Joseph Clarence Grant (May 15, 1908 – May 6, 2005) was an American conceptual artist,storyboard artist, and screenwriter.

Grant was born on May 15, 1908 in New York City on theLower East Side. He was the son of George Albert Grant and Eva Green. He had a younger sister, Geraldine. Grant was a second-generation descendant ofPolish andRussian Jews.^[1] His father George (1885–1938) emigrated fromPoland at age 5, with his parents Nathan Gumolinsky and Fannie (née Freund). Nathan adopted "Grant" as his surname after emigrating into the United States, supposedly because he had admired U. S. PresidentUlysses S. Grant.^[2]

Joe Grant moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was two years old, after his father was hired as an art director forWilliam Randolph Hearst'sLos Angeles Examiner newspaper.^[2] At a young age, Grant was exposed to his father's extensive collection of European art books, which includedHonoré Daumier,Gustave Doré, andLudwig Richter.^[2] He also accompanied his father to his workplace, where he reflected years later, he learned his artistic techniques by looking "over my father's shoulder."^[3]

By 1912, Grant's parents had separated, and along with his sister, he regularly relocated from New York and Los Angeles.^[4] At nine years old, Grant was hired as a contract player forFox Film, appearing in uncredited roles forJack and the Beanstalk (1917),Treasure Island (1918), andFan Fan (1918).^[5][6] Grant attendedVenice High School and laterChouinard Art Institute. In 1928, through his father's help, Grant was hired as an assistant cartoonist for theLos Angeles Record newspaper for ten dollars a week.^[5] There, he drew caricatures of famous personalities, includingGreta Garbo,Barbara Stanwyck,Helen Hayes, andJoan Crawford.^[7]

Grant's caricatures caughtWalt Disney's attention that he phoned him at his office, and hired him to design caricatures of Hollywood celebrities for theMickey Mouse short,Mickey's Gala Premier (1933).^[8][9] His caricatures had been previously referenced—without credit—in the 1932 Mickey Mouse short,Parade of the Award Nominees, a cartoon produced for the1932 Academy Awards.^[10] On September 9, 1933, Grant signed with Walt Disney Productions.^[9] By 1934, Grant had joined the story department, in which he shared an office with Albert Hurter andBob Kuwahara. He contributed story sketches on severalSilly Symphonies shorts, includingThe Grasshopper and the Ants (1934),The Tortoise and the Hare (1935),Water Babies (1935), andAlpine Climbers (1936).^[11][12] At home, he began coloring his pastel sketches to demonstrate his ideas and capture Disney's attention, and his approach was adopted by other story artists.^[11][13] Soon after, he began collaborating with Bill Cottrell on theSilly Symphonies. Contrell wrote the story outlines while Grant provided the story sketches. They worked onWho Killed Cock Robin? (1935), which featured a cast of animated birds; the character Jenny Wren was caricatured afterMae West and drawn by Grant.^[14]

In 1934, Grant, along with the animation staff, were first notified of Disney's plans forSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) when Disney acted out the entire story to his animation staff on a soundstage.^[15] Grant and Contrell were assigned to storyboard the scenes featuring theEvil Queen. Furthermore, Grant drew conceptual sketches for the Evil Queen in her regular appearance and her Witch form. According toJohn Canemaker, the Evil Queen was modeled afterJoan Crawford,Katharine Hepburn, andHelen Gahagan's Queen in the 1935 filmShe.^[16] In 1999, Grant stated his inspiration for her Witch appearance was a female neighbor who "had a basket and used to pickpersimmons."^[17] Grant and Albert Hurter received screen credit as the film's character designers.^[18]

During the fall of 1937, Disney was in active development onPinocchio (1940), in which he pushed his staff to create a more realized film thanSnow White. To strengthen the animators' drawings for the title character, Disney asked Grant how could they improve their technique. Grant suggested creating three-dimensional scale models known asmaquettes so animators could draw the characters from different angles; Grant had earlier crafted a maquette for the Witch.^[19] Disney agreed and reassigned Grant to supervise the Character Model Department, which began on October 11, 1937.^[20] As production continued, Grant's department helped to finalize the character designs, with ideas regarding costumes, props and settings to guide the animators, story artists, and layout artists.^[21] In their 1981 joint bookDisney Animation: The Illusion of Life,Frank Thomas andOllie Johnston stated nomodel sheet was finalized unless it bore the seal of approval: "O.K., J.G."^[22]

AsPinocchio continued in development, Disney assigned Grant to work onFantasia (1940) as the "story director", in addition to supervising the Character Model Department. For the first time, Grant was partnered withDick Huemer, which became as creative as his earlier partnership with Contrell.^[23] In September 1938, Disney, Grant, Huemer,Deems Taylor,Leopold Stokowski, and various department heads held a three-week story conference listening to multiple classical music recordings.^[24] During development forThe Sorcerer's Apprentice, Grant drew pastel sketches for the old wizard. Martin Provensen, another character designer, also drew inspirational sketches; both men's artwork influenced the hiring of English silent film actorNigel De Brulier to be photographed as live-action reference.^[25]

