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Vance Gerry

Vance Gerry

Writer · Died March 5, 2005, aged 75 · Pasadena, California, USA

Regarded as one of the most creative and talented story artists in the animation industry, Gerry joined the Walt Disney Studios in 1955 after studying at the Chouinard Art Institute. He rose quickly through the ranks to become a layout artist. He contributed to the television shows "Goofy's Cavalcade of Sports" and "How to Relax"; the short features "The Truth About Mother Goose" and "Donald in Mathmagic Land"; and the features "101 Dalmatians" and "The Sword in the Stone." Gerry moved to the studio's story department on "The Jungle Book," Walt Disney's last animated feature. Looking back on that collaboration, Gerry said, "There was an aura about Walt: When he came into the room, you felt it. He focused very closely on what the characters would do and say." Gerry later made major contributions to "Dalmatians," "The Aristocats," "Robin Hood," "The Rescuers," "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" and "The Fox and the Hound." In "The Rescuers," he drew the storyboards, a shot by shot blueprint, for the sequence in which kidnapper Madame Medusa primps before a mirror while cruelly dismissing Penny's wish to return to the orphanage: "Adopted? What makes you think anyone would want a homely little girl like you?" In the book "Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists," animation historian John Canemaker noted that Gerry needed only a few drawings to establish the type of shot, the mood of the sequence, the character's expressions, etc. Working from Gerry's sketches, animators developed their characters' actions: when Medusa would pull off her false eyelashes; how Penny would bow her head in resignation. Gerry told Canemaker how he liked to work. "I'd just as soon start with a title of a picture and start dreaming into it," he said. "A script is restricting because it tells you too much. I'd rather start earlier than that and look for possibilities for animation and entertainment, rather than story elements or structure." Gerry later received a story adaptation credit for "The Great Mouse Detective" and worked on the storyboards for "Fantasia/2000." Gerry shifted to visual development and character design in 1995, and contributed to "Pocahontas," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Tarzan" and "Home on the Range." Gerry also operated the Weatherbird Press, which published fine books. -http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/11/local/me-gerry11

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 29, 1929
Died
March 5, 2005 (aged 75)
From
Pasadena, California, USA
Works as
Writer
Titles
16 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 51% in 30 days

What are Vance Gerry's films like?

Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
51%
Self
16%
Morality
13%
Society
10%
Survival
4%
Power
4%
Ideas
2%
Family bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship5 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 12 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 5

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 6 · Charged 8 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 6

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 14 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 14 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
9
Warm
8
Thrilling
6
Hopeful
4
Melancholic
4
Other
9

How their films linger

Feel-good9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCozy2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy13
  • Bittersweet1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Vance Gerry's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, on Disney+ (15).

Subscription and free streaming for Vance Gerry's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

21 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Jungle Book(2016)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Hercules(1997)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Beauty and the Beast(1991)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • The Rescuers Down Under(1990)

    Storyboard

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Oliver & Company(1988)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Great Mouse Detective(1986)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The Black Cauldron(1985)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Disney's Halloween Treat(1984)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • The Fox and the Hound(1981)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • The Small One(1978)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Rescuers(1977)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh(1977)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Robin Hood(1973)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The Aristocats(1970)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Story

  • The Jungle Book(1967)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Writer

  • Aquamania(1961)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Goliath II (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Layout

  • The Truth About Mother Goose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Layout Supervisor

  • The Goofy Adventure Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Layout

Career shape

A full career of 17 titles from 1957 to 1991.

Biggest box office

The Jungle Book (2016)

$968M worldwide

Highest rated

The Jungle Book (1967)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

The Fox and the Hound (1981)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Writing13 of 17: 13 only writing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score86thOther crew4 of 17: 4 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1950s2 · crew1960s5 · crew1970s4 · crew1980s4 · crew1990s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Vance Gerry's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 88th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 86th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

86thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

96thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up12
  • 50th to 74th4

Shape of the crowd

None of their 16 titles divides audiences: 10 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved6
  • Crowd Pleaser10

Most loved · writer

The Jungle Book (1967)

Midcredits 94th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 62/100 and the plot and story 51/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Vance Gerry's work okay for kids?

Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity and profanity run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore11 titles22–50 · median 37 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity11 titles6–25 · median 15 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity11 titles3–10 · median 7 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs11 titles1–38 · median 30 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense11 titles22–61 · median 38 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Vance Gerry work with?

People who share at least 2 of Vance Gerry's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Wolfgang Reitherman shares the most, 9.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers