Andreas DejaSupervising Animator for Tigger

ANDREAS DEJA (Supervising Animator for Tigger) served as supervising animator for Mama Odie and Juju on "The Princess and the Frog" before tackling Tigger for "Winnie the Pooh."

In 2007, Deja received the prestigious Winsor McKay - Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Animation Film Society - Hollywood for his for outstanding and unique contributions in animation.

Deja first applied for a job as a Disney animator at the age of 10. A native of Poland who was raised in Germany, Deja remembers writing to the studio after seeing "The Jungle Book." The studio replied, explaining that they were fully staffed, but they were always on the lookout for exceptional talent. This response offered him the encouragement he needed to work toward his goal, and at the age of 23, after completing his studies in visual communication at the Folkwangschule in Essen, Germany, he applied again and was accepted.

Working with Eric Larson, one of Disney's legendary "nine old men," Deja completed several tests and went on to do early character design, costume research and animation for "The Black Cauldron." His next assignment was "The Great Mouse Detective," for which he animated the mouse queen and her robotic twin. Deja helped design many of the characters for "Oliver & Company" and did some animation before spending a year in London as a lead animator on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" under director Richard Williams.
On "The Little Mermaid," Deja oversaw the animation of Triton, a powerful figure requiring expert skills in draftsmanship and acting ability. For Disney's Academy Award®-winning animated musical "Beauty and the Beast," Deja served as the supervising animator for the first of his many Disney villains-the pompous and narrow-minded Gaston.

He continued down the dark path, designing and animating the evil vizier Jafar for Disney's hit animated musical "Aladdin." He also supervised the animation for the power-hungry villain Scar in "The Lion King," which became one of The Walt Disney Studios' most successful films, as well as one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Deja's credits also include "Runaway Brain," the first Mickey Mouse short since 1953. He supervised the animation on the famous mouse at the company's Paris-based animation facility. Deja served as the supervising animator for the title character in Disney's epic animated comedy "Hercules," as well as Lilo in "Lilo & Stitch." He animated Bambi's father in "Bambi II" from DisneyToon Studios, and Goofy in "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater."