Cartoon Brew
The advantage of international phone card is that you can use them anywhere, and you can purchase calling cards via WW for ultimate convenience.
Justin Wright (1981-2008)
by amid
March 19, 2008 10:18 pm


Justin Wright

Sad news out of Pixar. Story supervisor Ronnie del Carmen reports on his blog that newly minted Pixar story artist Justin Wright passed away Tuesday evening at age 27. The cause of death was a heart attack; this article about Justin says that he had health complications as a child and had received a heart transplant. I’m not familiar with his work owing to his nascent career but his personal illustration blog offers a glimpse of his drawing talent.

Here are links to some of the tributes appearing online from friends, family and Pixar co-workers:
Nate Wragg
Austin Madison
Kyle Shockley
Phil Rynda
Ted Mathot
Lindsay
Scott Morse
Bill Cone
John Sanford
Jeff Pidgeon
James Robertson
Enrico Casarosa
Nick Sung
Kate RW
Michael Wright
Kelly Matten
JoJo
Alex Woo

03/20/08  6:39am
Dan says:

Truly sad to see such a young man taken in such a way. My condolences go out to his family and friends.

03/20/08  7:59am
Fred Boot says:

A very sad news. And as usually it’s a hard experience to read the blog of someone who left us: in front of these lively pictures and articles, the absence of this young talented artist is more cruel.

03/20/08  8:15am
Frank says:

I agree with Dan. So sad to see such a young guy go.

03/20/08  9:03am
Erica says:

Wow. Poor guy … and his poor family.
It was seriously saddening to read that …

03/20/08  9:04am
Nichole says:

This IS very sad. Who knows what great things the future could have had in store for him? Only 27… I feel for his family and friends. . .

03/20/08  9:15am

It’s tough to understand these things. I remember losing talented young guys at Disney because of accident or illness.

Though limited, I hope he enjoyed the time he had at Pixar.

03/20/08  9:54am

A transplant patient’s life is a complicated, continuing hassle. That’s impressive that he accomplished so much but still sad that he had to stop so soon.

03/20/08  9:54am
greg m says:

I’m glad to hear that he got to realize his dream of working at Pixar! RIP young Justin, you brought alot of happiness into many peoples lives.

03/20/08  9:56am
K.Borcz says:

Oh NO! :(
My condolences. That sucks, but he did a lot of awesome in his short time.

03/20/08  10:00am

Bummer. Another Pixar artist dies. And so young, too.

Rest in Peace, Justin.

03/20/08  10:33am

This is very tragic news, my sincerest condolences to Justin’s family & friends.

03/20/08  11:05am
Jenny says:

Everyone should go right now and look at the work on his blog. I wish I’d known of him sooner. While his drawings are no doubt but one part of the man, they’re so sensitive and expressive, beautiful stuff. A strong impression of his gifts.

His photos show an irrepressible guy who must have been a blast to be with. All that, and living with a serious health issue, for years. Incredible. Deepest sympathies to his friends and especially to his family.

03/20/08  9:09pm
brett says:

I’ve known Justin Wright since child birth. He was the best life long friend that myself or anyone could have had. All my love to the Wright family. We’ll all miss you Justin Charles Wright.

03/20/08  9:22pm
Bethany says:

I knew Justin briefly during my freshman year at CalArts. He was generous, talented and sweet. My sympathies to his family.

03/20/08  10:54pm
Marianne says:

Justin was a huge part of my life for two years while at Calarts, he is someone to be missed. All my love and prayers go out to his family and friends.

03/20/08  11:29pm
Jonathan Thornton says:

Justin was my cousin and best friend. Thanks to all of you for the kind words and memories I am able to relive vicariously with all of you. Please know that you all had such a profound influence on Justin. He thrived in your midst and those of us in his family could see it. I thank you all for loving him, enjoying him and making him laugh and laugh.

03/21/08  4:35am
Matt Sullivan says:

Oh. Oh no. This is awful. Godspeed Justin. I didn’t know you, but if you were working at Pixar, you undoubtedly had real talent.

Damn.

03/21/08  11:38am
Ben says:

How incredibly sad. My thoughts are with his friends and family. What a shame to lose such talent to prematurely. RIP, Justin.

03/22/08  10:08am
Lloyd Wright says:

Justin is my son and it is heart warming to read these comments from all of you. Thank you for taking time to remember him. This picture truly captures the “essence” of Justin’s outlook on life. Justin tried to see humor in every day things and was always excited about what tomorrow could bring. Justin loved God and trusted him complellely. Justin has simply put his hand in Jesus hand now. I know he is at peace.

