WALT DISNEY STUDIO Pocahontas (1995) Original production animation drawing, signed This handsome animation drawing of John Smith, the film's male lead, was created by Disney supervising animator John Pomeroy in development of a scene for the animated feature. It is from a scene that was edited from the film in which John Smith gives Pocahontas a gift of his compass during their exploration of the North American wilderness. Mr. Pomeroy supervised the animation of John Smith throughout the film. John Pomeroy came to The Walt Disney Studios in the 1970s in the wave of artists and animators who would learn from and carry on the legacy of the Nine Old Men and Disney feature animation. In 1979, disillusioned by Disney's then lack of artistic leadership and determined to revitalize classic animated storytelling, he left along with Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, and others to form their own production company. Their first feature-length film was The Secret of NIMH (1982), and over the course of 12 years the Don Bluth Studio produced An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988) and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989). Mr. Pomeroy returned to Disney in the early 1990s as a supervising animator on Pocahontas (1995), Fantasia 2000 (1999), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), and Treasure Planet (2002). The animator wrote the number "217A" at lower right to indicate this original's place in the scene. The artist signed his drawing "J Pomeroy" at lower center. VERY FINE condition.