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Jim Smith, Co-Founder Of Spümcø, Dies At 70
Smith played a key role in Spümcø’s series ‘The Ren & Stimpy Show’ and ‘The Ripping Friends.’
RIP
From Teeny Little Super Guys To Animated Dogs: Paul Fierlinger Dies At 89
Fierlinger carved out a singular path in animation — one marked by a distinct visual voice, a relentless work ethic, and a deep emotional honesty.
Fumi Kitahara, One Of The Animation Industry’s Top Publicists, Dies At 56
Over a 30-year career in the industry, she created and guided campaigns for studios as DreamWorks, Disney, Aardman, Laika, and Netflix.
Jules Feiffer, Cartoonist Who Worked At Terrytoons And Wrote ‘Popeye’ Feature, Dies At 95
The animated short ‘Munro,’ based on Feiffer’s story, was the first non-American animated film to win the Academy Award for best animated short.
Robert Verrall, National Film Board Of Canada Animation Pioneer, Has Died
As a filmmaker and producer, Verrall helped elevate animation to new heights and demonstrated its potential as a powerful tool for storytelling and education.
David Lynch, Iconic American Filmmaker Who Started As An Animator, Has Died
The enigmatic artist and filmmaker from Missoula, Montana, leaves a cosmic legacy of weirdness and magic.
Yōji Kuri, Pioneering Japanese Indie Animator, Dies At 96
In 1963, Kuri was the first Japanese filmmaker to be honored with an award at the Annecy animation festival.
Lillian Schwartz, Pioneering CG Animation Filmmaker, Dies At 97
Schwartz was a trailblazing filmmaker and animator who was among the handful of people to regularly make cg-animated films in the 1970s.
Eli Noyes, Stop-Motion Animation Pioneer And ‘Liquid Television’ Director, Dies At 81
Noyes made the Oscar-nominated short ‘Clay or the Origin of Species’ as an English undergrad at Harvard, launching an influential career in animation.
Akira Toriyama, ‘Dragon Ball’ And ‘Dr. Slump’ Creator, Dies At 68
Toriyama was a prolific manga and anime creator who also worked on early jrpg video games including ‘Chrono Trigger’ and ‘Dragon Quest.’
Janice Burgess, Nickelodeon Executive And ‘The Backyardigans’ Creator, Dies At 72
Burgess was a key figure at Nick Jr. where she also oversaw the production of ‘Blue’s Clues’ and ‘Little Bill.’
Kent Melton, Disney And Laika Maquette Maker, Dies At 68
From ‘Aladdin’ to ‘Tangled,’ Melton made maquettes for more than a dozen Walt Disney Studios animated features.
Mark Gustafson, Stop-Motion Veteran Who Co-Directed Oscar-Winning ‘Pinocchio,’ Dies At 64
Gustafson was also the supervising director of ‘The PJs’ and animation director of ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox.’
John Bush, Veteran TV Animation Producer, Dies At 69
Bush’s 30-plus year career included stops at Film Roman, Disney TV Animation, WB Animation, and Jim Henson Company.
In Memoriam: Remembering The Animation Figures Who Died In 2023
A collection of the tributes and obituaries we published over the past 12 months to honor lost figures from the global animation community.
Multiple People In Custody After Softimage Founder And Computer Graphics Pioneer Daniel Langlois Found Dead In Dominica
Softimage was a key piece of cg animation software in the 1990s and used to make films like ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘Titanic,’ and ‘The Matrix.’
Pete Kozachik, ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’ ‘Coraline’ Director Of Photography, Dies At 72
Kozachik was the go-to cinematographer for spooky stop motion, also filling the role on ‘James and the Giant Peach’ and ‘Corpse Bride.’
Nizo Yamamoto, Longtime Studio Ghibli Art Director And Background Artist, Dies At 70
Other films on which Yamamoto was art director include ‘The Girl Who Leapt Through Time’ and ‘Grave of the Fireflies.’
Paul Bush, British Filmmaker Who Experimented With Animation Techniques, Dies At 67
Bush excelled at trying out new techniques and experimental methods of creating moving pictures.
John Warnock, Adobe Co-Founder, Dies At 82
Warnock co-founded Adobe, was a key figure in the development of the PDF format, and created the earliest version of Adobe Illustrator.