Kelly Asbury, Director of award winning animation, Shrek 2 dies of Cancer

Kelly Asbury, director of award winning animation, “Shrek 2” and “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” has died at the age of 60 after a long battle with abdominal cancer. The American animated film director died on Friday June 26, in Los Angeles.

Asbury, who started his career at Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1983, directed five animated feature films during his career: “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” which was released in 2002; “Shrek 2″ in 2004, which he co-directed with Conrad Vernon; 2011’s “Gnomeo & Juliet”; 2017’s “Smurfs: The Lost Village”; and his final directorial effort was 2019’s “Ugly Dolls.”

He was also credited for his work on “The Little Mermaid,” Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “James and the Giant Peach,” “The Prince of Egypt,” “Chicken Run,” “Shrek,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Frozen” and “Sherlock Gnomes.”

He is survived by his wife, Jacquie Boggs and stepsons Andrew and Connor Boggs.