Former Disney Animator Mike Toth Passes Away

Mike Toth, an animator who worked on a number of films from the Disney Renaissance era, sadly passed away at the end of 2024.

The news of Toth’s passing was shared by his daughter, Christine Vergara, on the Cartoon Research Facebook page. He passed away on December 29th, 2024 following a lengthy battle with alcoholism.

Inspired by Warner Brothers cartoons of the 1940s, Toth’s dream to become an animator came true in career in 1978 when he got a job with Filmation Studios. There, he worked on a number of animated series, from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra Princess of Power to Ghostbusters and Shazam. Filmation closed down in 1988 and Toth moved to the Baer Animation Studios, where he got to work on animation for a couple of Disney related projects – the Roger Rabbit short Tummy Trouble and The Prince and the Pauper.

That then led to Toth getting a job with Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, where he worked on a number of animated Disney classics, such as Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, Hercules and Home on the Range.

Sadly, Toth was laid off from Disney in the early 2000s, which, according to his daughter, “destroyed him, leading him to his battle with alcohol and depression." Sadly, he ended up living on the streets of Los Angeles until his daughter was able to bring him to her home in New Mexico.

Our thoughts go out to Mike’s family and friends at this tough time.