---
name: "Ron Clements"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ron-clements"
fi1m_id: "ron-clements"
imdb_id: "nm0166256"
tmdb_id: 15810
wikidata_id: "Q930209"
roles: ["Writer","Director","Producer"]
born: "25 April 1953"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 54
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-24T02:00:34.489744+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ron Clements

## Identity

Ron Clements

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ron-clements
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ron-clements
- **IMDb ID:** nm0166256
- **TMDB ID:** 15810
- **Wikidata ID:** Q930209
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Clements, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q930209, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166256/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15810

Writer and director. Born 25 April 1953 in Sioux City, Iowa, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Director, Producer
- **Born:** 25 April 1953, Sioux City, Iowa, USA
- **Active:** 1989–present
- **Also known as:** رون كليمنتس
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 7: 5 directing, 2 writing
- **Frequently works with:** [John Musker](https://film.one/person/john-musker.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 3 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 54, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 80 (1), 1990s 78 (2), 2000s 72 (1), 2010s 82 (1), 2020s 54 (2)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Clements, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q930209, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166256/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15810

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Moana*](https://film.one/film/moana.md) (82), [*Aladdin*](https://film.one/film/aladdin.md) (82), [*The Little Mermaid*](https://film.one/film/the-little-mermaid-1989.md) (80), [*Hercules*](https://film.one/film/hercules.md) (75), [*The Princess and the Frog*](https://film.one/film/the-princess-and-the-frog.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Ron Clements

> Ron Clements and his long-standing directing partner John Musker make animated musicals with brisk storytelling and room for unruly comedy. *Aladdin* shows how well that works, even when the lovers struggle to hold our attention.

The Genie talks, and the animation has to keep up. *Aladdin* (1992) gives Robin Williams room to interrupt a simple story without bringing it to a halt. We laughed at the Genie's interruptions, with the animation keeping pace with Williams's voice. Clements and co-director John Musker leave room for those interruptions without letting the film dawdle.

Their directing partnership began with *The Great Mouse Detective* (1986), before *The Little Mermaid* (1989) established the musical fairy tale as a central part of their work. On *The Little Mermaid*, lyricist and story contributor Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken were important collaborators. Ashman's influence on Clements lay in making music and performance carry the story. That helps explain the strength of *Aladdin*: the songs bring a warmth that its spoken exchanges sometimes lack.

The weakness is in how insistently Aladdin and Jasmine explain themselves. Scott Weinger and Linda Larkin give the speaking roles an appealing directness, but the screenplay keeps reminding us what the pair need to learn. Clements shares that writing credit with Musker, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. We understand the lovers' wishes without feeling much urgency about their getting them, which leaves the romance thin beside the Genie.

The later career includes the long-developed personal project *Treasure Planet* (2002). After a period away from directing, *The Princess and the Frog* (2009) brought a return to hand-drawn animation and another fairy-tale setting. *Moana* (2016), his final directorial feature before retirement, again drew on his ability to work through multiple versions of a story.

We would be wary of assigning every success or weakness to Clements alone when so much of the work is shared with Musker. What we value in *Aladdin* is their willingness to let a comic performance interrupt the storytelling without losing the thread. Start with *Aladdin* for the songs and the Genie; the romance requires a little patience.

## Biography

Ron Clements (born 25 April 1953) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter and producer. He frequently collaborates with director John Musker.

Clements began his career as an animator at Hanna-Barbera before joining Walt Disney Animation Studios. He worked as a character animator on films including *The Rescuers* (1977) and became supervising animator on *The Fox and the Hound* (1981). He made his directorial debut with Musker on *The Great Mouse Detective* (1986).

Clements and Musker are known for writing and directing the Disney animated features *The Little Mermaid* (1989), *Aladdin* (1992), *Hercules* (1997), *Treasure Planet* (2002), *The Princess and the Frog* (2009) and *Moana* (2016). Clements also received producer credit on *Aladdin*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, catalog.afi.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

### Directed (5)

- *Moana* (2016), Fi1m 82, Director, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/moana.md)
- *The Princess and the Frog* (2009), Fi1m 72, Story, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-princess-and-the-frog.md)
- *Hercules* (1997), Fi1m 75, Director, Screenplay, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/hercules.md)
- *Aladdin* (1992), Fi1m 82, Director, Screenplay, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/aladdin.md)
- *The Little Mermaid* (1989), Fi1m 80, Writer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-mermaid-1989.md)

### Wrote (2) — the average rests on these

- *Moana* (2026), Fi1m 50, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/moana-2026.md)
- *The Little Mermaid* (2023), Fi1m 58, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-mermaid.md)

## Complete filmography (23)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Moana* (2026), Original Film Writer — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/moana-2026.md)
- *The Little Mermaid* (2023), Original Film Writer — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-mermaid.md)
- *The Little Mermaid Live!* (2019), Writer, Characters
- *Gone Fishing* (2017), Director
- *Moana* (2016), Story, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/moana.md)
- *The Princess and the Frog* (2009), Director, Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/the-princess-and-the-frog.md)
- *The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning* (2008), Original Film Writer
- *Treasure Planet* (2002), Director, Screenplay, Producer, Story
- *The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea* (2000), Characters
- *Hercules: Zero to Hero* (1999), Characters
- *Hercules* (1998), series, Characters
- *Hercules* (1997), Director, Screenplay, Producer — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/hercules.md)
- *Great Minds Think for Themselves* (1997), series, Characters
- *Aladdin* (1994), series, Characters
- *Aladdin* (1992), Director, Screenplay, Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/aladdin.md)
- *The Little Mermaid* (1989), Director, Writer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-mermaid-1989.md)
- *The Great Mouse Detective* (1986), Director, Screenplay
- *Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore* (1983), Story
- *The Fox and the Hound* (1981), Animation Director
- *Pete's Dragon* (1977), Animation
- *The Rescuers* (1977), Animation
- *Shades of Sherlock Holmes!* (1972), as (voice) · Director, Writer, Producer, Layout, Background Designer, Animation, Music Arranger
- *Aladdin: Live from the West End*, Original Film Writer

## Gallery

- ![Ron Clements](https://film.one/media/person/81166/gallery-d01e7481cf45.jpg) Ron Clements — Boungawa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Ron_Clements_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Ron Clements au festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy 2016](https://film.one/media/person/81166/gallery-103ea511ed6a.jpg) Ron Clements au festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy 2016 — Boungawa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Ron_Clements.jpg/1280px-Ron_Clements.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ron Clements](https://film.one/media/person/81166/gallery-0acaedf5bf05.jpg) Ron Clements — Image via TMDB
- ![Ron Clements](https://film.one/media/person/81166/gallery-1540b611d1dc.jpg) Ron Clements — Image via TMDB
- ![Ron Clements](https://film.one/media/person/81166/gallery-c999a0ab809b.jpg) Ron Clements — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 3 nominated

- 2017: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *Moana*
- 2010: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *The Princess and the Frog*
- 2003: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *Treasure Planet*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ron-clements