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Andreas Deja

Andreas Deja is a Polish-born German-American character animator most noted for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Deja's work includes serving as supervising animator on characters in several Disney animated films, including the Disney villains Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Jafar in Aladdin, and Scar in The Lion King, the titular character in Hercules, and Lilo Pelekai in Lilo & Stitch.

Andreas Deja

Poland

1980–present

Walt Disney Animation Studios (1981–2011)

Early life[edit]

Deja credits seeing Disney's The Jungle Book as an 11-year-old with inspiring him to become an animator.[1] At that young age, he promptly wrote to Walt Disney Productions to express his interest in working there, and received back a form letter[2] which he has kept ever since. Deja later summarized the letter and how he acted on it as follows: "Please, do not send us any copies of Mickey Mouse. We can teach you that. You need to become an artist in your own right first. Watch the world around you. Draw your brothers and sisters. Go to the zoo. Sketch the animals a lot ... I took it very seriously ... I knew I had to be good. I knew I had to be above average."[3]


After graduating from Theodor-Heuss Gymnasium (secondary school) in Dinslaken, where he was taught by the artist and art teacher Alfred Grimm,[4] he studied graphic design at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany.[5]

Personal life[edit]

Deja is openly gay.[23] His sexuality has been discussed as an influence on the development of some Disney characters.[24][25][26][27]

Awards[edit]

In 2006, at the 34th Annie Awards, Deja was awarded the Winsor McCay Award for outstanding contribution to the art of animation.[35] At the 2015 D23 Expo, he was honored as a Disney Legend.[3]

at IMDb

Andreas Deja

Andreas Deja's blog

Deja View

IGN Interview with Deja (2003)

Animated News Interview with Deja (2005)

Interview with Deja, DVD Movie Guide (2003)