He created Ariel and Ursula. He’s responsible for Gaston and Lumiere. He’s had a hand in creating SO many of the movies we watched as kids…and I got to hang out with him this past weekend.

His name is Philo Barnhart, and you might recognize him from the very last scene of Mary Poppins as the little boy flying his kite with his father (who in real life, was also a Disney animator responsible for Maleficient…and his mother was a Disney animator as well!)

I was fortunate enough to do three separate live broadcasts with this lovely gentleman and got so many behind the scenes stories while he answered questions from my fans.

Here’s the videos if you missed them:

 

On The Little Mermaid:

On Beauty and the Beast, The Secrete of NIHM, An American Tale, Sleeping Beauty, and more:

On Instagram Live:

I had a great time chatting with Philo all about his incredible work! Did you know he’s the one who designed Ariel’s bra clasp? You only see it once or twice in the movie, but he’s the one who made it!

I also managed to get a few art pieces from him, once of which he signed specifically to my new neice as he welcomed her to “our part of the world” *sobs uncontrolably*

He was also impressed by my take on The Little Mermaid (he’s holding my retelling in the photo!)

It was kind of a cool moment.

 

His suits were also custom made, and yes, that’s the stained glass intro from Beauty and the Beast. It was so amazing!

Have questions for Philo? We’re going to be setting up a time with him to do a scheduled live interview soon on Facebook and I’d love to get your questions answered! Drop them below!

Stay inspired,

-K.M. Robinson