Retta Scott

Retta Scott (February 23, 1916 – August 26, 1990) was an American animator, artist and illustrator. She was the first woman to receive screen credit as an animator at the Walt Disney Animation Studios, for her work on Bambi. Scott's ground breaking work in drawing realistic animals impressed animators at the studio and Walt Disney himself which led to her promotion.

Scott is recognised as a pioneering female figure during the golden age of American animation. She was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2000.

Early life and education Scott was born in Omak, Washington on February 23, 1916. She graduated from Seattle's Roosevelt High School in 1934. Scott received two scholarships over the course of her education. The first was from the Seattle Art & Music Foundation, who awarded her with a scholarship in the 4th grade that she used to attend 10 years of creative art classes. She later received 3-year scholarship to attend the Chouinard Art Institute,

According to Country Life, the Seattle Art Museum showcased Scott's paintings as part of a 1940 exhibit.

Career at Disney Scott worked on storyboards to develop scenes of Bambi, his mother, and the film's hunting dogs, on which she spent weeks to develop them into “vicious, snarling, really mean beasts.” Male artists in the company were stunned, who initially assumed that only a man could create drawings with such intensity and technical skill. and was tutored by Disney animator Eric Larson. This was a significant coup for the young woman, since at the 1930s-era Disney studio, women were considered only for routine tasks: "Ink and paint art was a laborious part of the animation process, and was solely the domain of women..." Her promotion to animator was in part thanks to the success of herself and other women such as Bianca Majolie, Sylvia Holland, and Mary Blair as storyboard artists. Though the most recognized Walt Disney female artist is Mary Blair, Retta Scott opened up doors for women in the animation industry before Blair. She became the first woman to receive screen credit as a Disney animator; Lillian Friedman, an animator at Disney's New York rival Fleischer Studios, had become the first woman to receive screen credit as an animator on an American animated production in 1934. By the spring of 1941, Scott was also considered a "specialist in animal sketches."

Scott worked as an animator Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941), She also made an appearance in The Reluctant Dragon, and worked independently with Disney colleague Woolie Reitherman on a cancelled children's book called B-1st. Scott's early Disney sketches can be found at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California.

Later work Scott and her husband moved to Washington, D.C., where she illustrated books such as The Santa Claus Book and Happy Birthday. Her work caught the attention of past and current Disney employees, including Jonas Rivera, producer of Up, who commented, "I’ve always loved the Retta Scott Cinderella because it doesn’t look like the movie, but somehow it feels like the movie." Retta and her husband divorced in 1978, and she remained an active illustrator until she was again hired as an animator in 1982 for the Luckey-Zamora Moving Picture Company. She continued to impress artists, especially male artists who initially underestimated her work, and was eager to teach her skills. - uncredited 1940 Fantasia Animator - uncredited 1941 Dumbo Animator – uncredited 1942 Donald's Snow Fight Animator - uncredited 1942 Donald Gets Drafted Animator – uncredited 1942 Donald's Decision Animator - uncredited 1942 Bambi Animator 1945 Tuberculosis Additional story, backgrounds 1945 -- (Goofy cartoon, no title) Animator 1946 The Story of Menstruation Animator - uncredited 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad Animator - uncredited 1982 The Plague Dogs Animator