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Animator Van Kaufman joined the Disney Studio on June 6, 1938, after having studied at Chouinard. He worked on Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo, as well as on the short Pluto’s Playmate. During World War II, along with Hank Porter, Roy Williams, Bill Justice, Ed Parks, and George Goepper, he was part of the small team that created more than 1,200 insignia. He left the Studio on November 20, 1942.

Mark Langer: Do you remember when and how you first heard about the making of Dumbo, that it was planned?

Van Kaufman: I do not. And some of that runs together in my mind. I did work in the Fergie [Norman Ferguson] unit for most of the animation part of my career there. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until the last six, eight months before we all went into the armed services that I began to do work for [Wilfred] Jackson and other people. I worked with Dick Lundy on a movie. He and I were the sole—we did the whole picture together. But for most of my animation time, three years or better, I spent in the Fergie unit. I knew Fergie very well.

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