Rob Gibbs, an animator, director, and story artist for Pixar Animation Studios who worked on such films as Monsters, Inc., Inside Out, and Onward, has passed away at the age of 55, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Gibbs joined Pixar in 1998, working as a storyboard artist for Toy Story 2. Over the years, he’s had credits on some of Pixar’s most successful and popular films, including Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Up, Brave, Monsters University, Inside Out, Incredibles 2, and Onward.
In addition to feature films, Gibbs also worked on Pixar’s television outings, writing and directing episodes in the “Cars Toons” series, including “Tokyo Mater,” “Mater Private Eye,” and “The Radiator Springs 500 1/2,” as well as the upcoming Disney+ Original Series “Monsters at Work,” expected to premiere on the streaming service sometime this year.
A native of Escondido, California, Gibbs was inspired by Looney Tunes and Popeye cartoons growing up, according to The Hollywood Reporter. They also said that his love short films came after he attended a Spike and Mike’s Festival of Animation in La Jolla, California.
Before coming to Pixar, he served as an animator on such films as FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Cool World, and the music video for “Weird Al” Yankovic’s song “Jurassic Park.” Gibbs also worked for five years on story and visual development at Walt Disney Feature Animation, with credits on such films as Pocahontas, Fantasia 2000, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Gibbs’ last project is a yet-to-be-released independent animated film called Hump, starring Simon Pegg, Ramy Youssef, and Gaten Matarazzo.
No cause of death has been given. Gibbs’ survivors include his daughter, Mary, who provided the voice of Boo in Monsters, Inc.
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