Kelly Asbury

Kelly Adam Asbury (January 15, 1960 – June 26, 2020) was an American animated film director, screenwriter, voice actor, published children's book author/illustrator, and non-fiction author. He was best known for directing animated films, including Shrek 2, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and Gnomeo & Juliet.

Kelly Asbury
Asbury in 2016
Born
Kelly Adam Asbury

(1960-01-15)January 15, 1960
Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
DiedJune 26, 2020(2020-06-26) (aged 60)
Encino, California, U.S.
Alma materLamar University California Institute of the Arts
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter, voice actor, artist, author, illustrator
Years active1982–2019
EmployerWalt Disney Animation Studios (1983–1995, 2009–2013)
DreamWorks Animation (1995–2009)
Notable work
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Shrek 2
Gnomeo & Juliet
Smurfs: The Lost Village
UglyDolls
Spouse(s)
Loretta Weeks
​
​
(m. 1990; div. 2006)​

Jacquie Boggs
​
(m. after 2011)​

Early life

Asbury was born in Beaumont, Texas, the son of Josephine Margaret (Lebeouf) and Donald Leslie Asbury. His father Donald died from cancer when Asbury was 12 years old. [1] He attended Lamar University for two years before transferring to the renowned California Institute of the Arts in 1980, where he studied animation and filmmaking.[2]

Career

Asbury got his start at Walt Disney Feature Animation from 1983 to 1995, and contributed storyboards for several animated films including The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, as well as Pixar's first feature film, Toy Story.[3] In 1993, he was the assistant art director on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.[4]

In 1995, he began working for DreamWorks Animation, and directed two Academy Award-nominated feature films, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) and Shrek 2 (2004). In addition to directing, Asbury provided some of the extra voices in Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third.

Asbury directed and co-wrote the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), for which he also provided the voices of the tiny Red Goon Gnomes. He was nominated for two Annie Awards for directing and co-writing that film.[5]

In 2003, he wrote a non-fiction book titled Dummy Days, which is a biography of five 20th century ventriloquists. He was the author and illustrator of twelve published children's books,[6] including Rusty's Red Vacation, Bonnie's Blue House, and Yolanda's Yellow School.[7]

In mid-2011 to mid-2012, Asbury briefly returned to Disney to contribute storyboards to Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen. His final directing credits were Smurfs: The Lost Village for Sony Pictures Animation and UglyDolls for STX Entertainment.

Unrealized projects
  • Shrek – In 1997, Asbury was tapped to make his directorial debut with a film adaptation of the children's book Shrek! alongside Andrew Adamson. He dropped out a year later in favor of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and was replaced by Vicky Jenson; but he remained on board as a story artist on the finished film. He later co-directed its sequel Shrek 2.
  • Pooch Café – In 2011, Asbury was brought in by Sony Pictures Animation to write a new draft for a film adaptation of the Pooch Café comic strip.[8][9]
  • Will Gallows and the Snake-Bellied Troll – In 2011, following the success of Gnomeo and Juliet, Asbury was hired by Rocket Pictures to write and direct a live-action/animated film based on the children's book Will Gallows and the Snake-Bellied Troll. The film would've been Asbury's first foray into live-action filmmaking.[10]
  • Kazorn & The Unicorn – In 2012, Deadline reported that Asbury was in the talks with Sony Pictures Animation to make an animated fantasy film titled Kazorn & The Unicorn. It would have followed the adventures of a young man and a unicorn as he seeks to locate a powerful weapon and prove his worth to his true love. Lloyd Taylor was writing the screenplay. Sam Raimi, Josh Donen, and Russell Hollander were producing the film.[11] Troy Quane was later hired to co-direct the film with Asbury, but the film has since been put on hold.[12]
  • Horacio 3D - In 2013, Asbury was tapped as a screenwriter for a spin-off animated film adaptation of the Monica's Gang character Horacio for Brazil, then scheduled to be released in 2017. According to animator Fábio Mendes, Asbury was also intended to direct the film.[13] But as of 2020, nothing has come from the project.[14]

