Talking to Max Howard is akin to opening up a treasure trove of stories from the world of animation. Known for extensive work in positions of leadership at major studios such as Disney, Warner Bros., and DreamWorks, Max has also has contributed to iconic films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.
He was recently at RV University, Bengaluru where he was delivering a masterclass to help students dissect cinematic masterpieces and gain a deeper understanding of the film making craft.
Born and brought up in London, Max is also an avid cricket lover and tells me, “If you spend enough time with me, it won’t be long before I start talking about cricket,” which sadly the ticking clock did not allow us to indulge in.
Max describes his entry into filmmaking as not-very-accidental. “I am rooted in theatre; as a child actor I spent a lot of time on movie sets. It resulted in an immersive, practical education.”
Even after leaving school, Max continued in the theatre world as a stage manager, producer, and director, working with some great British playwrights such as Noël Coward, Harold Pinter, and John Osborne.
Max’s first project was the iconic Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Shot on OnePlus #FramesofIndia
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MURALI KUMAR K
Around that time, Max got a phone call from Peter Schneider, one of his theatre pals who, ”was hired to run the animation department in Disney which was being reinvigorated.”
Max’s first project was the iconic Who Framed Roger Rabbit. “Peterasked me if I was interested in working on this particular film in London. They were looking for somebody to run the studio, and put the whole package together. I found myself being interviewed for a job I knew little about.”
“What excited me back then was that unlike theatre where you are working as long as somebody is buying the tickets; here I was guaranteed employment and being paid a lot of money.”
Max says his extensive knowledge from being in theatre, stood him in good stead while working on films. “What ends up on the screen is a finished article telling a story, and I realised that though the journey to complete the story was a different process, the objective was the same. All the disciplines I found within theatre and live action filmmaking, exist in animation too.”
Initially, Max joined Disney in London when they were planning to make more animated films.
He was later flown down to Florida. “I opened a small studio within Walt Disney World; there we had the opportunity to produce some extraordinary work, and it also helped a lot of young artists who were hired straight out of school, many of whom went on to become successful animators or directors.”
The release of Roger Rabbit change things for Disney. “With the films that followed such as Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, Disney got big names like Howard Ashman and Alan Menken on board.
Another significant change came when Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, left and formed DreamWorks and Warner Bros wanted to build their own animation department.
“That was when I was headhunted; I moved away from Disney to Warner Bros., and we made Space Jam, the Iron Giant and Quest for Camelot.
Pixar and CGI changed the entire ballgame for animation, says Max. “In the beginning, the public did not have the same affinity with CGI as they felt for hand-drawn films. As other studios opted for CGI and films such as Ice Age, Despicable Me were successful, we realised that the public were no longer going to watch a movie based on a studio’s banner, but rather because of its storytelling.”
Tracing the animation journey from big, expensive set-ups to smaller ones, Max says, “We have Boutique Studios or the makers of Flow which won the 2025 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, where they used an open source software.”
Today, most award-winning films “originate independently and not from a studio system. We have seen animation grow from a Disney-controlled occasional film into a proper industry.”
When he joined as a member of the Academy, Max saus the 5,000 members, were mostly by white men. We took a stance that we needed to be more diverse, and now we are over 9,000 members and we are now represented much more internationally, which is also reflected in the voting.”
As someone who has worked across cultures, Max is hopeful about the Indian animation industry but believes it still has a long way to go. “The Indian film industry is extraordinary, but it travels only to a certain extent. If you want to tell a story that reaches a global audience, do not lose your culture. The trick is to tell a story in a structure that can travel beyond the shores of your country.”
Animation, Max says is not just for children. It is a wonderful opportunity to tell important stories.”
It is now being used to spread awareness on health and social issues, says Max. “Unlike live-action, Animation can break through the prejudice of time and space. “It appeals to everyone. If you see the character of Meena, created for a UNICEF cartoon, it allowed women to be recognised in a more forthright way.”
Published – March 28, 2025 10:44 am IST
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