Kelly Asbury

KELLY ASBURY

American-born animator Kelly Asbury began his career at Walt Disney Features Animation in 1983. During his 12-year stint with the company, he worked as a storyboard artist for films like The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Toy Story (1995), and James and the Giant Peach (1996). He also served as art director for the Roger Rabbit short film, Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990) and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).

He moved to DreamWorks studios in the 90's where he worked as storyboard artist for The Prince of Egypt (1998), followed by Chicken Run (2000) and Shrek (2001) as a story artist.

He then decided to explore new ground working for the first time as a film director for the animated feature film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002). He followed that up by directing the second of the Shrek animated features, Shrek 2. Most recently, he directed Gnomeo & Juliet, featuring the voice talent of Emily Blunt and James McAvoy, and the animated flick Smurfs: The Lost Village, which boasts a cast including Julia Roberts and Ariel Winter.

Besides film animation, Asbury has written and illustrated a number of children's books including Witch Dot, Frankensquare, Candy Corn, Where Is Snow's Nose?, Rusty's Red Vacation and Thanksgiving Parade.

Filmography (director):

Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017)
Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
Shrek 2 (2004)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)