David Hand

Disney guy.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) -- Co-directed with Walt Disney, Dorothy Ann Blank, William Cottrell, Richard Creedon, Merrill de Maris, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Dick Richard, Ben Sharpsteen, and Webb Smith. To realize that this came out less than ten years after Steamboat Willie (itself a breakthrough) is pretty amazing: a full-blown feature length musical animated movie in color. You can trace back pretty much every animated movie back to this one, and not many have surpassed it.

Bambi (1942) -- Co-directed with James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Graham Heid, Perce Pearce, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, and Norman Wright. If you don't count Fantasia, this is the best Disney movie ever--and maybe even if you do count Fantasia, since this is more or less a full-length Fantasia segment, only this time with dialogue (little as it may be), characters, and a plot. The beauty, music, and magic of Fantasia is here, as is the hypnotic quality. The only thing missing is the occasional yawn that inevitably arises watching the lazy images of Fantasia. I've seen it over and over and not gotten tired of it. This marks the end of the "Golden Age" of Disney.

Victory Through Air Power (1943) -- Animated directed along with Perce Pearce and live-action directed by H.C. Potter. The opening of this movie is traditional of Disney during this period, with a from-the-beginning-to-present comical look at the history of aviation. Then the movie shifts into a serious tone (and live-action introductions by Alexander de Seversky, who wrote the book Victory Through Air Power) which attempts to show American leaders (primarily) how we can win WWII through increased and specific use of air power. Even though it's considered a historical film and served a specific purpose, the movie is itself entertaining, even while being educational.