Justin was my little boy, my adult son and my best friend all rolled up in to one incredibly loving and woulderful young man. I will miss your smiles and teasing. You always knew how much I loved you, but you could never know how much I will miss you. I LOVE YOU JUSTIN, I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU! Thank you being such wonderful part of my life for all these years. ALL MY LOVE, DAD xoxoxo

03/22/08  11:35pm
Caryn & Steve Boggs says:

God Bless you Justin for your strength, courage, & enthusiasm during all the years before & after your heart transplant. Such an inspiration to all of us. We thank you, Justin for sharing your tender loving heart & touching our lives with a plethora of treasured memories. Your love for Jesus Christ shines from you in life & your love for people. Most of all, thank you, Justin for being so real in my son’s life. We are better people because you manage to enlighten every person’s life along the way. You are our Hero, Justin. Praise God, for you have won the Victory in Him.
His Love & Blessings,
Austin’s Mom, Caryn & Steve

03/24/08  7:04pm
Holly Wright says:

Justin Charlie was the BEST brother any sister could ask for. My last words to him were I Love You and his last words to me were I Love You. Even at the age of 27 he was never afraid to tell me he loved me in front of others…he would even have me call him when I got home from visiting him so he knew that I had gotten home safely. I will miss my brother the rest of my life but I know he is in a better place now. In fact he is looking down laughing because this is the first time I have ever posted a comment online he was much more technological than I!!! I love you Justin Charlie…

03/27/08  11:31am

Justin was in my Graduating class at Cal Arts and will be greatly missed. I have a few memories of Justin, but one that sticks out in my mind was one specific day when he had his guitar at school and I was spouting out random Dave Matthews songs (and a few curve balls) to see if he could play it on the fly. He didn’t disappoint. Justin was full of life and such a great man and artist.
Rest in peace Justin! Although I did not know you as well as I would have liked, I do know, and feel, the seeds of change which you have planted. You were a great person in life and will continue to grow and live inside of the hearts and souls of those people you have touched and affected. And so life’s eternally beating heart now beats for yours that has stopped, and you will for ever be alive! You will be missed by many. Rest in Peace.

03/31/08  3:32pm
Nathan says:

I was Justin’s youth pastor from 94-99 in Napa. When I met him he was short and plump and his face was ballooned up from reaction to the anti-rejection meds for his new heart. After he finally got off of them, it was a joy to see him grow tall and slim down. He just blossomed. But his joyful and fun-loving spirit was always there from the first day I met him. On a side note, his mother who taught at our church school, knowing my love for reptiles, gifted me the classroom pet. It was a leopard gecko named Lizzie. Lizzie was lost in the classroom for 5 months. When she was found at the end of the year, she was skin and bones. Mrs. Wright said if I could nurse her back to health, I could keep her. That must have been around ‘96 or ‘97. Well, Lizzie is blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other so I have to feed her crickets and mealworms by hand, but she’s still alive! I often think of the Wright family when I care for Lizzie. My heart aches with them now for their loss, but rejoices with them in the hope of the resurrection when Justin will receive a new body with a perfect heart. Eagerly looking forward to that great day of reunion, NLK

04/6/08  8:32pm
zac moncrief says:

I’m still finding this hard to believe- I just found out through one of those weird things that happen to people. I opened my email planning to thin it out a bit when the first one I came across had a link to a pretty cool design blog.. I clicked it (feeling drawn to check it out) and saw the horrible news… I’m so sorry to hear this.

I had Justin as one of my students while teaching at Calarts and thought he was one of the most talented in the bunch. He and I shared heart surgery stories, and a few laughs, too, but I never EVER thought that there could ever be any complications with his health. We briefly stayed in touch after Calarts, I followed his path as he traveled up to Pixar, and was just waiting to see him shine like no other. This news has me stunned…

For what it’s worth, Justin will be greatly missed. I had hoped to work along side him someday, and to have a few more laughs. He took his art path very seriously, and I’m so proud to see that he had made it to a dream place of his.

Please pass on my condolences to his family and please… anyone reading this right now… pick up that phone right next you, or start typing that email and tall that friend/student/coworker that you think you might want to grow closer to, or share more laughs with, and make it happen now… don’t wait for that right time because it might get taken away from you.

what a loss…

Write a comment.





Comment:


  • A - House Industries
  • B - Meathaus
  • C - House of Cool
  • Cal - Worst Cartoons Ever
  • Cartoon Dump
  • Cartoon Modern
  • cb - Hanna Barbera Treasury
  • MM Animation Blast
download mp3
close
E-mail It