Many people are aware of the influence that Disney had on anime after World War II. But most people don't know that Carl Barks (b. 1901 - d. 2000), the man that came to be associated most closely with Donald Duck and crew, was the animator who most influenced a young Osamu Tezuka (b. 1928 - d. 1989) who is known as the "Father of Anime."
Tezuka used many influences from Carl Barks' animation style, such as the large eyes and similar body structure. As seen above, he was a huge fan of Carl Barks and actually sent him holiday letters on a regular basis. Without Barks, anime wouldn't look like it does today.
