tony bancroft animayo gran canaria 2026

Mulan co-director Tony Bancroft to attend Animayo Gran Canaria

Disney legend heading to Gran Canaria

Tony Bancroft, the acclaimed director, producer and animator from Tennessee, USA, who co-directed Disney’s Mulan, is set to attend a festival in Spain for the very first time. The renowned filmmaker will be a special guest at the 21st edition of Animayo Gran Canaria – La Isla de Mi Vida, where he will deliver a hands-on visual storytelling workshop and a masterclass on animation.

A pioneer of Disney’s renaissance

During the festival, Bancroft will also share behind-the-scenes insights into the world of animation when he presents The Piano, a short film by Avery Kroll for which he served as executive producer, the Gran Canaria-based festival has announced in a press release.

Trained at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), one of the most respected animation schools in the world, Bancroft is widely regarded as one of the architects of the Walt Disney Feature Animation renaissance of the 1990s. He has been recognised for his role in shaping the animation and visual style of many iconic films from that era, and was awarded for his work as co-director of Mulan alongside Barry Cook.

His credits also include serving as animation supervisor and animator on such memorable characters as Pumbaa in The Lion King, Iago in Aladdin, Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, the gargoyles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove, among many others.

Further titles linked to Tony Bancroft’s career include Mary Poppins Returns (Walt Disney Pictures), Disenchanted, The Rescuers Down Under, The Prince and the Pauper and the 2023 Disney short film for the studio’s 100th anniversary, Once Upon a Studio.

Beyond his twelve years at Disney, he served as executive producer on the Oscar-nominated Mosley (Huhu Studios/China Film Animation), animation supervisor on Sony Pictures Imageworks’ Stuart Little 2, and was a 2D animator and lead animator on Warner Bros’ Space Jam: A New Legacy, amongst other projects.

What’s on at Animayo

At Animayo, sponsored by U-Tad, the University Centre for Technology and Digital Art in Madrid, Bancroft will take part in events scheduled from 6 to 9 May inclusive.

On Wednesday 6 May at 18:00, he will present Avery Kroll’s short film The Piano, for which he is executive producer. This screening will be free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis, and will form part of the ‘Live Star Guest Presentation Gala’ at Espacio CICCA.

On Friday 8 May (16:30 to 20:30), he will lead the workshop ‘Visual Storytelling: Think Like an Artist, Tell Like a Director’. On Saturday 9 May (18:30 to 20:00), he will give his masterclass ‘Animation with a Legacy: Mulan, The Lion King, Aladdin and Other Unforgettable Films’.

A signing session will follow each event at the same venues. Tickets for both activities are already available via the Animayo website, where further information, requirements and content details can also be found.

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