Personal life

On June 26, 2020, Asbury died of abdominal cancer in his Encino home at age 60.[15][16]

Filmography
Year Title Notes
1984 The Littles Storyboards (8 episodes)
1985 The Black Cauldron Inbetween artist
1987 Sport Goofy in Soccermania Short
Layout Artist
1989 The Little Mermaid Visual development artist
1990 The Rescuers Down Under Character designer, storyboard artist, visual development
Roller Coaster Rabbit Short
Art Director
1991 Beauty and the Beast Story, visual development artist
1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas Assistant art director
1994 Scooby Doo in Arabian Nights Director
1995 Toy Story Story artist
1996 Quack Pack Storyboard: Ducky Dearest
James and the Giant Peach Storyboard supervisor with Joe Ranft
Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story Video Game
Additional story and writing
1998 Histeria! Storyboard artist: The American Revolution
The Prince of Egypt Artistic Supervisor: story with Lorna Cook and Ronnie del Carmen
2000 Chicken Run Additional story artist
2001 Shrek Story artist, special thanks
2002 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Director with Lorna Cook [directorial debut]
2004 Shrek 2 Director with Andrew Adamson and Conrad Vernon, voices: Page, Elf, and Nobleman, ADR group
2005 100 Greatest Cartoons Documentary
Himself
2007 Shrek the Third Voices: Master of Ceremonies and Fiddlesworth, special thanks
2008 Kung Fu Panda Additional story artist
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
2009 I'm No Dummy Documentary
Himself
The BackStage Pass TV Special
Himself
2011 Gnomeo and Juliet Director, screenwriter, story, voices: Red Good Gnomes
Made in Hollywood Himself (1 episode)
Jeff Dunham: Birth of a Dummy TV Special
Himself
2012 Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition Himself (1 episode)
Wreck-It Ralph Story artist
2013 Frozen
2014 Lennon or McCartney Documentary short
Himself
Achmed Saves America Original character designer
2017 Smurfs: The Lost Village Director, voice: Nosey Smurf
Cake Wars Himself: guest judge
2018 Sherlock Gnomes Based on characters, creative consultant, storyboard artist, voices: Goons
2019 UglyDolls Director, voices: Gibberish Cat, Oliver, and Chef
The Addams Family Story consultant, special thanks

References
  1. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6QT-271
  2. "Kelly Asbury". Museum of the Gulf Coast. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  3. "Kelly Asbury Biography". Showtimes.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  4. "The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)". The New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  5. E1 strikes UK, Canada deal for Gnomeo And Juliet | News | screendaily.com
  6. Kelly Asbury Interview Archived 2011-05-15 at the Wayback Machine UGO Entertainment
  7. "Rusty's Red Vacation". Barnes and Noble. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  8. Kit, Borys (October 7, 2011). "'Gnomeo and Juliet' Filmmaker Penning Pooch Cafe for Sony Pictures Animation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  9. Gilligan, Paul (October 9, 2011). "Pooch Cafe Movie News". Pooch Cafe. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  10. Fleming Jr., Mike (July 26, 2011). "Elton John's Rocket Pictures And Kelly Asbury Follow 'Gnomeo' With 'Will Gallows And The Snake Bellied Troll'". Deadline. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  11. Patten, Dominic (June 23, 2012). "Sony Animation In Talks With Kelly Asbury For 'Kazorn & The Unicorn'". Deadline. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  12. https://nikolas-ilic.com/kazorn-and-the-unicorn
  13. "Fábio Mendes on Twitter". Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  14. "Mauricio de Sousa predicts 3D animation about Horácio for 2017". NSC Total. June 18, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  15. Amidi, Amid (June 26, 2020). "RIP, Kelly Asbury, Director Of 'Shrek 2' and 'Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  16. "Kelly Asbury, Director of 'Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron' and 'Shrek 2,' Dies at 60". Variety. June 26, 2020.


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