Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Directing
Arthur Rankin, Jr. (July 19, 1924 - January 30, 2014) was an American-born, Bermudian director, producer and writer, mostly working in animation. The son of actor Arthur Rankin, in the early 1960s he founded the film production company Videocraft International (now called Rankin/Bass) with Jules Bass. The two worked closely together for many years, co-directing and producing a wide array of stop motion animated features and cartoons, perhaps most famously the holiday-themed TV specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974 TV special), and Jack Frost. He is also credited with devising the story for many Rankin/Bass productions, including the featurefilms The Daydreamer and Mad Monster Party?. In 1977 Rankin and Bass produced a version of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. The pair also teamed on a wide variety of animated TV series, including ThunderCats and Silverhawks. The pair last teamed on the 1987 TV special based on The Wind in the Willows. Rankin's last producing credit was on the 1999 animated version of The King and I, in which Bass was not involved, since Arthur was a supervising animator in The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron. Rankin's grandfather was Harry Davenport, perhaps best known as Dr. Meade in Gone with the Wind (1939). Description above from the Wikipedia article Arthur Rankin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Directing45
movieThe Wind in the Willows
1983
Director
movieThe Coneheads
1983
Director
movieThe Last Unicorn
1982
Director
movieThe Flight of Dragons
1982
Director
moviePinocchio's Christmas
1980
Director
movieThe Return of the King
1980
Director
movieJack Frost
1979
Director
movieThe Hobbit
1977
Director
movieThe First Easter Rabbit
1976
Director
movieThat Girl in Wonderland
1973
Director
movieA Christmas Tree
1972
Director
movieThe Red Baron
1972
Director
movieJack O'Lantern
1972
Director
tvThe Osmonds
1972
Director
tvThe Jackson 5ive
1971
Director
movieFrosty the Snowman
1969
Director
tvThe Smokey Bear Show
1969
Director
movieThe Little Drummer Boy
1968
Director
movieCricket on the Hearth
1967
Director
Production58
movieSnarf: Butterfly Blues
2011
Consulting Producer
tvThunderCats
2011
Consulting Producer
movieSanta, Baby!
2001
Executive Producer
movieThe King and I
1999
Producer
tvTigerSharks
1987
Executive Producer
tvSilverHawks
1986
Producer
tvThunderCats
1985
Producer, Executive Producer
movieThe Wind in the Willows
1983
Producer
movieThe Coneheads
1983
Producer
movieThe Sins of Dorian Gray
1983
Executive Producer
movieThe Last Unicorn
1982
Producer
movieThe Flight of Dragons
1982
Producer
movieThe Bushido Blade
1981
Producer
moviePinocchio's Christmas
1980
Producer
movieThe Ivory Ape
1980
Producer, Executive Producer
movieJack Frost
1979
Producer
movieThe Bermuda Depths
1978
Producer
movieThe Hobbit
1977
Producer
movieThe Last Dinosaur
1977
Executive Producer
movieThe First Easter Rabbit
1976
Producer
movieMarco
1973
Producer
movieThe Red Baron
1972
Producer
movieJack O'Lantern
1972
Producer
tvThe Osmonds
1972
Producer
tvThe Jackson 5ive
1971
Producer
movieFrosty the Snowman
1969
Producer
tvThe Smokey Bear Show
1969
Producer
movieThe Little Drummer Boy
1968
Producer
movieKing Kong Escapes
1967
Executive Producer
movieMad Monster Party?
1967
Producer
tvThe King Kong Show
1966
Executive Producer
movieThe Daydreamer
1966
Producer
movieReturn to Oz
1964
Producer
Writing8
Art4
movieThe Last Unicorn
1982
Production Design
movieThe Return of the King
1980
Production Design
movieRudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
1979
Production Design
movieThe Hobbit
1977
Production Design
Creator4
Acting2
movieThe Cisco Kid and the Lady
1939
Second Telegraph Operator
Camera1
Crew1
movieKing Kong Escapes
1967
Technical Advisor