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 and Gnomeo & Juliet.

Kelly Asbury
Asbury in 2016
Born	Kelly Adam Asbury (1960-01-15)January 15, 1960 Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Died	June 26, 2020(2020-06-26) (aged 60) Encino, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Lamar University California Institute of the Arts
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter, voice actor, artist, author, illustrator
Years active	1982–2019
Employer	Walt 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.[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.
• 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]

Personal life

On June 26, 2020, Asbury died of abdominal cancer in his Encino home at age 60.[13][14]

Filmography

Year	Title	Notes
2019	The Addams Family	Additional Story Artist
	UglyDolls	Director,[15] voice of Gibberish Cat, Oliver, Chef, and Buttons, Final film directed.
2018	Sherlock Gnomes	voice of Red Goon Gnomes
2017	Smurfs: The Lost Village	Director,[16][17] voice of Nosey Smurf
2013	Frozen	Additional story artist
2012	Wreck-It Ralph	Story artist
2011	Gnomeo & Juliet	Director Story and Screenplay voice of Red Goon Gnomes
2008	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa	Additional story artist
	Kung Fu Panda
2007	Shrek the Third	Voice of Master of Ceremonies and Fiddlesworth
2004	Shrek 2	Director, additional voices, (ADR group)
2002	Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron	Co-director
2001	Shrek	Story artist
2000	Chicken Run	Additional story
1998	The Prince of Egypt	Artistic supervisor: story
1996	James and the Giant Peach
1995	Toy Story	Story artist
1993	The Nightmare Before Christmas	Assistant art director
1991	Beauty and the Beast	Story & visual development artist
1990	Roller Coaster Rabbit	Art director
	The Rescuers Down Under	Character designer, storyboard artist, visual development
1989	The Little Mermaid	Visual development artist
1987	Sport Goofy in Soccermania	Layout artist
1985	The Black Cauldron	Inbetween artist

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. Amidi, Amid (June 26, 2020). "RIP, Kelly Asbury, Director Of 'Shrek 2' and 'Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
14. "Kelly Asbury, Director of 'Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron' and 'Shrek 2,' Dies at 60". Variety. June 26, 2020.
15. Gregg Kilday (July 10, 2018). "Kelly Clarkson Joins 'UglyDolls' Voice Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
16. Kit, Borys (March 12, 2014). "Sony Animation Sets Slate: 'Smurfs', 'Transylvania 2,' More (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
17. Lowe, Kinsey (June 14, 2015). "'Get Smurfy' Unveiled: Demi Lovato Joins As Smurfette, Rainn Wilson As Gargamel". Deadline. Retrieved June 14, 2015.

External links

• Animated Views: Gnomeo & Juliet’s director Kelly Asbury Opens His Secret Garden!
• Kelly Asbury on IMDb