Ward Kimball, who became one of Walt Disney's trusted "Nine Old Men" and helped develop or refine such characters as Mickey Mouse and Jiminy Cricket, has died. He was 88.

Kimball, who joined the Disney organization in 1934, animated or served as directing animator on such classics as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,""Pinocchio,""Fantasia" and "Peter Pan."

"Ward's passing is a tremendous loss to the animation community and to our studio," said Roy E. Disney, vice chairman of the Walt Disney Co. and nephew of founder Walt Disney. "He was a brilliant animator and filmmaker with a distinctive style and humor all his own."

Among Kimball's contributions were the redesign of Mickey Mouse and the creation of Jiminy Cricket for "Pinocchio." Kimball said he drew more than a dozen versions of Jiminy before ending up with a figure that "looked like Mr. Pickwick, but with no ears, no nose and no hair."

After a stint as an animator on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," he was promoted to animation supervisor on "Dumbo,""Fantasia,""The Three Caballeros,""Alice in Wonderland,""Cinderella" and "Peter Pan."

Through the Walt Disney Classics Collection, many of these characters have been immortalized into 3D sculptures to always remind us of the contribution made by Disney Legend Ward Kimball for us to enjoy for many years to come.  August 2002, Walt Disney Art Classics will be releasing the Mad Tea Party scene (pictured above) featuring the Mad Hatter and March Hare.  Ward brough his love of vaudville humor and his own zany sensibility to this much loved sequence from the 1951 animated classic, "Alice in Wonderland".