ForDumbo (1941), Disney assigned Grant and Huemer to write the story adaptation. Uniquely, they handed their 102-page script outline in chapters, much like a book, for Disney to approve. They conceived the stork-delivery and the pink elephants sequences, and had Dumbo's mother renamed from "Mother Ella" to "Mrs. Jumbo". They played on elephants' fear of mice by replacing a wiserobin named "Red" found in the original story with Timothy Q. Mouse. They also added a "rusty black crow", which was later expanded into five characters.^[26] By February 1940,Dumbo had advanced first on Disney's production slate.^[27]

In 1937, Disney read the short story "Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog" byWard Greene, an editor forKing Features, which also distributed Disney comic strips. Disney told Greene, "Your dog and my dog have got to get together!" Greene agreed, and in 1943, he rewrote the story titling "Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog, and Miss Patsy, the Beautiful Spaniel."^[28] In 1944, Grant wrote a short story titled "Lady", which was published in a children's bookWalt Disney's Surprise Package published bySimon & Schuster. This version of the story had a loyal female dog protecting the baby from twoSiamese cats and introduced a mother-in-law character.^[29]

A year later, a story conference with Grant, Huemer, Disney, and members of the story department expanded on Grant's story. The mother-in-law character was rewritten into Aunt Sarah, and Disney suggested the name "Tramp".^[29]Ted Sears introduced the dog pound setting, and Greene suggested a romance between the two leading dog characters. However, Grant and Huemer objected to the idea, suggesting it was "distasteful" and "utterly contrary to nature."^[30] Story development was paused due to Disney scaling back animation projects to cheaper package films and would not resume until 1952.^[31] Despite his contributions toLady and the Tramp (1955), Grant was not given screen credit.^[32] In 2006,Disney Home Entertainment acknowledged Grant's involvement in a making-of documentary.^[33]

In September 1943, Grant and Huemer were assigned to write a story adaptation forCinderella (1950), but their preliminary story development was paused in 1945.^[34] In 1947, both worked on early story development forAlice in Wonderland (1951).^[35] Both men struggled with adapting Lewis Carroll's fantasy novel into a workable story outline. English authorAldous Huxley was hired to write new story treatments and eventually a script, which was too complex for animation that Grant complained "it only compounded the confusion."^[36] Grant's collaboration with Huemer ended in 1948, after Huemer was laid off from Disney.^[37]

By the late 1940s, Disney's interest in animation was waning as he looked to expand into live-action films, television, and anamusement park attraction. Grant had noticed and was angered, stating in first-person plural: "We thought [Walt] should do nothing but cartoons. And when he went into anything else, we felt a betrayal."^[38] On April 13, 1949, Grant departed from Disney.^[38] By then, the Character Model Department had been dissolved. That same year, inspired by his wife Jennie, Grant formed a ceramics company transferring photographs onto plates, as well created tiles and sculptures.^[39]

During the 1950s, he formed the greeting card company, Castle Ltd, which was later acquired by Williamhouse-Regency Inc. Grant reflected: "They said, 'If you don't let us buy you out, we'll take your line over.'" Grant agreed, and through the sale, he became financially independent.^[40] During the 1970s, he also founded Opechee Designs, another ceramics studio, with his wife.^[41]

In 1987, Charlie Fink was hired as the vice president for creative affairs for Disney Feature Animation, where he was tasked to revamp its story development process, based on its functionality during the 1930s and 1940s.^[37]Roy E. Disney, the animation department's vice chairman, asked Fink to meet with retired animation directorJack Kinney. At the time, Kinney had been in poor health, but he and his wife suggested Grant for the meeting. Fink had never heard of Grant, but after analyzing his animation credits, he agreed to meet with him. Grant, who had not expected a return to Disney, was persuaded by his wife to resume his animation career there.^[40] Upon his return, his first project wasThe Rescuers Down Under (1990) where he submitted multiple unused character suggestions, including one for Marachute, envisioning her as a magical bird who played music. Regardless, his creativity fascinated directorsMike Gabriel and Hendel Butoy that Grant was asked to contribute more ideas on a part-time basis. In 1991, at 83 years old, Grant was rehired as a full-time employee.^[42]

Grant next worked onBeauty and the Beast (1991),^[40] in which he shared a third-floor office with fellow storyboard artistsVance Gerry andBurny Mattinson.^[43][44] During development, he submitted conceptual drawings of a teapot wearing a cozy scarf to the directors andDon Hahn. His drawings became the basis for the characterMrs. Potts.^[45] ForAladdin (1992), Grant worked as a story consultant, suggestingAbu (who was originally a human character) should be a monkey. He also wanted the magic lamp to be an anthropomorphic character. When directorsRon Clements andJohn Musker became the film's directors, they retooled the script and retained Grant's concept for Abu. Grant's idea for an anthropomorphic lamp was instead transferred to theMagic Carpet.^[46]

During development onThe Lion King (1994), Grant submitted abstract character designs oflions andbaboons, and created the characters Rafiki and Zazu.^[46] He also developed the relationship between Rafiki and Mufasa.^[43] Meanwhile, Grant began a close friendship with Mike Gabriel. AfterThe Rescuers Down Under, Gabriel wanted to collaborate with him on a vastly different project. They worked on a version ofSwan Lake, but their story treatment was rejected.^[47] Gabriel subsequently pitchedPocahontas (1995), which was quickly approved for production. During the film's development, Grant remembered: "at first they relied so heavily on the script, things were beginning to get sort of pedestrian. It wasn't going anywhere. Then, we came in, Burny and myself, started adding animals and ideas, rewriting the script with pictures, little details, and stuff."^[48] Grant created the characters Redfeather, Meeko, Flit, and Grandmother Willow. The turkey character Redfeather, however, was dropped after his intended voice actorJohn Candy died in 1994, and the decision to have himpantomime with feathers proved difficult. He was replaced with Meeko after Grant drew a sketch of a raccoon braidingPocahontas' hair.^[49]

In 1997, futurePixar directorPete Docter was developing an original story treatment about monsters, withHarley Jessup,Jill Culton, andJeff Pidgeon. On May 30, Docter pitched a retooled version of the story to Disney; there, Grant suggested the titleMonsters, Inc., a play on the title of the gangster filmMurder, Inc. (1960), which stuck.^[50] Meanwhile, onMulan (1998), Grant created the cricket character Cri-Kee.^[44] Character animator Barry Temple stated directorsBarry Cook andTony Bancroft and the story artists were reluctant to have the character in the film, but Grant andMichael Eisner persisted.^[51] In 1998, Grant celebrated his 90th birthday, with his celebrity caricatures displayed at theSmithsonian Institution and his studio art collection honored at theAnnecy International Animation Film Festival.^[44]

Grant then contributed toFantasia 2000 (1999) where he suggested the idea of having one of the ostriches play with ayo-yo. The concept was changed to flamingoes based on Eisner's suggestion, and was incorporated into theCarnival of the Animals sequence.^[52]

By the turn of the 21st century, Grant was working four days a week at Disney.^[53] That same year, Grant and Mattinson developed an original film project titledBitsy about an eponymous elephant who leaves India to try to make it in Hollywood, and ends up working in a used-car lot and falling in love. Both men drew the first act on storyboards and pitched the story, but the executives passed on the project; one of the executives suggested the project would be better suited as a live-action film. Furious at the rejection, Grant told theLos Angeles Times: "Walt would have backed it immediately, no question."^[54] Meanwhile, Grant was hired as a consultant for the direct-to-video sequelDumbo II forDisneytoon Studios. In March 2002, Grant was asked to judge the test footage for the film, which he considered to be lackluster. The project was placed on hold shortly after, and eventually cancelled.^[55]

In 2004, a short film titledLorenzo, directed by Mike Gabriel, was released. The project originated from Grant's short story "Lorenzo the Magnificent" about a blue cat whose tail takes on its life of its own after crossing paths with a black cat.^[56] The finished short was intended for a planned thirdFantasia film, but it was shelved due to cutbacks atWalt Disney Feature Animation. The short premiered at theFlorida Film Festival and was attached withRaising Helen (2004). The short won anAnnie Award for Best Animated Short Subject and was included at theAnimation Show of Shows.^[57] It was also nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the77th Academy Awards.^[56]

Before his death, Grant was developing animation adaptations, includingThe Abandoned byPaul Gallico andMr. Popper's Penguins byRichard and Florence Atwater.^[58] He also approved the script forUp (2009) directed by Pete Docter before it went into production. He also helped inspire the character Ellie, as in Docter's words, he was "really full of vibrancy about life and is always looking for new things and has interest in everything."^[59]

Grant married his first wife June Hershey, a songwriter, in 1930. Hershey most notably wrote the lyrics for the song "Deep in the Heart of Texas".^[60] Grant divorced Hershey on April 12, 1934. He then met his second wife Jennie Miller through his sister Geraldine, who was Miller's high school friend. They married on March 13, 1933, but remarried again after Grant's divorce was finalized.^[61] They remained married until 1991, when she died from a lung ailment.^[62] They had two daughters, Carol and Jennifer.^[63]

On May 6, 2005, Grant died of a heart attack while working at his drawing board in his home studio, at age 96.^[63][64][65] On June 28, a celebration of life ceremony was held at theAlex Theatre in Glendale, California, where his friends, family members, and colleagues paid their respects.^[66] He is interred in theForest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery inGlendale, California.

Chicken Little (2005), released six months after his death, along with Pixar'sUp, released 4 years after his death, was dedicated to his memory. In 2010, animation historianJohn Canemaker published a dual biography about him andJoe Ranft, who also died in 2005, titledTwo Guys Named Joe.^[67]

• Joe Grant atIMDb
• Joe Grant – Disney Legends
• 1988 interview with Joe Grant by Michael Barrier

• 1908 births
• 2005 deaths
• 20th-century American screenwriters
• American caricaturists
• American conceptual artists
• Animation screenwriters
• American storyboard artists
• Artists from New York City
• Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
• Hugo Award–winning writers
• Jewish American artists
• Walt Disney Animation Studios people

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