Known for Art
In 1944 she was hired by Walt Disney Studios as a background artist. Her first credit for Disney was the animated short Donald’s Off Day (1944) and subsequently she worked on over twenty animated shorts featuring beloved Disney characters such as Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy and Chip ‘n’ Dale before being asked to contribute backgrounds to the feature-length production of Cinderella (1950). Much like Mary Blair, Witmer’s work was often surprisingly bold and modern and these two inventive artists both worked together with the animation team behind Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953). -http://moviemorlocks.com/2015/12/17/pioneering-women-disney-artists-mary-blair-thelma-witmer/
Born
June 18, 1901
Died
July 12, 1996 (age 95)
Birthplace
Nebraska, USA
Filmography
39 films, 1 show
Land Grab
Land Grab
1970 · 5m · US
The war is over, and a lot of land is up for settlers to grab. Hector Heathcote and his talking dog Winston have just been kicked out of the boarding house, and they have to join the land rush, too, in order to find a place to stay. Homesteaders Hector and Winston try to prevent their greedy, land-grabbing neighbor Benedict from taking over their property.


The Jungle Book
1967 · 1h 18m · US
The boy Mowgli makes his way to the man-village with Bagheera, the wise panther. Along the way he meets jazzy King Louie, the hypnotic snake Kaa and the lovable, happy-go-lucky bear Baloo, who teaches Mowgli "The Bare Necessities" of life and the true meaning of friendship.


Goliath II
1960 · 15m · US
Goliath II is a 6-inch-tall elephant (son of the huge Goliath). He's a big disappointment to his father, but mom is proud of Goliath II anyway. Goliath II is constantly getting into trouble because he's so small. In particular, the tiger Raja looks for every opportunity to try a bite-size taste of elephant. After one incident where he ran away and his mother scolded him, he runs away. After he's rescued, the rest of the elephants are terrified of a mouse, but Goliath II stands his ground.


Donald in Mathmagic Land
1959 · 27m · US
Disney used animation here to explain through this wonderful adventure of Donald how mathematics can be useful in our real life. Through this journey Donald shows us how mathematics are not just numbers and charts, but magical living things.


Duck Flies Coop
1959 · 1h · US
When Walt Disney learns via telegram that Donald Duck is quitting, he sends the studio publicity department to give the duck a taste of his own medicine. Meanwhile, Donald discovers the hard way that not everything is going according to plan.


Chips Ahoy
1956 · 6m · US
Chip and Dale are starving in their tree home when they notice a plentiful supply of acorns on an island in a lake. To get to the island, they borrow a miniature model ship of Donald's to sail on. The irate Donald, however, doesn't appreciate them stealing his ship and makes several attempts to get it back and thwart their scheme to get to their acorn paradise. Chip and Dale are, of course, always one step ahead of Donald.


Lion Social
1954 · 6m · US
The lion is trapped by the safari and brought to New York, where he's accidentally set free, but nobody is intimidated by him.


Ben and Me
1953 · 25m · US
A revisionist version of American history as a small mouse comes to live with Benjamin Franklin and turns out to be responsible for many of his ideas; including the beginning of the Declaration of Independance!


The New Neighbor
1953 · 7m · US
Donald moves into a new home, and discovers his new neighbor is a slob, a mooch, and has a dog that comes crashing through the fence and digging in Donald's garden. Eventually it escalates into a full-scale war, with crowds cheering and TV coverage.


Pluto's Christmas Tree
1952 · 7m · US
Pluto comes bounding outside to help Mickey get a Christmas tree. Chip 'n Dale see him and make fun of him, but the tree they take refuge in is the one Mickey chops down. They like the decorations, especially the candy canes and Mickey's bowl of mixed nuts. But Pluto spots them and goes after them long before Mickey spots them. Minnie, Donald, and Goofy drop by to sing carols.


Pluto's Party
1952 · 7m · US
It's Pluto's birthday party, but Mickey's dozen or so nephews seem to be having all the fun. Their present is a wagon so Pluto can pull them; the "Pin the Tail on Pluto" game doesn't go quite right, and everything seems to prevent Pluto from having his birthday cake. But Mickey has planned ahead.


Let's Stick Together
1952 · 7m · US
Even with his long white beard and aching back, an aging Donald still has to make ends meet by lancing trash in the park. When he happens upon his old partner, an elderly honey bee named Spike, it conjures up memories of the good ol' days.


Donald Applecore
1952 · 7m · US
Donald the apple farmer notices his apples have been nibbled on and catches Chip n' Dale in the act. In the ensuing battle, Donald uses a helicopter to spray them (but they have tiny gas masks). And then he brings in the really heavy artillery.


