Kelly Asbury facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 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.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
Alma mater	Lamar University California Institute of the Arts
Occupation	Film director, writer, voice actor, 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. 2011)​
Children	1

Kelly Adam Asbury (born January 15, 1960 – died June 26, 2020) was a talented American artist. He was a film director, writer, voice actor, and illustrator. Kelly Asbury was famous for directing many popular animated movies. These include Shrek 2, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Gnomeo & Juliet, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and UglyDolls.

Early Life and Education

Kelly Asbury was born on January 15, 1960, in Beaumont, Texas. His parents were Josephine Margaret and Donald Leslie Asbury. Sadly, his father passed away from cancer when Kelly was only 12 years old.

He first studied at Lamar University for two years. In 1980, he moved to the famous California Institute of the Arts. There, he focused on learning about animation and making films.

Career in Animation

Kelly Asbury started his amazing career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1983. He worked there until 1995. During this time, he helped create storyboards for many classic animated films. These included The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. He also contributed to Pixar's first movie, Toy Story. In 1993, he was an assistant art director for Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

In 1995, he joined DreamWorks Animation. Here, he directed two films that were nominated for Academy Awards. These were Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) and Shrek 2 (2004). Besides directing, he also lent his voice to some extra characters in Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third.

He directed and helped write the animated movie Gnomeo & Juliet (2011). For this film, he also voiced the small Red Goon Gnomes. He received two Annie Awards nominations for his work on this movie.

Kelly Asbury also wrote and illustrated twelve children's books. Some of his books include Rusty's Red Vacation, Bonnie's Blue House, and Yolanda's Yellow School. He also wrote a non-fiction book called Dummy Days in 2003. This book was about five famous ventriloquists from the 20th century.

From 2011 to 2012, Asbury briefly returned to Disney. He helped with storyboards for Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen. His last films as a director were Smurfs: The Lost Village for Sony Pictures Animation and UglyDolls for STX Entertainment.

Projects That Didn't Happen

Kelly Asbury worked on several projects that were planned but never fully made into movies.

• Shrek: In 1997, he was supposed to direct the first Shrek movie. He later left to work on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. However, he still helped with the story and later co-directed Shrek 2.
• Pooch Café: In 2011, he was asked to write a new script for a movie based on the Pooch Café comic strip.
• Will Gallows and the Snake-Bellied Troll: After Gnomeo and Juliet was a success, he was hired to write and direct a movie based on the book Will Gallows and the Snake-Bellied Troll. This would have been his first time directing a live-action film.
• Kazorn & The Unicorn: In 2012, there were talks for him to direct an animated fantasy film called Kazorn & The Unicorn. It was about a young man and a unicorn on an adventure.
• Horacio 3D: In 2013, he was set to write a Brazilian animated film based on the character Horacio.

Later Life and Passing

Kelly Asbury passed away on June 26, 2020, at his home in Encino, Los Angeles. He was 60 years old and died from abdominal cancer. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills.

He was honored in the In Memoriam section at the 93rd Academy Awards. The movie Spirit Untamed was also dedicated to his memory.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Kelly Asbury para niños