About This Episode

Joe chats with Lino DiSalvo about the benefits of pressure, risk taking and what working at Disney for 17 years taught him about the creative process. They also chat about transitioning in and out of our workday, how to make sense of criticism and what it means to find and create an emotional compass. Joe and Lino go on to talk about how sometimes we are being prepared for a future that we can’t see just yet and only upon reflection can we see how things may be guiding us towards something bigger.

About Lino DiSalvo

Lino DiSalvo is an Italian American animator, film director, writer and voice actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Franklin Square, Long Island. Lino’s Parents immigrated to the US from Castaldacca, a small town in Sicily, Italy to pursue the American dream. As a child, DiSalvo was a fan of the early animated feature films from Disney and then, as a teenager, became inspired to pursue animation after seeing The Lion King in 1994. With the encouragement of his parents, he left for Vancouver, Canada. After graduating from Vancouver Film School he joined Walt Disney Animation Studios.

DiSalvo spent almost 17 years at Disney and served as Head of Animation on Frozen. His other credits include supervising animator on Tangled and Bolt; and animator on Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little, 102 Dalmatians and Reign of Fire.

He served as Creative Director for Paramount Animation before joining Paris-based, ON Animation Studios (producers of 2016’s The Little Prince) as Head of Creative. Lino is Developing an Animated feature about Monsters, Wizards and Magical spells inspired by Italian folklore and draws heavily from his cultural heritage.

DiSalvo has also voiced the characters of “Vinnie the Pigeon” in Bolt, “Gristletoe Joe” in Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice, and “Robotitron” in the upcoming Playmobil: The Movie