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Adventures in Animation: How I Learned Who I Learned From and What I Did with It
Triple-Oscar-winning, world-renowned animator - and author of the seminal book The Animator's Survival Kit - Richard Williams' legendary career in the world of animation is brought to the page here for the first time.
Written with his wife and collaborator, Imogen Sutton, Adventures in Animation follows the life and career of this pivotal figure in animated features, from the influential moment when, aged five, Williams saw Snow White, right through his career of more than sixty years. Over those decades, Williams created full-length features, short films, title sequences for films and hundreds of commercials - all of which were graced by his characteristically elegant, sinuous lines and magnificent imagination. Williams' place in animation history is he directed the Academy Award-winning 1971 adaptation of A Christmas Carol and perhaps most famously worked as Director of Animation on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, for which he won two Academy Awards. Serving as the linkman between the original creators of the world of Disney (Snow White, Dumbo, The Jungle Book) and the current generation of digital animators (Toy Story, The Incredibles and Ice Age), it is fair to say that his like will not be seen again.
Williams' first book, The Animator's Survival Kit, and the masterclasses he ran, saw him pass on his hard-won craft to future generations of animators. In Adventures in Animation, the story of the man behind the images will inspire them all over again, bringing more animators and fans of animation to the life and work of this master of the artform.
Written with his wife and collaborator, Imogen Sutton, Adventures in Animation follows the life and career of this pivotal figure in animated features, from the influential moment when, aged five, Williams saw Snow White, right through his career of more than sixty years. Over those decades, Williams created full-length features, short films, title sequences for films and hundreds of commercials - all of which were graced by his characteristically elegant, sinuous lines and magnificent imagination. Williams' place in animation history is he directed the Academy Award-winning 1971 adaptation of A Christmas Carol and perhaps most famously worked as Director of Animation on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, for which he won two Academy Awards. Serving as the linkman between the original creators of the world of Disney (Snow White, Dumbo, The Jungle Book) and the current generation of digital animators (Toy Story, The Incredibles and Ice Age), it is fair to say that his like will not be seen again.
Williams' first book, The Animator's Survival Kit, and the masterclasses he ran, saw him pass on his hard-won craft to future generations of animators. In Adventures in Animation, the story of the man behind the images will inspire them all over again, bringing more animators and fans of animation to the life and work of this master of the artform.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published September 23, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 18, 2024
I’ve always had mixed feelings about Richard Williams. He was a brilliant draftsman, maybe the best to ever work as an animator. He might be the single most important educator in animation history, as he employed veteran animators to teach at this studio, did master classes, wrote an instruction book as well as a DVD set and app. The commercials produced by his studio are among the best animated spots ever, marrying his high craftsmanship to the intelligence and wit of the British ad agencies.
However, for all of that, I think he was a very poor director for longer work. He could not see the forest for the trees; he focused on details but had no head for story structure or theme.
Adventures in Animation by Williams and Imogen Sutton is Williams summing up his life, influences and lessons learned. Williams gives a detailed history of his youth. His family, his love of drawing, his musical experiences, his education, and his travels. I consider this section the best part of the book, as so much of this material has never been covered in such depth.
There’s an interesting anecdote from his younger years. Charles Thorson was drawing ads for Dr. Ballard pet food. When he died, Williams adman father had Dick take over the account at the age of 14! His art requires no apologies.
A great deal of the book covers his working experiences with Ken Harris, Art Babbitt, Grim Natwick, Emery Hawkins and the one that got away, Milt Kahl. It’s clear that Kahl inspired Williams more than anyone, but while he admired Kahl’s drawing and knowledge of movement, he missed what might be Kahl’s main point. “[The mechanics of motion are] not the most important thing – the play’s the thing.”
Williams died before the book could be completed, so the latter portion of the book is written by his wife Imogen Sutton. She details the period from the loss of The Thief and the Cobbler through the creation of the master classes, the instruction book, the DVDs, and Williams last work, Prologue.
Perhaps what’s in this book would be different if Williams had lived to complete it, but what’s left out says as much as what’s there. While he talks extensively about the painters who influenced him and his own painting, there’s no mention of books or live action films that influenced him. Art, not narrative, was his passion. Except for his section on Emery Hawkins, there is no mention of Raggedy Ann and Andy, though it’s clear that Williams still resented being removed from the film. There is almost no mention of any of the artists who worked with Williams besides the Hollywood veterans. Williams says almost nothing about his Soho studio or commercials compared to his longer works.
The book is certainly worth reading for Williams’ early years and his experiences with veteran animators, but this isn’t the last word on him. As great as he was as a draftsman, technician, and educator, there needs to be a fuller analysis of his work. Many directors of lesser ability had a greater influence. For me, a strong point of view is more important than beautiful art or technical wizardry, so Williams remains lacking.
However, for all of that, I think he was a very poor director for longer work. He could not see the forest for the trees; he focused on details but had no head for story structure or theme.
Adventures in Animation by Williams and Imogen Sutton is Williams summing up his life, influences and lessons learned. Williams gives a detailed history of his youth. His family, his love of drawing, his musical experiences, his education, and his travels. I consider this section the best part of the book, as so much of this material has never been covered in such depth.
There’s an interesting anecdote from his younger years. Charles Thorson was drawing ads for Dr. Ballard pet food. When he died, Williams adman father had Dick take over the account at the age of 14! His art requires no apologies.
A great deal of the book covers his working experiences with Ken Harris, Art Babbitt, Grim Natwick, Emery Hawkins and the one that got away, Milt Kahl. It’s clear that Kahl inspired Williams more than anyone, but while he admired Kahl’s drawing and knowledge of movement, he missed what might be Kahl’s main point. “[The mechanics of motion are] not the most important thing – the play’s the thing.”
Williams died before the book could be completed, so the latter portion of the book is written by his wife Imogen Sutton. She details the period from the loss of The Thief and the Cobbler through the creation of the master classes, the instruction book, the DVDs, and Williams last work, Prologue.
Perhaps what’s in this book would be different if Williams had lived to complete it, but what’s left out says as much as what’s there. While he talks extensively about the painters who influenced him and his own painting, there’s no mention of books or live action films that influenced him. Art, not narrative, was his passion. Except for his section on Emery Hawkins, there is no mention of Raggedy Ann and Andy, though it’s clear that Williams still resented being removed from the film. There is almost no mention of any of the artists who worked with Williams besides the Hollywood veterans. Williams says almost nothing about his Soho studio or commercials compared to his longer works.
The book is certainly worth reading for Williams’ early years and his experiences with veteran animators, but this isn’t the last word on him. As great as he was as a draftsman, technician, and educator, there needs to be a fuller analysis of his work. Many directors of lesser ability had a greater influence. For me, a strong point of view is more important than beautiful art or technical wizardry, so Williams remains lacking.
October 8, 2024
I was so excited to read Richard Williams' autobiography, but I unfortunately found this book very disappointing. Williams died midway through production, so as a result there is a ton of detail about his early life, a bit of detail about the start of his career, but almost no information about the end of his career (provided second-hand by his wife, who continued to put the book together after his passing). It was a frustrating read - almost the exact opposite of what I expected and wanted - tons of detail about his childhood (not super interesting to me) then almost no information about his most important projects. Only four pages for Roger Rabbit? "It was hard. We won two oscars." I thought perhaps finally we'd get some first-hand reflection on the process of creating the Thief and the Cobbler, but unfortunately like that tragic production, this autobiography feels like it was 'taken away' before it could be properly finished.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews