Mark Gustafson, Oscar-Winning Co-Director Of Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, Is Dead At 64

February has barely gotten underway, but 2024 is already hard at work taking beloved artists from us. Mark Gustafson, a pillar of stop-motion and the co-director of the Oscar-winning film "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," sadly passed away on Thursday, February 1, at age 64, The Oregonian reports.

Though del Toro's name is in the film's title and his influence and style is in every aspect of the film, it was Gustafson who handled most of the day-to-day animation directing duties on "Pinocchio." His style and eye are as big a part of the reason for that movie's success as del Toro's.

Born on September 19, 1959, Gustafson had a long and celebrated career in animation that started back in the 1980s at The House That Claymation Built, when the animator worked at the celebrated Will Vinton Studios. It was there that Gustafson lent his talents to projects featuring the California Raisins characters, the claymation sequences in "Return to Oz," the Eddie Murphy stop-motion sitcom "The PJs," and much more. Before he co-directed "Pinocchio," Gustafson also served as the animation director on Wes Anderson's Oscar-nominated stop-motion Roald Dahl film adaptation "Fantastic Mr. Fox."

Gustafson had been developing an animated series with studio ShadowMachine titled "Milepost 88," which was announced shortly after "Pinocchio" won the Oscar.

We wouldn't have "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" without Mark Gustafson, as the project was very much a collaboration between the two filmmakers. At a time when major outlets continue to forget that stop-motion director Henry Selick was the mind and artist behind "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (just because producer and co-writer Tim Burton is the bigger name), Gustafson's contributions to del Toro's Oscar-winning film, and animation as a medium and art form, should not be forgotten.

Taking to social media to share his grief over the loss of his co-director, del Toro wrote, "I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him. A pillar of stop motion animation — a true artist. A compassionate, sensitive, and mordantly witty man. A Legend — and a friend that inspired and gave hope to all around him. He passed away yesterday. Today we honor and miss him." He concluded his post by writing:

I am as glad to have met Mark, the human as I was honored to have met the artist. As I said, I admired him before I met him. I loved having had the chance to share time and space with him during the highs and the lows. Always and forever.

It goes without saying that Mark Gustafson's voice and presence will be sorely missed by animators and audiences for years to come.