Mike Toth, a character and effects animator whose career spanned many iconic television and film productions including classics of the Disney Renaissance, died December 29, 2024. The news of his passing was announced by his daughter, Christine Vergara, to the Cartoon Research Facebook page.
Vergara shared that Toth’s death was attributed to a long battle with alcoholism, which led to many challenges in his life. The artist had relocated to New Mexico, where his daughter lives, after years of struggling to secure housing in Los Angeles.
“My dad was the most generous, loving, kind hearted person I knew. He loved everyone he met, treating them as though he had known them his whole life. He loved God, and kindly spread the word when given a chance,” Vergara wrote in the post, where she shared pieces of his artwork as well as family photos.
“… I just wanted to share my dad’s story, and awareness to those struggling with alcohol or substance abuse. My dad was a wonderful man, and alcohol cut his time short.”
According to The Magpie Agency, Toth grew up admiring the Warner Bros. cartoons of the 1940s, and began his dream career as an animator in 1978 at Filmation Studios, where he worked on iconic Saturday morning cartoons including He-Man and She-Ra, Fat Albert, Tarzan, BraveStarr, Ghostbusters and New Adventures of Tom & Jerry. He also freelanced for Bill Melendez on the Peanuts projects Snoopy’s Reunion; This Is America, Charlie Brown and It’s Spring Training, Charlie Brown.
When Filmation shuttered in 1988, Toth moved on to Baer Animation Studios, working on commercials for brands like Green Giant and Chevy. The end of the ’80s brought him into the Disney fold, working on the theatrical Roger Rabbit short, Tummy Trouble, and the Mickey Mouse take on The Prince and the Pauper.
Toth began working at the Walt Disney Feature Animation studios in Burbank in the mid-1990s, where he helped bring to life many beloved movies, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan and Tarzan to Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Home on the Range — one of the last handful of hand-drawn movies released as the studio phased out 2D productions. Toth also worked on Disney’s Oscar-nominated short film, The Little Matchgirl. The studio laid off the majority of its 2D animators in 2013.
In his latter years, Toth continued to share his love for animation, appearing at local comic-cons across the country.
