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.