frog 2010 Winsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement in animation. 2026 Disney Legend Award, the highest honor bestowed by The Walt Disney Company.

Filmography Year Film Director Animator Voice actor Voice Role Animation Role Notes1973For SaleGood Old Fashioned Cartoon Violence1977 Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical AdventureAssistant Animator1982Ziggy's Gift art director1985Rupert and the Frog Song1992AladdinCharacter Designer/Supervising Animator Genie1993The Thief and the CobblerOn Mad Witch And Death Machine Sequences; UncreditedMrs. DoubtfireDaniel Hillard (Robin Williams) Voice Acting Sequence Animator (As Claude Raynes), Along With Chuck Jones1994Chariots of Fur As Claude Raynes1995Pocahontas1996Superior DuckAs Claude Raynes: Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Porky Pig, Superman1997HerculesSupervising Animator PhilPullet SurpriseAdditional Animator As Claude RaynesFrom Hare to EternityAs Claude Raynes2000Fantasia 2000Rhapsody in BlueThe Carnival of The Animals, FinaleDinosaurAdditional Visual Development2001The Magic Lamp 3D2003Looney Tunes: Back in Action Storyboard Artist and (Animation Director) Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Speedy GonzalesBoys Night OutAdditional animation2004Green Screen ShowFat Albert2005Son of the MaskAnimated Dream SequenceTom and Jerry: The Fast and the FurryCharacter Layout2006Pink PantherTitle SequenceA Monkey's TaleTom and Jerry TalesTV seriesOpening TitlesThe Fox and the Hound 2Direct-to-video2007The Chestnut TreeSpecial ThanksGran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three CaballerosShort film Theme ParkHow to Hook Up Your Home Theater Short film2008Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation CollectionAudio Commentaries On The Cat Concerto, The Dot and the Line And Blitz Wolf2009Pups of LibertyLead Animator; GovernorThe Princess and the FrogCharacter Designer/Supervising Animator for Louis the Alligator And Miscellaneous Characters. 2010The 82nd Annual Academy AwardsArchive Footage;Louis the AlligatorIron Man 2 Video game; A.I.M. soldiers 2011Winnie the Pooh Supervising Animator; Rabbit, The BacksonTom and Jerry: Golden Collection, Volume OneAudio Commentary on The Cat Concerto (Archival Recording On Disc Two)2012PapermanFinal Line Animator/Academy Award Winning ShortWreck-It RalphAdditional Visual Development2013Get a Horse!Head of Animation/Short Film2016The SimpsonsCouch gag for Fland CanyonMoana Hand-Drawn Animation Supervisor Maui (Tattoos) 2018Ralph Breaks the Internet Additional Animator 2021 How to Stay at Home Supervising Animator On "How To Wear A Mask"; Goofy and Writer 2022 Mickey in a MinuteAnimated short Ahead of The Documentary Mickey: The Story of a Mouse:Oswald The Lucky RabbitAnimated Web Short, Also Producer; Oswald the Lucky Rabbit2023Once Upon a StudioHead of hand-drawn animation; Mickey Mouse, Genie, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Jiminy CricketWishAdditional 2D Animation2024Moana 2Hand-Drawn animation supervisor Maui (Tattoos) 2025 Zootopia 2Additional 2D Animation

References

External links

Eric Goldberg's first visit to CalArts' Character Animation Program (Fall '05) Eric Goldberg's second visit to CalArts' Character Animation Program (Spring '06) Animated News' Interview with Goldberg (2005) From Script to DVD interview Eric Goldberg on Voice Chasers