Don Bluth

Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth (born September 13, 1937) is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for leaving The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and later directing of animated movies such as "The Secret of NIMH" (1982), "An American Tail" (1986), "The Land Before Time" (1988), "All Dogs Go to Heaven" (1989), "Anastasia" (1997), and "Titan A.E." (2000), as well as his work on the laserdisc game "Dragon's Lair". 
He is also often credited for providing competition to Disney, and making them improve from their streak of less-successful movie efforts to the movies that would make up the Disney Renaissance.