Young was brother of Chinese politician Yang Qianli (father of Hong Kong director Evan Yang), architect Yang Xiliu (S. J. Young), Entrepreneur Yang Xiren and Yang Renlan (mother of sociologist Fei Xiaotong).[4] He had works in China called Pause and New Year.[5] Young's first work in United States was as lead animator on the 1931 short "Mendelssohn's Spring Song", a project completed while he was a student in New York City. Disney was so impressed with his work that he hired him to be head of the new special effects animation department and he partnered with animator Ugo D'Orsi.
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote in their book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life; "Through the entire thirties, the entire Effects Department consisted of only two men: Ugo D'Orsi, a straightforward, stubborn, and dedicated Italian, and Cy Young...quiet and sensitive...who loved to play the bass fiddle as a hobby. ... Since [D'Orsi and Young] did most of the careful work themselves, they needed only a single assistant between them." The department's first major project was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[3] Young also worked on Fantasia[3] and Dumbo.[3] He was an uncredited animator on Bambi (1942).
Young left the studio after the 1941 Disney animators' strike and worked as a staff artist and clerk at the Air Force, where he worked on various projects. On January 16, 1964, he died from barbiturate poisoning.[1]
^Yin, Fujun (2013). "万氏兄弟早期动画作品《舒振东华文打字机》创作时间及相关问题" [Some problem about Wan brother's early animation work Shuzhendong Chinese Typewriter]. Journal of Chengdu University(Social Sciences) (in Chinese) (1). Archived from the original on 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2018-07-27. 而杨左匋在1923年创作的《暂停》及《过年》两部动画短片是中国最早的动画片,中国动画诞生于1923年。
