Jan 13, 2014

Weird non-smoking Disney cartoon from the 80s produced in New Zealand.

Smoking The Choice is Yours... is a 1981 Disney animated educational short directed by John Ewing, the animator behind "Sleeping Beauty," "The Sword in the Stone," and "The Jungle Book. However, Ewing did not produce the cartoon during his tenure at Disney. [Born in 1928, the Texas native moved to New Zealand in 1967, where he played an important role in the development of the country's animation industry, first producing American-style television commercials and films, and later establishing an animation college that trained many artists who work in the animation industry today. He played an important role in the development of the animation industry. Although the Disney shorts have no studio credit, I believe they were produced in New Zealand by Ewing's company Freelance Animators Limited, which did contract work for both Disney and Warner Bros. throughout the 1980s. The following are examples of earlier commercials produced in New Zealand by Ewing:

Ewing is now retired, but remains active, illustrating picture books, creating sculptures, and speaking to students about his career.