What was the cause of his death?

According to imdb, complications from the flu

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0949954/bio

Pete Young worked on many of my favorite Disney films...he died all too young, but his work will always be remembered.  Great article, Mr. Norman- I can't wait for the rest of the series!

p.s.- "The Great Mouse Detective" isn't any more or less "stupid"/boring/unoriginal as movie titles featuring a name ("Pinocchio", "Dumbo", "Bambi", etc.), or something like "The Lion King"...

Yeah, I've never yet understood why "The Great Mouse Detective" is called a bad title. I'd call it a step up.

I've never actually seen Oliver & Company, which probably explains why it wasn't until now that I never made the Oliver Twist connection. It makes complete sense now.

A few months before "Basil of Baker Street" was to be released, "Young Sherlock Holmes" hit the theatres to mediocre reviews and a tepid box office.... and it was a Spielberg production! So the powers that be and marketing people decided that any title that hinted at a Holmes story was box office poison. So they dropped the Baker Street reference. Naturally, everyone working on the film for the previous few years had fallen in love with the cool title, the Holmes reference and the alliteration (after all, it was the title of the book on which it was based). Then it was dropped for the stark "The Great Mouse Detective". Soon afterward, a fake memo was distributed through the studio announcing the changes of other titles, as well: Pinocchio was to be come "A Little Wooden Boy", Dumbo would be changed to "The Flying Elephant", etc, etc.

I watched "Oliver and Company" the other day, and it was kind of painful. The Joel-voiced dog is too much like the Tramp - except he has none of the Tramp's charm - and the animation is soooo below par for Disney. The most evident example of this is when Georgette (the snooty poodle voiced by Bette Midler) sings "Perfect's Not Easy": it's a terrific song, and Midler really sells it - but the animation doesn't. It's cliched, mechanical, and lacks the oomph evident in a similar song voiced by a similar character - Peg from "Lady and the Tramp" in her torch song "He's A Tramp". "The Great Mouse Detective" has similar flaws; it too has very weak animation, and its only saving grace is the wonderful voice work by Vincent Price for the villainous character Ratigan. Films like "Oliver" and "Mouse Detective" are really sad little things; not until "Little Mermaid" did Disney start to recover the magic lost when Walt died. Anyway, thanks for the article, Floyd; your writings are greatly appreciated even by over-picky Disneyphiles like me.

To gigglesock:

Neither of these movies were meant to have "glorious" animation. But then again neither did 101 Dalamations or The Aristocats or others. Oliver and Company especially had a more "gritty" animation style. Although I am not a big fan of the animation, not EVERY film has to have the same style.

As to Oliver and Company, I love the music, but was not a big fan of the big chase at the end. I wasn't a big fan of the climax. But I wasn't a big fan of The Little Mermaid's climax either.

I actually always preferred "The Great Mouse Detective" as a title. But maybe I'm crazy or have no taste. Mr. Norman always knows what he's talking about so I'll defer to him...

Always sad when someone full of talent and promise dies, let alone so young. This kind of stuff scares me -- I'm only 28, and a freelance artist... Could I not be as immortal or as invincible as I feel??

That is SO sad. He was SO young, and you know, maybe because of his passing, we lost a lot.. and thats why the animated features are declining in quality.  Oliver and Company is also one of the best that Disney has put out, and my love for the 80s is one of the reasons I love it. Billy Joel, Cheech, Huey Lewis AND Bette Midler??? Come ON! Where are the movies like THAT anymore??

Thank you again! I love this stuff!! :D