Don Hahn

Don Hahn is producer of The Walt Disney Studios’ worldwide phenomenon The Lion King (1994) and the animated classic Beauty and the Beast (1991)—the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award® in the Best Picture category. Hahn is founder and executive producer of the acclaimed Disneynature films Earth (2007), Oceans (2009), African Cats (2011), and Chimpanzee (2012), as well as Disney’s live-action feature Maleficent (2014), starring Angelina Jolie, and the 2017 box office hit Beauty and the Beast. His other credits include The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Fantasia 2000 (1999), The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), and Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). His acclaimed documentary Howard, about the life of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast lyricist Howard Ashman, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca International Film Festival. His books on animation, art, and creativity include the bestseller Brain Storm, Before Ever After: The Lost Lectures of Walt Disney’s Animation Studio, and Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Disney’s Magical Mid-Century. Hahn holds two honorary doctorate degrees and serves on the board of directors of PBS SoCal and the Advisory Committee of The Walt Disney Family Museum.