Story Artist and Director Barry Caldwell Passes Away at 68

A storyboard artist and director of several animated projects who's work had been seen dating back to Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, through the 80s and 90s with The Smurfs, Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers, Alvin & The Chipmunks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Anamaniacs, and even up to today with Disney Jr.'s Ariel, has passed away at the age of 68.

Barry Caldwell, an animator and storyboard artist with a storied career, passed away at the age of 68 according to a Facebook post from his friend and colleague, Paul Dini, who himself was told of Caldwell's death by another animator and art director, Dan Haskett.

Dini wrote of his friend, "Barry Caldwell was one of the first animation artists I met when I started my career fresh out of school way back around 1980. He was also one of the finest artists I ever met, and easily one of the best people. The man's talent as a cartoonist, designer and director was revered throughout the industry and I'll get to that. First, I'd rather talk about Barry himself, funny, kind, a genial giant of a guy that you liked from the moment you met him. He knew more about cartoons than you or I ever will (trust me on this) yet he was incredibly generous with his time and his talent. And my God, could he make you laugh! When it comes to humor, it takes a special kind of genuis to be both dry and warm. Barry was both. No artist ever mocked the insanity of the Hollywood cartoon stystem with such devastating incisiveness, and yet loved its creative output so much. At least, I believe he did. You don't last too long in the cartoon business unless you have some true affection for the characters and the people you work with to bring them to life. That spirit was on display for as long as I knew him, and in all the places we worked together, Filmation, Ruby-Spears, Warner Bros, Disney, so many others. Barry knew how to make a blah assignment sing and turn a good one into something wonderful. The image I posted below on my page, of a tearful Brain from "A Pinky & The Brain Christmas", was a shining moment from Barry.

Peter Hastings' script was already great, but Barry's storyboard rendering of Brain's tearful breakdown (and his subsequent violent meltdown) turned it into a masterpiece of character acting. And he would often bring the same emotion to Babs, Gogo, the Warners, the Goodfeathers, Minerva, and just about any other character lucky enough to have Barry put them through their paces. And more than all that, he was a great friend. When Dan Haskett told me today Barry had passed, it was like a silent cannonball blowing away a piece of my world. A lot of people's worlds, actually. Barry was admired, celebrated and loved by just about everyone, myself included, for many more reasons than I can list here. Gonna miss you, pally."

Caldwell's impressive portfolio features his work in the story or art departments of over 70 different titles, including high-profile titles like The Simpsons, Tiny Toon Adventures, Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, Animaniacs, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Disney Jr.s' Ariel, Curious George, Mulan II, the NBC series Father of the Pride, Kim Possible, The Tigger Movie, Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish, Pinky and the Brain, Osmosis Jones, and so many others.

Caldwell also served as a director for Animaniacs, helming segments featured in 16 different episodes of the classic series, including favorites like "Bumbie's Mom" and "West Side Pigeons." He was also a sequence director for the seminal favorite Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Summer Vacation.

While most of his work was for the smaller screen, Caldwell also lent his talents to feature films like Hop, Curious George, Osmosis Jones, and The Tigger Movie. No cause of death has been revealed at this time, but Caldwell has left behind a legacy of work and a number of friends even more fans who will cherish those memories.