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Willie Katsutoshi Ito Jr. (born July 17, 1934) is an American animator. He worked for Walt Disney Productions in the 1950s, moved to Warner Bros. Cartoons and Hanna-Barbera as a character designer, and later returned to Disney.
In addition to animation, Ito has illustrated several children's books.
Ito's family was incarcerated during World War II due to Executive Order 9066, first at the Tanforan Assembly Center, and later the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. Following his family's release from Topaz, Ito and his family returned to San Francisco. After completing high school, Ito began to pursue an art career, attending the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles.
In 1954, Ito began working for Walt Disney Studios as an assistant to animator Iwao Takamoto on the film Lady and the Tramp. He later joined Warner Bros. Cartoons, where he worked with the animators Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng. According to Ito, Freleng borrowed him from the Chuck Jones unit, resulting in his first screen credit as a layout artist for Prince Violent.
In the 1960s, Ito moved to Hanna-Barbera Productions and continued working there for 14 years, contributing to shows including The Jetsons, The Flintstones, The Yogi Bear Show, and Josie and the Pussycats. Ito returned to Disney in 1977, where he worked in its consumer products division. His work consisted of designing Disney merchandise. Ito returned to the animation studio in 1985 for three months, working for The Wuzzles and Adventures of the Gummi Bears. He retired from animation on July 31, 1999.
In 2024, Ito announced his upcoming feature short animation film, Hello Maggie, based on the children's book he illustrated, Hello Maggie (2007), an account of his family's experience in the Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II.
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Categories: 1934 Births, American Artists Of Japanese Descent, Japanese-american Internees, Artists From San Francisco, Chouinard Art Institute Alumni, Hanna-barbera People, Walt Disney Animation Studios People, Animators From California, American Children's Book Illustrators, Living People, Warner Bros. Cartoons People
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