Editing Don Bluth (section)

=== 1981–1985: Departure from Disney and early critical success ===
For ''[[The Fox and the Hound (film)|The Fox and the Hound]]'', Bluth animated several scenes of the character Widow Tweed. During production, creative differences between Bluth and studio executives had arisen concerning artistic control and animation training practices. On his 42nd birthday in 1979, Bluth resigned from the studio to establish his own [[List of animation studios|animation studio]], [[Don Bluth Productions]], along with [[Gary Goldman]], [[John Pomeroy]], and nine fellow Disney animators.<ref>{{cite news |last=Harmetz |first=Aljean |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/20/archives/11-animators-quit-disney-form-studio-loyalty-is-cited.html |title=11 Animators Quit Disney, Form Studio |work=The New York Times |page=C14 |date=September 20, 1979 |access-date=January 3, 2022}}</ref><ref name="comicsjournal">{{cite magazine|last=Heintjes|first=Tom|title=Newswatch: Bluth animation firm goes bankrupt|url=https://www.tcj.com/tcj-archive/the-comics-journal-no-98-may-1985/|access-date=July 30, 2012|magazine=The Comics Journal|issue=98|page=19|date=May 1985}}</ref> To this end, Don Bluth Productions demonstrated its ability in its first production, a short film titled ''[[Banjo the Woodpile Cat]]'', and this led to work on an animated segment of the live-action film ''[[Xanadu (film)|Xanadu]]''. The studio's first feature-length film was ''[[The Secret of NIMH]]''. Bluth employed 160 animators during the production and agreed to the first [[profit sharing]] contract in the animation industry.<ref name="comicsjournal" /> Though only a moderate success in the box office, the movie received critical acclaim. Later, with the home video release and cable showings, it became a cult classic.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cawley|first=John|title=The Secret of N.I.M.H.|url=http://www.cataroo.com/DBnimh.html|work=The Animated Films of Don Bluth|publisher=Cataroo.com|access-date=July 30, 2012|quote=The film developed a cult following which only increased with easy access via video and cable showings.}}</ref> Nevertheless, due to the modest gross and an industry-wide animation strike, Don Bluth Productions filed for bankruptcy.{{sfn|Cawley|1990|pages=[http://www.cataroo.com/DBvidgames.html 57–58]}}

His next film would have been an animated version of the Norwegian folk tale ''[[East of the Sun and West of the Moon#Film adaptations|East of the Sun and West of the Moon]]'', but the financial resources were drawn back and it was never made.<ref>{{cite news|last=Beck|first=Jerry|title=Don Bluth Goes Independent|url=https://www.awn.com/mag/issue1.3/articles/beck1.3.html|access-date=August 10, 2012|newspaper=Animation World Magazine|date=June 1996|quote=That failure [of ''Secret of NIMH''] caused Aurora to back out of producing Bluth's next film, ''East of the Sun, West of the Moon''.}}</ref> In 1983, he, [[Rick Dyer (video game designer)|Rick Dyer]], Goldman, and Pomeroy started the Bluth Group and created the [[arcade game]] ''[[Dragon's Lair (1983 video game)|Dragon's Lair]]'', an [[on rails]] game which let the player choose between simple paths for an animated-[[cartoon]] character on screen (whose adventures were played off a [[LaserDisc]]). This was followed in 1984 by ''[[Space Ace]]'', a [[science fiction|science-fiction]] game based on the same technology, but which gave the player a choice of different routes to take through the story. Bluth not only created the animation for ''Space Ace'', but he also supplied the voice of the villain, Borf.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cawley|first=John|title=Space Ace|url=http://www.cataroo.com/DBspace.html|work=The Animated Films of Don Bluth|publisher=Cataroo.com|access-date=July 25, 2012}}</ref> Work on a ''Dragon's Lair'' sequel was underway when the video arcade business [[North American video game crash of 1983|crashed]]. Bluth's studio was left without a source of income and the Bluth Group filed for bankruptcy on March 1, 1985.<ref name="comicsjournal" /> A sequel called ''[[Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp]]'' was made in 1991, but it was rarely seen in [[video arcade|arcades]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dragon's Lair II|url=https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7648|publisher=The International Arcade Museum|access-date=August 10, 2012|quote=This game ranks a 24 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.}}</ref>

An adaptation of ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'' was also planned to be directed by Bluth in 1984, but the project was canceled by [[Columbia Pictures]] upon discovering that Walt Disney Pictures had plans for [[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|their own adaptation]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bluth |first=Don |title=Exposure sheet: Official newsletter of the Don Bluth Animation Fan Club |publisher=Don Bluth Studios |year=1984 |volume=5 |location=Tarzana, Los Angeles}}</ref> In 1985, Bluth, Pomeroy, and Goldman established, with businessman [[Morris Sullivan]], the [[Sullivan Bluth Studios]]. It initially operated from an animation facility in [[Van Nuys, California]], but later moved to [[Dublin]], Ireland, to take advantage of government investment and incentives. Sullivan Bluth Studios also helped boost animation as an industry within Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.estudiosirlandeses.org/reviews/drawing-conclusions-irish-animation-and-national-cinema/|title=Estudios Irlandeses – Drawing Conclusions: Irish Animation and National Cinema|website=estudiosirlandeses.org|language=es-ES|access-date=February 12, 2017}}</ref> Bluth and his colleagues taught an animation course at [[Ballyfermot Senior College]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=November 19, 2010|url=https://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/an-animated-irish-invasion/|title=An Animated Irish Invasion|author=Melena Ryzik|work=The New York Times|date=March 3, 2010}}</ref>