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Tom Bancroft

Director Animator

Table 635

Tom Bancroft has over thirty years of experience in the animation industry, most of which was for Walt Disney Feature animation where he was an animator for twelve years on such Disney classics as Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan and Brother Bear. He is also the creator of "Mushu" The Dragon in Disney’s Mulan. After Disney, he worked with Big Idea Productions as a Supervising Director/Co-creator for a VeggieTales DVD series. His popular character design instruction books — “Creating Characters with Personality” and “Character Mentor” — have become the most recognized books on designing characters and are required textbooks at many art schools around the world. Tom is half of the popular “The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast” with his twin brother Tony, as well as creator of the annual, world-wide Instagram drawing event #MerMay with millions of followers. He produced "Pencils Vs. Pixels" a documentary feature about 2D animation and is the founder and Artist-in-Residence of the thriving Animation program at Lipscomb University. He is the CEO of Pencilish Animation Studios, the world’s first crowdfunded animation IP development company.

PARTICIPANT SCHEDULE

Bancroft Brothers interview Usman Riaz of “The Glassworker”

Room 207 | Tom Bancroft | Tony Bancroft | Usman Riaz

Veteran animators and podcasters Tom and Tony Bancroft interview Usman Riaz, the first Pakistani animator to release a hand drawn feature film in Pakistan! Usman is a Ted Talks fellow, musician and studio head of Mano Animation, the studio he created to make “The Glassworker” feature film. He directed, storyboarded, animated, and composed music for this special film that is created in an anime style. Come find out why Usman Riaz is the name to know this year! NOTE: This talk is a primer for the special PREMIERE screening of “The Glassworker” on FRIDAY NIGHT.

Screening: “The Glassworker” Feature Film (US Premiere)

Civic Auditorium | Tom Bancroft | Tony Bancroft | Usman Riaz | special guests

This is a special presentation with an introduction by film director Usman Riaz! Usman storyboarded, directed, animated, and composed “The Glassworker” then created a studio (Mano Animation Studios) to create it! It is Pakistan’s first-ever animated film and already one of its most profitable films! See this once in a lifetime film!

“The Glassworker” is a 2024 hand-drawn animated film produced by Mano Animation Studios. The film is directed by Usman Riaz from a screenplay written by Moya O’Shea and produced by Khizer Riaz and Manuel Cristóbal. Featuring anime-influenced animation, it premiered at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June and was accepted into the Official Competition at the Hiroshima Animation Festival, August, 2024

The Lion King: 30th Anniversary Reunion

Ballroom F | Tom Bancroft | Tony Bancroft | Andreas Deja | Roger Allers (Director) | Rob Minkoff (Director) | Don Hahn (Producer)

Disney’s The Lion King celebrates it’s 30th anniversary this year. Join the Directors, Producer and Animators that made the original animated feature that broke records and hearts forever. But how did it come about? What are the behind-the-scenes stories of near disaster and ruin? The Bancroft Brothers (Tom -Young Simba and Tony Bancroft- Pumbaa) host this awesome reunion of some of the key creative minds behind your favorite film. If you can’t make it in….Hakuna Matata!

Children’s Books to Animation – and back again!

Room 101-102 | Tom Bancroft | Tony Bancroft | Elsa Chang | Andy Harnkess | and Pete Oswald

The Entertainment Arts are filled with stories of animator/ illustrators trying to bridge the gap between the Children’s Books industry and the Animation industry. Some have done so successfully and some not so much. But how do you stratal both worlds? How do you get those first gigs? In a world where pivoting from creative path to creative path is essential for survival, this panel will be a help to all artists. Guest speakers will include experienced artists speaking about their success and failures while pivoting in their own creative paths. Hosted by Tom and Tony Bancroft with Elsa Chang (Disney/ Sony), Andy Harkness (Disney) and Pete Oswald (Sony/ Colombia).

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