Kelly Asbury

Kelly Adam Asbury (January 15, 1960 – June 26, 2020) was an American film director, writer, voice actor, and illustrator whose diverse body of work helped shape modern animation. Born in Beaumont, Texas, he was the son of Josephine Margaret (Lebeouf) and Donald Leslie Asbury; his father’s death from cancer when Kelly was twelve left a lasting impression that later informed the emotional depth of his storytelling. After two years at Lamar University, Asbury transferred to the California Institute of the Arts in 1980, where he honed his animation and filmmaking skills, graduating among a cohort that would later dominate Hollywood animation. He began his professional career at Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1983, contributing storyboards to classics such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, and even worked on Pixar’s inaugural feature Toy Story. A brief stint as assistant art director on Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas further broadened his artistic perspective.

In 1995 Asbury moved to DreamWorks Animation, where he directed the Oscar‑nominated Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) and the wildly successful Shrek 2 (2004), also providing additional voices for the latter and its sequel. He later co‑wrote and directed Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), earning two Annie Award nominations, and lent his voice to the tiny Red Goon Gnomes. Beyond feature films, Asbury authored and illustrated twelve children’s books, including Rusty's Red Vacation and Bonnie's Blue House, and penned the ventriloquist biography Dummy Days (2003). His later directing credits include Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) and UglyDolls (2019). Throughout his career he returned intermittently to Disney, contributing storyboards to Wreck‑It Ralph and Frozen (2011‑2012). Asbury’s sudden death from abdominal cancer in June 2020 at his Encino home ended a vibrant, collaborative journey; he was cremated and his ashes interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and he was honored in the Academy’s In Memoriam segment, with Spirit Untamed dedicated to his memory.