Joyce Carlson

Joyce Carlson was an American artist and designer, who spent 56 years working on Disney's animated films and theme park attractions.

Carlson was born in Racine, Wisconsin and her family moved to Southern California in 1938 when she was a teenager. She graduated from Santa Monica High School and took a job delivering pens, pencils, paints, and brushes to animators at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Becoming an official employee in 1944, Carlson delivered supplies and mail to various departments. She later created a portfolio of sketches which she presented to her employers, and she was hired as an inker in the Ink and Paint Department. Her credits included The Three Caballeros, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, and was further promoted to lead ink artist during the production of Lady and the Tramp.

By 1960, inkers were replaced by Xerox, so Carlson moved to Walt Disney Imagineering and was mentored by Mary Blair and Marc Davis. Working alongside Leota Toombs and Harriet Burns, she laid a hand in the creation of the Carousel of Progress and It's a Small World for the 1964 New York World's Fair. She originally helped set up the animatronic spectacle that "Small World" was and singing dolls that mimicked children. Throughout her career, she would a primary consultant when the attraction was added to various parks in Florida, Europe, and Tokyo. She also worked on Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and Country Bear Jamboree. Additionally, she worked as a costume designer for the anthropomorphic animals for America Sings. The characters were later appropriated for scenes in Splash Mountain.

She was honored as a Disney Legend in 2000 and honored with a decorative window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom. She also became the first woman in Walt Disney Co. history to reach 50 and then 55 years of service to the organization. She retired in 2000 but remained a part-time Imagineer at Walt Disney World in Orlando until 2006. She died of cancer in 2008.

Filmography

Year	Film	Position
1944	The Three Caballeros	Ink and paint artist (uncredited)
1946	Make Mine Music	Ink and paint (uncredited)
1947	Fun and Fancy Free	Ink and paint (uncredited)
1948	Mickey Down Under	Painter (uncredited)
	Melody Time	Ink and paint (uncredited)
	Pluto's Purchase	Ink and paint artist (uncredited)
	The Trial of Donald Duck	Painter (uncredited)
	Inferior Decorator	Painter (uncredited)
	Soup's On	Painter (uncredited)
	So Dear to My Heart	Painter (uncredited)
1949	Donald's Happy Birthday	Painter (uncredited)
	Sea Salts	Painter (uncredited)
	Bubble Bee	Painter (uncredited)
	The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad	Ink and paint (uncredited)
1950	Lion Around	Ink and paint (uncredited)
	Cinderella	Ink and paint (uncredited)
	Trailer Horn	Painter (uncredited)
	Motor Mania	Painter (uncredited)
1951	Alice in Wonderland	Ink and paint (uncredited)
1952	Let's Stick Together	Painter (uncredited)
	Susie the Little Blue Coupe	Painter (uncredited)
	Two Weeks Vacation	Painter (uncredited)
	How to Be a Detective	Painter (uncredited)
1953	Peter Pan	Ink and paint (uncredited)
	Father's Day Off	Painter (uncredited)
	Don's Fountain of Youth	Painter (uncredited)
	Canvas Back Duck	Painter (uncredited)
	Spare the Rod	Painter (uncredited)
1955	Lady and the Tramp	Ink and paint (uncredited)
1956	Chips Ahoy	Painter (uncredited)
	Hooked Bear	Painter (uncredited)
	How to Have an Accident in the Home	Painter (uncredited)
1957	The Story of Anyburg, U.S.A.	Painter (uncredited)
1958	Paul Bunyan	Ink and paint artist (uncredited)
1959	Sleeping Beauty	Ink and paint (uncredited)
1959	Donald in Mathmagic Land	Ink and paint artist (uncredited)
1960	Goliath II	Painter (uncredited)
1961	One Hundred and One Dalmatians	Painter (uncredited)