Animated Life

The Disney Bullpen

2

The Walt Disney Studios

The animation students move into production.

Basic Training

If you were a young animation artist and had just scored your first job at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank California, it was more than likely you would report to your new workspace in the original Animation Building. It would be a large office known as the “Bullpen.”

The Bullpen was the first office you encountered when you entered any wing of the Animation Building. It seated at least seven or eight animation artists, each with their own desk. It was the animation equivalent of the secretarial pool in the modern office environment. It was a training ground for the young artists, as well as a resource for animators needing assistants ...