Pixar's 'Toy Story' and 'Finding Nemo' Animator Ralph Eggleston Dead at 56

By Daniel S. Levine

Animator Ralph Eggleston, an essential part of the Pixar team that created some of the most beloved animated films of the past three decades, has died. He was 56. Eggleston joined Pixar in 1993 and was a production designer on Toy Story. In 2001, he won the Oscar for Best Animated Short for For The Birds, the film that played before Monsters, Inc., on which he also worked.

Eggleston died at his home in San Rafael, California on Monday, following a battle with pancreatic cancer, reports Variety. Pixar paid tribute to Eggleston, including a photo of him working on Inside Out. "In memory of Ralph Eggleston-animator, director, art director, storyboard artist, writer, production designer, and our dear friend. Pixar and the world will be forever grateful," the studio wrote.

Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton recruited Eggleston to Pixar in 1993 as the studio struggled to find a production designer for Toy Story. Eggleston's name is the first one seen after the end credits on the film begin. He had never worked with CG before, but his designs helped animators create the cohesive look of the film, notes Cartoon Brew. He also designed background layouts and created the color script, a technique he picked up while working as an art director on FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992).

After Toy Story, Eggleston's skills became invaluable for Pixar. He helped develop the story for Monsters, Inc. with director Pete Doctor. Eggleston went on to work as a production designer for four more Pixar movies, Finding Nemo, Wall-E, Inside Out, and Incredibles 2. He also contributed to The Incredibles as an art director, worked as a lighting director on Up, and helped with lighting key design on Soul.

Eggleston was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on Oct. 18, 1965, and graduated from Calarts in 1986. Before working at Pixar, he worked on Pound Puppies, Garfield TV specials, Brad Bird's Amazing Stories episode, and the film title design for Hollywood Harry. He received several; Annie Awards for his work at Pixar and received the Winsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement in 2016.

"The animation world has lost a giant today. Ralph Eggleston will be remembered not only for his immense contributions to the art form (incalculable) but for who he was as a person," Pixar art director Josh Holtsclaw tweeted. Holtsclaw later added that Eggleston "has been and will continue to be an inspiration and a teacher to me and to anyone who has come in contact with something he created-which has got to be almost everyone on earth. Miss you Ralph." 

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