Reitherman, Wolfgang "Woolie" (1909-1985) - Walt Disney may not
have realized it
when he gave Woolie Reitherman the task of
overall direction of "The Sword in the Stone," but
he was grooming the successor who would helm
the Disney animated features as producer and
director for a decade and a half after Walt's
death. Woolie had begun working at the Studio
as an animator in 1933, gaining notice while
animating the slave in the Magic Mirror in "Snow
White." He first directed on "Sleeping Beauty,"
under Gerry Geronimi, and was named one of
Walt's Nine Old Men.
