American Icon Artist Statement

It was late at night. I was about 5 years old and I was watching TV in my grandparents' living room. I was watching an animated movie that I had never heard of before. The film was titled “The Secret of NIMH”. I couldn't understand much of the plot at the time, but I knew it was a story about a family of mice. When the movie ended I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was a film that left such beautiful images in my mind. I never forgot about it.

A few years later, I decided to watch The Secret of NIMH again after I had found it on DVD one day. This time I was able to follow the entire plot. As the movie played I was overwhelmed with nostalgia. It was a beautiful, deep, and touching film and I loved it.

The director of the film was named Don Bluth. I searched his name on the internet to find out if he made anymore movies. I was surprised when I realized I had seen a lot of his movies when I was young. I also found out that he was an animator who worked for Disney. Don Bluth was the director of other animated movies such as “The Land Before Time”, "An American Tale", and “All Dogs Go to Heaven”. I loved all of those movies when I was very young.

After watching some of Don Bluth’s films again I realized with animation anything is possible. Animators can use blank paper to create any kind of story they want. The artwork of Don Bluth and many other animators have inspired me to become a better artist.