Bee On Guard
1951 · 7m · US
Gardener Donald spots bees in his garden and follows them back to the hive in search of honey. The bee guarding the hive won't let him in, so Donald disguises himself as a bee.


Corn Chips
1951 · 7m · US
Donald is shoveling the snow off his walk; Chip 'n' Dale are shoveling their branch. Donald tricks them into shoveling his walk. Angered, they sneak into his house, where he's getting ready to make popcorn. They've never seen this before, but they love it. They stow away in the box, then make off with the bowl of popped corn.


Out on a Limb
1950 · 7m · US
Donald's doing a little tree surgery when he spots Chip 'n' Dale gathering nuts. He saws off the branch outside their hole and paints it with tar, which Dale gets stuck in. Then Donald has a little fun with the long-handled pruning shears.


Trailer Horn
1950 · 6m · US
Donald and the chipmunks, Chip and Dale, are after each other again, this time when they come upon Donald vacationing in a trailer. When he goes swimming, they fool him by moving the diving board and end up wrecking his car.


Cinderella
1950 · 1h 14m · US
Cinderella has faith her dreams of a better life will come true. With help from her loyal mice friends and a wave of her Fairy Godmother's wand, Cinderella's rags are magically turned into a glorious gown and off she goes to the Royal Ball. But when the clock strikes midnight, the spell is broken, leaving a single glass slipper... the only key to the ultimate fairy-tale ending!


Lion Around
1950 · 7m · US
Donald's nephews use a mountain lion costume to scare Donald away so they can grab a pie off the windowsill. The deception is exposed, but a short while later, a real mountain lion comes along.


Toy Tinkers
1949 · 7m · US
When Donald Duck chops a Christmas tree, the inquisitive chipmunks Chip and Dale follow and see him decorate it with nuts and sweets. So they sneak in his home, determined to 'harvest' it all, using the toys for the Duck nephews, as if Christmas came early for them, so to say. Donald puts up an equally 'playful' yet grim defense, so it all rapidly escalates into a bitter miniature two-to-one-giant war over the Christmas-treats.


Slide Donald Slide
1949 · 7m · US
Baseball fan and would be-star Donald Duck enjoys listening to a World Series game on the radio and 'playing' the part of his favorite star Casey in his own yard. Unfortunately a melomanic apis melifera (Latin for honeybee) is as avid to listen on the same radio to a mellifluous symphony and play the director theatrically, waving a match as baton, instead of fertilizing his garden flowers. Donald first just turns the switch, then hides it, but the bee dials inside, so he tries to chase it, but is scared by the sting. The battle for channel choice gets worse, and vindictive.


All in a Nutshell
1949 · 7m · US
Donald steals Chip and Dale's nuts for his nut-butter shop, which is shaped like a giant walnut, Chip and Dale, roll and "shoot" Donald into a nearby lake.


Honey Harvester
1949 · 7m · US
Donald is working in his greenhouse when he notices a bee harvesting nectar (well, actually, it appears to already be honey). Donald tries various approaches to find the hive, which despite the bee's best efforts to throw him off, he eventually discovers in the radiator of an old car. He drains the honey and starts to leave when the bee spots him and mounts an attack. The bee adds a cactus needle to extend his stinger. Donald relents and returns the honey all but one jar, until the bee spots him.


Winter Storage
1949 · 7m · US
It's October 7th and Chip is working industriously to store enough acorns in the tree for the winter. Dale would rather sleep in his matchbox, but an angry kick from Chip gets him working furiously. But there's only so much they can do. Their tree is nearly out of acorns. Luckily, the two semi-intelligible chipmunks happen to see the half-unintelligible Donald Duck, a park ranger, planting acorns. They immediately set to steal his bag of the precious nuts. Donald soon realizes what they are up to, and sets out a box propped up with a stick. It's a crude trap, with an acorn as bait; but it's not too crude to fool Dale, who upsets it and traps Chip. Soon, Donald finds he can have fun instigating a fight between these two quarrelsome chipmunks, but he underestimates their friendship and their ability to work as a team against a common enemy: in this case, a bad-tempered duck.


Sea Salts
1949 · 7m · US
'Mac' Bootle Beetle tells, referring to the ship's log, how he and captain Donald Duck were sole survivors of a shipwreck. The insect always suspected the duck wasn't quite fair, actually he was constantly cheated out of his rations share and used as angling bait without realizing it, both on the wreckage raft and after they drifted onto a deserted island, but ultimately they were rescued and stayed together for life, although even at their ripe age Donald.


Tea for Two Hundred
1948 · 6m · US
Donald is preparing a little picnic when he sees some ants passing by. He decides to tease one, ultimately by piling lots of food onto it. The ant eventually stumbles, but realizes Donald is sitting on a veritable gold mine. He rallies his fellow ants, and while Donald is napping, they cart him to a cliff and drop him into the river. When he returns to the raid in progress, he finds himself powerless to stop it. He dynamites the ant hill, but that only separates the ledge he's standing on, and he finds himself in the river again as the ants finish off a cupcake.


