Ralph Eggleston Dies: Longtime Disney & Pixar Animator, ‘For The Birds’ Oscar Winner Was 56

Erik Pedersen and Armando Tinoco
·2 min read
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Ralph Eggleston, a longtime animator and art director who worked on several Pixar films starting with Toy Story and won an Oscar for directing the animated short For the Birds, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer in Lake Charles, LA, Pixar announced. He was 56.

Eggleston served as an art director on the smash Pixar films Cars, The Incredibles, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story and Toy Story 2, as well as on the Disney toons Pocahontas, The Lion King and Aladdin. His other Pixar credits include Soul, Up, Monsters Inc., The Incredibles 2, Ratatouille and Finding Nemo.

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Pixar’s official Twitter account confirmed the news of his death by sharing a photo of Eggleston as he was 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,” read the tweet.

He also won three Annie Awards from ASIFA-Hollywood — for Inside Out, WALL-E and Toy Story — and also received its Winsor McKay Award for career achievement in 2019.

Steven Clay Hunter, a former animator at Pixar, said of Eggleston’s death on Twitter, “Incredible talent. Wonderful human being. F**k cancer.”

Angus MacLane, director of Disney-Pixar’s Lightyear, also paid tribute to the late animator on Twitter.

“RIP Raph Eggleston. Truly one of a kind. His massive talent was matched only by his kindness,” he posted.

Chris Burrows, who currently works at Pixar, also took to social media to share some words about Eggleston.

“RIP Eggman. The animation world is a lot darker today. I’m going to miss the way you would enthusiastically recommend old horror films – complete with a very anecdote about the art department – most of all. You liking me is one of my proudest achievements,” Burrows tweeted.

In a second tweet, Burrows added, “Ralph’s encyclopedic knowledge of 60-70 year old Hollywood office politics was astounding.”

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