Donald Paul "Don" Hahn is an American producer and director for Walt Disney Animation Studios (formerly Walt Disney Productions and Walt Disney Feature Animation).
Hahn was born in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from North Hollywood High School (where he was a drum major) in 1973, went on to study music at Los Angeles Valley College, and majored in Music and minored in fine art at California State University Northridge.
After starting his career at the Walt Disney Studio working in the animation archives known as the "morgue", one day, Hahn jokingly referred to the department with a more dignified title of the "Animation Research Library", a title that stuck as the department evolved and continues to this day. He worked as an assistant director for Wolfgang Reitherman during The Fox and the Hound before working his way up as production manager for The Black Cauldron and The Great Mouse Detective then an associate producer of Disney/Amblin's Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He would go on to produce films during the Disney Renaissance, such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.
Later, Hahn became Executive Producer for the landmark nature film "Earth", the premiere film project from the Disneynature film label. In 2010, he once again served as Executive Producer on "Oceans" the epic documentary on the seas, and 2011's "African Cats" from Disneynature.
in 2019, Hahn broke the Disney relationship when he executive produced the cgi animated comedy film Wonder Park, which was a Nickelodeon Movie distributed by paramount.
His efforts at Disney rewarded him with a Disney Legend award in 2022.
Feature Film Filmography
Animated Shorts Filmography
| Year | Film | Position | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Small One | Production assistant (uncredited) | Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| 1983 | Mickey's Christmas Carol | Production assistant | |
| 1989 | Tummy Trouble | Producer | Walt Disney Pictures |
| 2004 | Lorenzo | Executive producer | Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| One by One | Producer | ||
| 2006 | The Little Matchgirl | ||
| 2011 | Small Fry | Consultant (uncredited) | Pixar |
Trivia
- Hahn is the first producer of an animated film to be involved in its remake, having produced the original 1991 Beauty and the Beast and executive-produced its 2017 remake.
Gallery
