JANE SHATTUCK - TAKAMOTO - BAER

On February 16th, 2026 we lost a pioneer in the animation world. Jane Shattuck-Takamoto-Baer passed away at her home in Van Nuys, California at the age of 91.

She was predeceased by her parents, Ted and Lillian Shattuck of Winnipeg, MB; and her grandparents David and Ester Good (née Mudd) of Stonewall, Manitoba. To mourn her passing is her son Michael (Beth) of Van Nuys, California; brother Gerald (Marlene); nieces Lauri-Jane (Jason) and Erin; great niece Lily-Jane; and great nephew Justin from Stony Mountain, Manitoba. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and everyone who’s lives she touched with her animation.

Jane was born October 30th, 1934 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Jane loved to draw, and followed in her father’s artistic footsteps. She left home to train at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and in 1955 entered Walt Disney Productions as an assistant animator on Sleeping Beauty (1959) where she worked under Marc Davis on Princess Aurora. She worked alongside members of the legendary Nine Old Men, and was trained to the highest standards of draftsmanship and performance-based animation. While working at Disney, she met her first husband, Iwao Takamoto, another legendary animator.

She left Disney in the 1960’s to work in the commercial and television field working with Ed Graham Animation, and later joined Pantomime Studios to work in the layout department. There, she assisted in the shows Skyhawks, Speed Racer and Hotwheels. Later on, she continued doing layout with Filmation where she worked on the animated shows Aquaman (1967) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1967).

She returned to Disney in 1975, and worked as an assistant animator on the character, the villain Medusa. There she worked with another legendary animator, Milt Kahl, on The Rescuer’s (1977). Later on, she would work on The Fox and the Hound (1981), Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983), and The Black Cauldron (1985).

By the 1980’s, she also freelanced as a storyboard artist for Hanna-Barbera for the television series The Smurfs (1981), and The Fonz and The Happy Days Gang (1981). In 1984, She co-founded Baer Animation with her second husband, Dale Baer, another legendary animator. Her studio was situated in Studio City, California, and was very successful. It became one of the most respected and independent animation studios in Hollywood.

In 1988, the Baer Animation studio worked on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. They produced the entire set of Toontown sequences, and Jane was the supervising character animator for Benny the Cab.

The studio also has done commercials for such products as Coca Cola, Rice Krispies, Pampers, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, (Charlie the) Starkist Tuna, and Chevrolet. Under her supervision, Baer Animation grew into one of the few fully self-contained independent animation facilities in the United States, housing departments for animation, digital ink and paint, compositing, sound recording, effects, and camera services. The studio’s camera department handled sequences of The Little Mermaid (1989) and The Prince and the Pauper (1990), as well as work on FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Rover Dangerfield (1991), The Swan Princess (1994), and numerous Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera projects.

She also was the animation supervisor or producer for such films including Fletch Lives (1989), Roger Rabbit short Tummy Trouble (1989), Last Action Hero (1993), The Beautician and the Beast (1997), and Rover Dangerfield (1991). She wrote and was the executive producer of Annabelle’s Wish (1997). She was an animation producer on Tom & Jerry: The Movie (1992), managed important sequences on The Lion King (1994), and was a character designer for Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (1982), along with many other credits.

In 1995, her company designed the animated canopy for the opening of the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas.

She was a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Woman in Film, and The Animation Guild. She was a founding member of Women in Animation and later served on its Advisory Board.

After her retirement in the early 2000’s, she continued to be active with being a speaker on many panels, festivals, and classrooms. She loved to tell her stories and answer any questions that were asked of her. She shared her knowledge of animation and how it had changed over the decades.

She was featured in Mindy Johnson’s Ink & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation. She enjoyed going on book tours with Mindy and meeting lots of wonderful people.

She received The Golden Award honouring her 50 year career in the animation industry. In 2022 she was awarded the Inkpot Award which is given to individuals for their contributions to the worlds of comics, science fiction/fantasy, film, television, animation, and fandom services. She also appeared in the documentary Pencils vs. Pixels (2023).

As her niece, I still remember when she came to the Stony Mountain Elementary School with my Uncle Dale Baer to show the kids how to draw Disney characters. We were in the music room and they started to draw Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. They showed us step by step how to draw the characters. The kids loved having them there. I was so proud of my aunt and uncle. They also dedicated a book they wrote and illustrated called The Easter Bunny Gang (1983) to the school. Inside the book, and every book made it said “For the Children of the Stony Mountain Elementary School” To this day, I still have people come up to me remembering that day.

I know that I’ve probably missed some things. She had a wonderful, and intriguing life. The things that she has done, the people that she has met, and the childhoods that she has made special because of her talent. My aunt was extraordinary, and one of a kind. She was smart, funny, and a lovely human being. I loved our talks on the phone, and the advice she would give me. I was so proud to have her in my life. She will be greatly missed, but I am lucky enough to have her memories around me as her legacy lives on in everything that she has done.

There will be a Celebration of Life taking place at The Smoke House Restaurant in Burbank, California at a later date. There we can have a toast in her honour with her favourite drink, a Bombay Sapphire Martini with two olives.

She loved her animals. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center at 1845 Pontius Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90025, 1-424-208-8840 or Feral Friends Sanctuary, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Etransfer is feralfriends.wpg@gmail.com

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