WIN your copy of Floyd Norman: An Animated Life all this week on Beyond the Marquee!

It’s FREE STUFF FRIDAY and we’ve got a fantastic Blu-ray for you to add to your home video collection! From the makers of “Drew: The Man Behind the Poster” comes the best reviewed documentary of the Summer ; “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life”.

At 80 years old, see how Disney Legend; Floyd Norman, the first African-American animator at Disney, continues to impact animation and stir up his own brand of “trouble.”

Special thanks to Filmmakers Michael Fiore and Erik Sharkey for the opportunity to offer this video up to our BTM readers!

Now click ahead to learn more about the documentary, Floyd Norman and your chance to win a copy of the film! 

Floyd Norman was the first African American animator at Walt Disney Studios in 1956

“Floyd Norman: An Animated Life” is an intimate journey through the life and career of 80-year-old Floyd Norman, the first African-American animator at Disney Studios. Norman began his Disney career as an ‘inbetweener’ on Sleeping Beauty, eventually rising to develop the story for The Jungle Book. After Walt Disney’s death in 1966, Norman left Disney to found Vignette Films, where he developed various TV specials and produced segments for Hanna Barbera, Sesame Street and animate the titles to Soul Train. Still tirelessly working on projects for Disney and Pixar, Floyd Norman is the “Supermensch” of animation: everywhere you look in animation history, you find Floyd.

The documentary features interviews with Whoopi Goldberg (actress), Sergio Aragones (cartoonist), Richard Sherman (Disney music composer), Don Hahn (producer, Maleficent), Ralph Guggenheim (former Pixar VP of animation), Leonard Maltin (film critic and historian), Paul Dini (writer/producer, Batman: The Animated Series), Gary Trousdale (co-director, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast), Scott Shaw (cartoonist, humorist, and historian), Leo Sullivan (animator and producer), Ken Mitchroney (writer/director and Pixar story artist), and Tom Sito (animator and historian), among others.

Floyd Norman hard at work at the Walt Disney Studios

Norman returned to Disney in the 1980s to work in their Publishing department. And in 1998, he returned to Disney Animation to work in the story department on Mulan. But an invite to the Bay area in the late 90s became a career highlight. Norman was now working with another emerging great: Pixar and Steve Jobs, on Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc. Life as an animator is a nomadic one, but Mr. Norman spent the majority of his career at Disney.

He views it as his “home.” Retired by Disney at age 65 in 2000, the documentary focuses on Norman’s difficulty with a retirement he was not ready for. Not one to quit, Norman chose to occupy an empty cubicle at Disney Publishing for the last 15 years. As he puts it, “[He] just won’t leave.” A term has been coined by Disney employees — “Floydering.” While not on staff, his proximity to other Disney personnel has led him to pick up freelance work. He continues to have an impact on animation as both an artist and mentor. As Norman says, “[He] [plans] to die at the drawing board.”

“Floyd Norman: An Animated Life” recently received the Audience Award at the 2016 Bentonville Film Festival (BFF).  The festival, co-founded by Academy Award Winning Actress Geena Davis, celebrates women and diversity in media.  The Audience Award is given to the documentary or scripted narrative that receives the highest score that is tallied from festival audience ballots.

CONTEST:

*** Now’s your chance to win “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life” on Blu-Ray, by emailing us at contest@beyondthemarquee.com and answering the following question:

TRUE OR FALSE?

Floyd Norman helped to create the animated television special Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert alongside Bill Cosby.

RULES: The contest begins at 9am (PST) on October 21st, 2016 and ends at Noon (PST) on October 24th, 2016. Contest open only to US residents. Void where prohibited. Odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. Not eligible for employees, family, friends or promotional partners connected or associated with Fiore Films or Beyond the Marquee. No purchase necessary. Only one (1) entry per person. Only one (1) entry per person per valid e-mail address and limit one (1) prize per household for the Contest for any thirty (30) day period. Odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. Participants and winner(s) must be U.S. residents and at least 18-years old to enter. If you have won the same prize on another site, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Entries will be randomly selected and the winners will be announced the week of October 24th, 2016, on our official Beyond the Marquee Facebook page. Don’t forget to “Like” us! Good Luck!

Floyd Norman was born on June 22, 1935 in Santa Barbara, California, USA. He is known for his work on Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999) and The Smurfs (1981).

WIN your copy of Floyd Norman: An Animated Life all this week on Beyond the Marquee!