While Kimball was a brilliant draftsman, he preferred to work on comical characters rather than realistic human designs. Animating came easily to him and he was constantly looking to do things differently. Because of this, Walt Disney called Ward a genius in the book The Story Of Walt Disney. While there were many talented animators at Disney, Ward's efforts stand out as especially unique.Kimball created several classic Disney characters including the Crows in Dumbo; Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland; the Mice and Lucifer the Cat from Cinderella; and Jiminy Cricket fromPinocchio. He also animated the famous "Three Caballeros" musical number from the Disney film of the same name.In 1953, Kimball became a director and was responsible for the Academy Award-winning short Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, and three Disney television shows about outer space that put the United States into the space program. He received anAcademy Award for the short animated cartoon It's Tough to Be a Bird.Ward Kimball was profiled by the Academy Award-winning producer Jerry Fairbanks in his Paramount Pictures film short series Unusual Occupations. This 35mm Magnacolor film short was released theatrically in 1944 and focused on Kimball's backyard railroad and full sized locomotive.Kimball was also a jazz trombonist. He founded and led the seven-piece Dixieland band Firehouse Five Plus Two, in which he played trombone. The band made at least 13 LP records and toured clubs, college campuses and jazz festivals from the 1940s to early 1970s. Kimball once said that Walt Disney permitted the second career as long as it did not interfere with his animation work.Kimball continued to work at Disney up until the early 1970s, working on the Disney anthology television series, being one of the writers for Babes in Toyland, creating animation for Mary Poppins, directing the animation for Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and working on titles for feature films such as The Adventures Of Bullwhip Griffin and Million Dollar Duck. His last staff work for Disney was producing and directing the Disney TV show The Mouse Factory. He continued to do various projects on his own, even returning to Disney to do some publicity tours. Additionally, Kimball worked on an attraction for Disney's EPCOT Center called The World Of Motion.

Filmography

• 2007The Pixar Story — Ward Kimball (archive footage)
• 2004Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6 — Ward Kimball (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 1989The Wizard of Speed and Time — The IRS Chief
• 1984DTV: Rock, Rhythm & Blues — Director
• The Mouse Factory — Creator
• 1971Bedknobs and Broomsticks — Animation Director
• 1970Dad... Can I Borrow the Car? — Producer, Director
• 1969It's Tough to Be a Bird — Bird Fancier, Director, Writer, Producer
• 1968Escalation — Director
• 1968Pacifically Peeking — Animation
• 1968The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show — Director
• 1967A Salute to Alaska — Animation Director
• 1967Scrooge McDuck and Money — Animation
• 1964Mary Poppins — Animation
• 1963Fly With Von Drake — Animation
• 1961Babes in Toyland — Writer
• 1959Eyes in Outer Space — Director, Producer, Writer
• 1957Mars and Beyond — Director
• 1955Man and the Moon — Self (uncredited), Director, Producer, Writer
• 1955Man in Space — Self, Director, Writer, Producer
• The Wonderful World of Disney — Director
• 1953Melody — Director, Animation
• 1953Peter Pan — Animation, Animation Director
• 1953Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom — Director, Animation
• 1951Alice in Wonderland — Animation
• 1950Cinderella — Animation Director
• 1949The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad — Animation, Animation Director
• 1948Melody Time — Animation
• 1948Pecos Bill — Animation
• 1947Fun and Fancy Free — Animation Director
• 1946Peter and the Wolf — Animation
• 1946Willie the Operatic Whale — Animation
• 1945Hockey Homicide — Animation
• 1944The Pelican and the Snipe — Animation
• 1944The Three Caballeros — Animation
• 1943Chicken Little — Animation
• 1943Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi — Animation
• 1943Reason and Emotion — Animation
• 1943The Spirit of '43 — Animation
• 1943Victory Vehicles — Animation
• 1942How to Play Baseball — Animation
• 1941Dumbo — Animation Director
• 1941The Little Whirlwind — Animation
• 1941The Nifty Nineties — Ward (voice) (uncredited), Animation
• 1941The Reluctant Dragon — Ward Kimball, Animation
• 1940Fantasia — Animation
• 1940Pinocchio — Animation, Animation Director
• 1939The Autograph Hound — Animation
• 1938Ferdinand the Bull — Animation
• 1938Mother Goose Goes Hollywood — Animation
• 1938Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — Animation
• 1937Woodland Café — Animation
• 1936Elmer Elephant — Animation Production Assistant
• 1936More Kittens — Animation
• 1936Toby Tortoise Returns — Animation
• 1935Pluto's Judgement Day — Animation
• 1935The Tortoise and the Hare — Animation Production Assistant
• 1934Mickey Plays Papa — Animation Production Assistant
• 1934Orphan's Benefit — Animation
• 1934The Goddess of Spring — Animation Production Assistant
• 1934The Hot Choc-late Soldiers — Animation Production Assistant
• 1934The Wise Little Hen — Animation

Appearances as themselves (21)

• 2022Mickey: The Story of a Mouse — Self (archive footage)
• 2019Apollo: Missions to the Moon — Self - Disney Animator (archive footage)
• 2010Waking Sleeping Beauty — Self (archive footage)
• 2009The Making of 'Pinocchio': No Strings Attached — Self (Archive Footage)
• 2005From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella — Self (archive footage)
• 2005From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men — Self (Archive Footage)
• 2005The Cinderella That Almost Was — Self (archive footage)
• 2000A Wish Came True: The Making of 'Pinocchio' — Himself
• 2000The Fantasia Legacy: The Concert Feature — Self
• 1997The Story Behind Walt Disney's 'Fun and Fancy Free' — Self
• 1993Pinocchio: The Making of a Masterpiece — Self
• 1989It All Started with a Mouse: The Disney Story — Self
• 1988Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toon Town — Self – Interviewee
• 1981Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life — Self
• 1978From Fantasia to Fantasyland — self
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
• 1959Disneyland '59 — Self
• 1956Walt Disney's Where Do the Stories Come From? — Self
• 1954The Disneyland Story — Self
• 1951Operation Wonderland — Self
• 1950One Hour in Wonderland — Self - Firehouse Five Plus Two