Three for Breakfast
1948 · 7m · US
Donald Duck gets into a lot of trouble while he's cooking pancakes for breakfast - Chip and Dale are up to their mischief. Donald tries a number of plans to get rid of them, but they repeatedly foil Donald's plans.


Inferior Decorator
1948 · 6m · US
A bee is flying among Donald's flowers when he notices a veritable paradise of flowers in the guise of wallpaper Donald is hanging. The bee is rather frustrated when he is unable to stay on the flowers so Donald has some fun with the bee tormenting him with the fake flowers. The bee gets his revenge when Donald is accidentally pasted to the ceiling by the wallpaper making him an easy target for the bee's stinger.


Daddy Duck
1948 · 7m · US
For some reason, Donald adopts a baby. It turns out not to be a duck, but a kangaroo. Donald takes little Joey home and tries to make him take a bath, with the help of the friendly lady of the adoption bureau on the telephone telling him what to do. After the bath, Donald's baby is scared by the rug made of a bear.


Bootle Beetle
1947 · 7m · US
An older beetle of a rare variety advises a young passerby against crossing a stream, where he is likely to get trapped by bug collector Donald, as he himself almost was when he was young.


Clown of the Jungle
1947 · 6m · US
In the African jungle, the narrator introduces us to the various birds living there and to wildlife photographer Donald Duck intent on getting some pictures. Unfortunately, all his attempts to photograph birds are ruined by the "clown of the jungle", the Aracuan Bird. Example: when Donald attempts to photograph a chorus line of hummingbirds, the Aracuan Bird interrupts the picture with a Russian kick dance. Donald becomes aggravated to the point where he gives chase but the bird always manages to outsmart Donald and make short work of his sanity.


Straight Shooters
1947 · 6m · US
Donald runs a shooting gallery. His nephews come by and he offers them a free shot, but when the first one hits all the targets, the notoriously cheap Donald switches a cheap prize for the correct one. He then gives the other two boys gimmicked guns; the last one is empty, but the targets break anyway because one boy is hitting them from behind. Donald chases them off; they use the mystic's booth next door to get revenge.


Frank Duck Brings 'em Back Alive
1946 · 7m · US
Wild man of the jungle Goofy is swinging through the treetops when he notices great white hunter Donald Duck pulling into port on his safari boat. He is looking for a wild man of the jungle and Goofy offers himself to Donald...if Donald can catch him which leads the duo on a wild chase through the jungle. Eventually they are pursued in their chase by a lion having switched clothes so that Donald is the wild man and Goofy is the hunter. Goofy escapes in Donald's boat leaving Donald swinging through the trees to escape the lion.


A Knight for a Day
1946 · 7m · US
By accident, Cedric (Goofy), replaces his master, Sir Loinsteak, in the armor just before the joust with champion Sir Cumference.


No Sail
1945 · 8m · US
Donald and Goofy rent a sailboat. This boat is a bit unusual: to rent it, you put a nickel in a slot, and the mast and sail pop up. Unfortunately, after a while, they pop back down. When Donald runs out of nickels, they are marooned. Goofy waves his shirt at a passing cruise ship, but they (and he) mistake this for a friendly greeting. A flying fish lands in the boat; while the boys fight over it, a gull grabs it. They try to bash the gull, which lands atop their heads, with predictable results. Finally, as the sharks circle, they try fishing, with Donald as the unwitting bait. He eventually lands back in the boat, where his bill lands in the coin slot and gives them a way home.


The Eyes Have It
1945 · 7m · US
Donald receives a mail order hypnosis kit complete with hypnotic goggles and decides to test it on Pluto. Using the goggles, he convinces Pluto he is a mouse, a turtle, and a chicken. Each "transformation" Pluto undergoes Donald finds extremely funny so he keeps at it until he notices chicken Pluto getting into a fight with a rooster. Donald helps Pluto win the fight by making him think he's a lion but, unfortunately, the goggles break and Donald is chased about by Pluto until he regains his senses after a fall.


Donald's Off Day
1944 · 7m · US
Donald's got the day off, and all he can think of is golf until it rains as soon as he sets foot outside. He takes it out on his nephews. When he's sitting around moping, they take revenge by playing off his hypochondria.


First Aiders
1944 · 7m · US
Minnie's learning first aid; she asks Pluto and Figaro for help. Pluto keeps throwing Figaro into buckets and otherwise getting him into trouble. Then, when Minnie has Pluto all trussed up in splints, Figaro taunts him.