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Don Bluth

Don Bluth

Director, producer and writer · Born September 13, 1937 (89) · El Paso, Texas, USA

Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated classics such as The Secret of NIMH (1982), An American Tail (1986),The Land Before Time (1988), and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), as well as his involvement in the laserdisc game Dragon's Lair. He is also often credited for providing competition to Disney, and forcing them to improve from their streak of lackluster film efforts to the films that would make up the Disney Renaissance.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 13, 1937 (89)
From
El Paso, Texas, USA
Works as
Director, producer and writer
Titles
25 on MovieCove · 35 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Up 9% in 30 days

What are Don Bluth's films like?

Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
54%
Self
19%
Morality
9%
Ideas
8%
Society
5%
Survival
5%
Friendship8 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds8 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 11 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 10 · Heightened 3

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 9 · Charged 4 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 11 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 10 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 11 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 14 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
11
Joyful
7
Warm
5
Melancholic
6
Thrilling
5
Other
10

How their films linger

Hopeful13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy12
  • Bittersweet3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Don Bluth's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 25 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (10).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Don Bluth's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

35 credits, 25 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Dragon’s Lair: The Movie - Pitch Presentation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Gift of the Hoopoe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director

  • Going Back to Xanadu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Actor

  • You Are Mine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Storyboard

  • Titan A.E.(2000)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Bartok the Magnificent(1999)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • An All Dogs Christmas Carol(1998)

    Characters

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Anastasia(1997)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series(1996)

    Show 41 episodes · Characters

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • All Dogs Go to Heaven 2(1996)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • The Pebble and the Penguin(1995)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • A Troll in Central Park(1994)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Thumbelina(1994)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • An American Tail: Fievel Goes West(1991)

    Characters

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Rock-A-Doodle(1991)

    Director · Producer · Story · Writer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • All Dogs Go to Heaven(1989)

    Director · Producer · Production Design · Story

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • The Land Before Time(1988)

    Director · Producer · Production Design · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • An American Tail(1986)

    Director · Producer · Production Design · Title Designer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Space Ace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Show Creator

  • Dragon's Lair(1984)

    Show Writer

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • The Secret of NIMH(1982)

    Director · Animation Director · Layout · Producer · Screenplay · Visual Development

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • The Fox and the Hound(1981)

    Animation

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Xanadu(1980)

    Animation

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Banjo the Woodpile Cat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Director · Animation · Lyricist · Producer · Songs · Writer

  • The Small One(1978)

    Director · Animation · Producer · Songs

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Pete's Dragon(1977)

    Animation Director

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • The Rescuers(1977)

    Supervising Animator

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh(1977)

    Animation

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Story

  • Robin Hood(1973)

    Animation

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Journey Back to Oz(1972)

    Layout

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Archie and His New Pals (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Character Designer

  • The Sword in the Stone(1963)

    Animation

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Dragon's Lair (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer · Video Game

Career shape

A full career of 33 titles, 32 of them dated from 1963 to 2017.

Biggest box office

Anastasia (1997)

$140M worldwide

Highest rated

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

Anastasia (1997)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 33: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting16 of 33: 3 only directing, 13 with another role · typical Midcredits score70thWriting11 of 33: 5 only writing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score59thProducing14 of 33: 0 only producing, 14 with another role · typical Midcredits score74thOther crew17 of 33: 10 only other crew, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score85th

33 titles, 14 with more than one role — other crew and directing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1960s2 · crew1970s8 · crew1980s7 · crew1990s10 · crew2000s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew2010s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Don Bluth's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 66th percentile, the median of all 23; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 62nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

62ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

91stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 25 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up10
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th10

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 25 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser12
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · writer

An All Dogs Christmas Carol (1998)

87th percentile spread · 42% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer, producer

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Midcredits 94th · 82% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 64/100 and the pacing 45/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Don Bluth's work okay for kids?

Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films and sex & nudity and profanity lighter.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore8 titles33–66 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity7 titles7–18 · median 9 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity7 titles3–37 · median 14 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs7 titles12–38 · median 27 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles51–67 · median 60 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Don Bluth work with?

People who share at least 2 of Don Bluth's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Gary Goldman shares the most, 12.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers