PROFILE: Andreas Deja

Continuing our celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month, we take a look at Disney animator Andreas Deja.

Deja was born on April 1, 1957 in Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland.

He began his career at Disney in 1980 after corresponding with Eric Larson, one of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men, who ran the training department. His first film was The Black Cauldron as a Supervising Animator on Taran, Eilonwy, Dallben, Gurgi, Doli, Horned King, and the Fair Folk. He served as Animator on The Great Mouse Detective, Fantasia 2000, Home On The Range, Enchanted, How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and Happily Ever After. He was a character designer on The Black Cauldron, Oliver & Company, and The Little Mermaid. He directed an episode of Quack Pack and was an animation consultant on Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas and Bambi II.

And, he served as Supervising Animator on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, The Prince and the Pauper, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Runaway Brain, Hercules, Lilo & Stitch, The Princess and the Frog, The Ballad of Nessie and Winnie The Pooh. He's animated such iconic characters as Gaston, Jafar and Scar.

Deja was known for his larger than life flamboyant characters such as Gaston and Jafar and Scar and you can see his sexuality playing an influence in the animation in these characters even if the characters aren't inherently gay.