Mark Gustafson, Guillermo del Toro collaborator, dies aged 64
Mark Gustafson, the director and animation pioneer best known for working alongside Guillermo del Toro, has passed away at the age of 64.
Gustafson had been known primarily in the world of animation, having contributed to Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox in 2007. From there, he would join forces with del Toro to bring his take on Pinocchio to life in 2022.
Upon the news of his death, del Toro paid tribute to his collaborator on social media, tweeting, “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 leaves behind a Titanic legacy of animation that goes back to the very origins of Claymation and that shaped the career and craft of countless animators,” Del Toro continued. “He leaves friends and colleagues and a historic filmography. Prayers and thoughts go to his beloved wife, Jennifer. They say, ‘Never meet your heroes …’ I disagree”.
Del Toro concluded: “You cannot be disappointed by someone being human … I am as glad to have met Mark, the human as I was honoured 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 for ever.”
In addition to working with various digital mediums of animation, Gustafson got his start in the world of claymation. For his first celebrated works, he would use different models for films like The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Claymation Christmas Celebration, and later lend his skills to A Harold and Kumar Christmas.
Outside of his feature-length works, the animator would also incorporate his stop-motion models into various commercials for The California Raisins. Though his skills were used primarily for commercials, their success led to him working on the TV special Meet the Raisins, starring his trademark creations.
Gustafson is survived by his wife, Jenny.
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