Rick Reinert | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frederick George Reinert Jr. September 14, 1925 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | November 5, 2018 (aged 93) Annandale, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Animator, Director |
| Notable work | Cap'n O. G. Readmore, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore. |
Frederick George Reinert Jr. (September 14, 1925 – November 5, 2018), known professionally as Rick Reinert, was an American animator and the founder of the defunct studio Rick Reinert Productions.[1][2] In addition to his work on two Winnie-the-Pooh projects for Disney during the early 1980s, he directed intros for After School Special and ABC Weekend Special, and was also a producer on Cap'n O. G. Readmore.[3]
Beginning in 1945, Reinert began working at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio and ended up at the Army Photo Center Animation Department in New York two years later. He was removed from both companies, but in 1960 he opened his own studio in Cleveland, Rick Reinert Productions, producing animation for TV ads; The Dipsy Doodle Show, a 1974 TV special (now considered lost); ABC's Saturday morning bumpers; intros for the children's series After School Special (1972); and ABC Weekend Special (1977).
In 1980 Reinert relocated his studio to southern California as he was contracted by Disney Studios. He later produced educational featurettes such as Foods and Fun: A Nutrition Adventure (1981), Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons (1981), and Winnie the Pooh and a Day For Eeyore (1983).[4]
In 1983, after the success of the Library of Congress's Read More About It, the Library's Center for the Book created Cap'n O. G. Readmore in association with ABC. During that period, Reinert created 30- or 60-second spots to promote reading for young viewers. In 1985, he began making 21-minute specials plotting the character, starting with Cap'n O. G. Readmore's Jack in the Beanstalk. He made four more until 1992 when Read More About It ended.
Reinert also produced other specials such as The Bollo Caper (1985) and The Kingdom Chums: Original Top 10[5] (1990), a direct-to-video movie that is a sequel to The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure (1986).[5] In the early 1990s, he produced specials based on Precious Moments figurines, like Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas (1991). In 1997 he served as an animation supervisor on a half-hour Peanuts special, It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown.
In 2008, Reinert briefly returned to animation, working on the Pebbles cereal commercials at Duck Studios for Post for two years. Reinert quietly quit making the advertisements in 2010 after Post got sued for plagiarizing the use of a Hulk Hogan caricature.[6]
Reinert died in Annandale, Virginia on November 5, 2018.[1][2]