Animation director Kelly Asbury passed away in Encino, CA this morning at age 60. The cause of death was cancer.

Asbury directed or co-directed five animated features: Dreamworks Animation’s Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
and Shrek 2, as well as Gnomeo & Juliet, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Uglydolls.
Throughout his 38-year career in the animation industry, he contributed in various capacities, mostly in hte story department, to over two dozen animated features, including Shrek, Toy Story, Frozen, Chicken Run, The Nightmare before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Kung Fu Panda, and The Prince of Egypt.