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By Matthew Robinson and Lydia Patrick
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Disney has paid tribute to the filmmaker Roger Allers following his death at the age of 76.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Allers was "a creative visionary whose many contributions to Disney will live on for generations to come."
"His work helped define an era of animation that continues to inspire audiences around the world, and we are deeply grateful for everything he gave to Disney. Our hearts are with his family, friends, and collaborators," he said in a post on Instagram.
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Allers was the co-director of 1994's The Lion King, and worked on multiple other Disney films, including Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast.
Dave Bossert, a film producer at Disney, wrote on Facebook: "Roger was an extraordinarily gifted artist and filmmaker, a true pillar of the Disney Animation renaissance.
"I had the privilege of being part of the crew with Roger on many films in the late 80s and throughout the 90s, and he was, without question, one of the kindest people you could hope to know and work alongside... Roger treated everyone with genuine kindness and respect, regardless of title or position."
He added: "Roger had a joyful, luminous spirit, and the world is dimmer without him. Rest in peace, my friend. Until we meet again on the other side."
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Allers' cause of death has not been released. A Walt Disney Animation Studios spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that his passing followed "a short illness."
Bossert said Allers began his career at Disney creating pre-production concepts, before going on to work as a story artist.
He later became head of story. Bossert said he worked closely with Allers on numerous films throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, and described him as one of the kindest people he had ever known. He added that despite the phenomenal success of The Lion King, Allers remained humble.
Bossert said collaborating with Allers on The Little Matchgirl was a joy, describing him as someone whose enthusiasm, generosity, and sense of wonder lifted those around him, and said the world felt dimmer without his joyful spirit.
Allers, who was born in New York and raised in Arizona, first became interested in animation at the age of five after seeing Disney’s Peter Pan.
He began his career in animation as part of Disney’s storyboarding team on Tron (1982), a science-fiction film set inside a digital world. He later worked as a storyboard artist on Oliver & Company (1988), The Little Mermaid (1989), and The Rescuers Down Under (1990).
In 1992, Allers became head of story on Beauty and the Beast and also began working on Aladdin.
In 1994, he co-directed The Lion King with Rob Minkoff. It went on to become the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film of all time, as well as the best-selling home video release, selling more than 55 million copies worldwide.
Allers and Minkoff won the Golden Globe for "Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy" for The Lion King. Allers later wrote the Broadway adaptation of the film, which became a hugely successful stage production.
Allers is survived by his former wife, Leslee Hackenson, and their two children, a daughter, Leah, and a son, Aidan.
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