Oscar-winning Disney animator meets crews who rescued him during Arizona hike

PHOENIX (Video above: KPNX via CNN Newsource) —

An Oscar-winning Disney animator who’s contributed to the cherished stories of “The Little Mermaid” and “Tangled” recently had what he described as a fairytale moment — meeting the first responders who rescued him from a mountaintop during a hike.

“I mean I’ve animated dramatic wonderful moments at the end of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘Tarzan,’ and ‘Aladdin,’ that’s nothing compared to being the object of such self-sacrifice,” Glen Keane told KPNX in Phoenix.

On July 29, Keane, 72, was hiking Arizona’s Mummy Mountain with his grandchildren when he realized he needed help. That’s when a helicopter was called in.

“We could tell he was in a weird spot,” said Phoenix Fire Captain Patrick O’Neill. “They were only maybe 30 feet above us, usually they’re a lot higher, so our concerns there were rotor wash, wind blowing us around, we just made sure all the guys were in a safe location so nobody slipped.”

Ultimately, crews were able to get Keane to safety.

“His rescue was no different than the ones that we do, it was just on a different mountain and a different position,” O’Neill said.

A week after his rescue, Keane said he was grateful for the team that made it happen.

“I think it’s the most difficult thing for somebody to say: I can’t, I need help. And I got to that point, and I was so thankful there was somebody I could call,” Keane said. “I’ve done a lot of animated fairytales, but this was a real life one, and I really wanted to see the crew who were responsible for that.”

As a token of his appreciation, Keane presented the department with a drawn tribute to his rescuers.

“I can’t just go off into the sunset and be happy, I felt like I really needed to say thank you to what you guys did, thank you all of you,” he said.