I try to make it a practice of listening to what others have to say regarding people whom I've never met, as is the situation with Mr. Bluth, before I form an opinion. In this case, I have some thoughts that I'd like to share. Hopefully they'll find their way to the man himself.

Many people are angry at Don. Many people direct their anger at his creative accomplishments. I'd certainly be upset if I were under his employ and didn't get paid. But as Shakespork, I mean, Shakepeare once wrote... The good is often buried and the bad remembered. But let's not let that be the case here. Let's take a look at the good while we can and understand the importance of this great artist to our industry.

We sit here and babble about revolution, about reform, about doing things on our own, taking control, saving the art, running and managing our own affairs, establishing direct relationships with production capital, so on. I've got this web site and a school which I use to contribute in this effort.

But Don Bluth did it like no one has ever done before and may never do again.

Lest we forget, this man and his team produced an astoundingly good animated TV special in his garage, all the while working at their regular jobs during the week. It was and still is better than most studios today could do if at all, even with their digital production arsenals and international production connections.

Don Bluth led a walkout of some of the top animation artists at the Disney lot in 1979 and started his own studio by initiating production on a feature film. At a time when the industry thought that the animated feature was dead. Show me one animator at Disney today who's got the intestinal fortitude or the testicular prowess to do what this man did 23 years ago. Before many of you on this board were ever even born.

Show me one of Disney's top guns who's got the courage to stop sucking on the mouses tit long enough to make an appearance, as a courtesy if nothing else, at our April 1 meeting, much less go off on their own. Think Glen Keane or Andreas Deja is ever gonna do what Bluth did? Hell no they won't. And no other artist in the not so magic castle will do it either. Perhaps never again in my lifetime.

Jeffrey Katzenberg was the only other person to do it. And he's not an animator. And his exodus didn't even remotely affect Disney's production capabilities like Bluth's did.

Don Bluth hit the monkey right where it hurts the most.

Remember how Don rallied his artists by heralding the Second Golden Age of Animation? He was right! He was ahead of his time and he played the most significant part of the rebirth of feature animation and the market it currently enjoys.

The Secret of Nimh was a masterpiece of its time. Who could ever forget the initial impact of the scene with the cobweb covered owl. Space Ace and Dragon's Lair were monumental. Who ever heard of interactive video games before this. He pioneered an entire new aspect of the animation industry.

And of course, An American Tail. How many of you realize that before 1982, 19 of the top 20 animated features of all time were Disney films. The only one that wasn't was Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the cat and it was very low on the list. With the release of American Tail in '86, it became the highest grossing animated feature in first theatrical run in history. Don Bluth's movie was directly responsible for knocking Disney to its senses. That's where Eisner's committment to a feature a year began.

The hardest thing to do in animation is to move an audience to tears. That's exactly what Don did with the ending of All Dogs Go To Heaven. I heard little kids sobbing in the theater when it was time for Charlie to go back. Only Walt Disney himself could have done a better job.

How many people did he keep employed over the years? How much money have his films made for studios? Show me anyone else today besides John Lasseter who has a greater legacy of succes with independent production other than Don Bluth.

Bad mouth his movies? Try and make one. Try and produce an animated feature. Try and get one financed. Try and run a major world class studio and still find time to draw.

So Mr. Bluth, if you should perhaps read this, thanks for being such a great personal inspiration to me and to many others. Animation Nation is trying in its own way, to carry on the legacy of what you started all those years ago.

Article 1 of 6, Article ID: 8801300706

Published on July 28, 1988, Daily News of Los Angeles (CA)

CHILD ACTRESS, MOTHER KILLED
VICTIMS OF FIERY MURDER-SUICIDE STAGED BY FATHER,
POLICE SAY

A child actress who starred in last summer's "Jaws IV: The Revenge" and her mother were killed
Wednesday in a fiery murder-suicide initiated by her father, who then shot himself, police said.

Neighbors identified the dead as Maria Barsi and her daughter Judith, 10, who also played Jeff
MacDonald's daughter in the television movie "Fatal
Vision."

Judith was born on the 6th of June in 1977. Maria, herself, aspired to be an actress but never made it. The odds that Judith would become an actress were 10,000 to 1 but she beat those odds when she was discovered at age 5 at a San Fernando Valley Skating Rink. She was mistaken for a three-year-old child. One of Ruth’s clients was doing a commercial and brought her in. Judith was cute, precocious, intelligent and a lot of fun to work with. They signed her on immediately. She would appear in 70 commercials, four made for television movies, and three big screen movies. Denise Galik-Furey, a co-star from Eye of the Tiger, said of Judith:

“She seemed like such a sweet, down-to-earth kid. She was a happy, happy little girl that I could see with her mom.”

But, in 1986, Judith’s 9-year-old life became a sheer nightmare. Her $100,000 income bought them a four-bedroom house on West Hill on a quiet street. The first thing Jozef did was have a fence with iron spikes built all the way around the house. A neighbor said of him that he would always keep the conversation to a minimum and was very secretive. To deal with the daily frustrations of his daughter’s career and income, he would reach for the bottle; he often became frustrated. Whenever he was drunk, he was violent and abusive. He would threaten to kill his wife and then beat her.

One night while having a party at their house, Jozef was enraged by all the attention his daughter was getting from their guests. She had gone into the kitchen and her father followed her. Calling her a “damn little brat”, he seized her ponytail and thrust her onto the floor. Judith told no one about this incident with the exception of an elementary school friend.

Soon after, landed a major role in Jaws: the Revenge, filmed in the Bahamas. The night before she left for shooting Jozef grabbed a large kitchen knife and pulled her head back, placing the blade right on her throat.

“If you don’t come back,” he hissed, “I will find you and kill you!”

Judith was hysterical and told her mother. Everyday, it was getting worse. Judith did the only thing she knew to do: she went to adults around for help. But it couldn’t be stopped. One day, Ruth noticed that Judith had plucked her eyebrows out, had no eyelashes, and had plucked out all her cats’ whiskers in a mood of stress.

“When I asked why, [she did that] she said it was because of all the problems at home,” Ruth said.

Ruth referred Judith to a child psychologist. The psychologist said the verbal, mental, emotional and physical abuse was so bad that they must file a report as soon as possible. The psychologist explained to Maria she also must fill out a report and turn it in. She did, but no one followed up on it. Maria later had the case be dropped because Jozef had convinced her he would grant her a divorce and he would move out.

Tuesday, July 27, 1988:
Judith Barsi was found in her bed on her left side, panties and nightgown on, apparently still asleep. Elbow up—she had been shot clean through her head. She died instantly. She was 11 years old.

When Maria heard the first shot, she came running toward Judith’s room. Jozef met her in the hall. She was found there, face down, nightgown also still on. She was 48 years old.

Jozef then proceeded to drench their bodies in gasoline and set them on fire. He then went into the garage, put the gun to his own temple, and pulled the trigger. He was 53 years old.

I had not known any of this! Both Anne Marie and especially Ducky are two of my favorite recent children's voices in an animated feature! (I'm sorry,but reading about this and writing a reply is really hard to see through the tears right now...)...Both voices were clear and honest and perfectly suited to their characters. Ducky especially delights me no end...with her "YUP,YUP,YUP!"And her "Oh no...no,no,no,no...." So positive and life afirming especially now knowing the hell her father put her and her mother through.It's a miracle that she could muster any kind of performance at all!I can't imagine sitting at a desk working on an animated feature and having this news delivered by Don!

All I can say is...