John Canemaker (born 1943) is an Academy Award-winning independent animator, animation historian, teacher, lecturer, and author perhaps best known for his many books about the Disney studio, including Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation.In 1980, he began teaching and developing the animation program at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts', Kanbar Institute of Film and Television Department. Since 1988 he has directed the program and is currently a tenured full professor. From 2001-2002 he was Acting Chair of the NYU Undergraduate Film and Television Department. In 2006, his film The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation, a 28-minute animated piece about Canemaker's relationship with his father, won the Academy Award for best animated short. In 2007 the same piece picked up an Emmy award for its graphic and artistic design.


His first book, The Animated Raggedy Ann and Andy, detailing the making of an animated feature based on Johnny Gruelle’s storybook characters, was published in 1977. Eight more books followed: Treasures of Disney Animation Art (1982),Winsor McCay: His Life and Art (1987), Felix: The Twisted Tale of the World’s Most Famous Cat (1991), Tex Avery: The MGM Years (1996), Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists (1996), Paper Dreams: The Art and Artists of Disney Storyboards (1999), Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation (2001), The Art and Flair of Mary Blair (2003), and a revised and updated edition of Winsor McCay (2005).