Kelly Asbury
Kelly Adam Asbury was an American film director, writer, voice actor, and illustrator. He was best known for directing the animated films Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Shrek 2, Gnomeo & Juliet, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and UglyDolls.
Early life
Asbury was born on January 15, 1960, in Beaumont, Texas, the son of Josephine Margaret and Donald Leslie Asbury. His father Donald died from cancer when Asbury was 12. 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.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. In 1993, he was the assistant art director on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.In 1995, he began working for DreamWorks Animation, and directed two Academy Award-nominated feature films, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Shrek 2. In addition to directing, he provided some of the extra voices in Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third.
He directed and co-wrote the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet, 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.
In 2003, he wrote a non-fiction book, Dummy Days, a biography of five 20th-century ventriloquists. He wrote and illustrated twelve children's books, including Rusty's Red Vacation, Bonnie's Blue House, and Yolanda's Yellow School.
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, Dreamworks hired Asbury to co-direct the film adaptation of the children's book Shrek! alongside Andrew Adamson, which would have been his directorial debut. He left production of the film a year later in order to work on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and was replaced by Vicky Jenson, but remained as a story artist and received special thanks on the finished film. He later co-directed its sequel, Shrek 2.
- The Thief of Always – In 2006, following the success of Shrek 2, it was announced that Asbury was hired to write and direct a live-action film based on Clive Barker's children's book The Thief of Always, for 20th Century Fox and Seraphim Films. The film would have been Asbury's first foray into live-action filmmaking, but the rights would revert to Barker.
- Pooch Café – In 2011, Asbury was appointed by Sony Pictures Animation to write a new draft for a film adaptation of the Pooch Café comic strip.
- 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 have been Asbury's first foray into live-action filmmaking after his attempt at The Thief of Always failed.
- Kazorn & The Unicorn – In 2012, Deadline reported that Asbury was in 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. Troy Quane was later hired to co-direct the film with Asbury, but production of the film was suspended and eventually canceled.
- Horacio 3D – In 2013, Asbury began writing a Brazilian animated film based on the Monica's Gang character Horacio, originally scheduled for a 2017 release. According to animator Fábio Mendes, Asbury was intended to direct the film. But at the time of Asbury's death, nothing was released about the project.
Death