Photo: CaseyJNewell / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Andreas Deja earns my genuine respect. Polish-born, German-raised, and American by craft, he became one of Disney's defining hand-drawn animators, and what fascinates me most is his villain pedigree: Gaston, Jafar, and Scar all carry his fingerprints. Making a character repellent yet impossible to look away from is a rare gift, and his line work pulses with that menace and charisma. His 2015 Disney Legends honor feels entirely deserved. I especially value that he kept the warmth of pencil-drawn animation alive as the industry rushed toward computers. To me, an artist this devoted to a single craft is the most admirable kind there is.
Overview
Andreas Deja (born 1 April 1957) is a Polish-born German-American character animator most noted for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Deja's work includes serving as supervising animator on characters in several Disney animated films, including King Triton and Vanessa in The Little Mermaid, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Jafar in Aladdin, and Scar in The Lion King, the titular character in Hercules, Lilo Pe…
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Andreas Deja
- Name (Japanese)
- アンドレアス・デジャ
- Reading
- あんどれあす・でじゃ
- Born
- April 1, 1957 (age 69)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Rooster
- Origin
- Gdańsk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- character animator / character designer / animator / comics artist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Folkwang University of the Arts
Awards & achievements
- 2015 Disney Legends
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.