Justin Wright (March 8, 1981 – March 18, 2008) was an American artist who worked at

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

for slightly over a year until his death.

Biography

Born with several

congenital heart defect A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital heart defect is classed as a cardiovascular ...

s, Wright received a

heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common proce ...

at the age of 12. A year after his transplant, he was a recipient of a wish from the

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...

, which was to visit Disney World. At Disney World he was able to take a tour of their animation studios. The tour cemented his love of animation and storytelling. He graduated from Sacramento Adventist Academy in 1999, attended

Pacific Union College Pacific Union College (PUC) is a private university, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Angwin, California. It is the only four-year college in Napa County, California, Napa County. It is a coeducational r ...

for two years, and also graduated from

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

Valencia, California Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California. This area, with major commercial and industrial parks, straddles State Route 126 and the Santa Clara River. Development projects continue to be built in ...

. Prior to attending California Institute of the Arts Justin worked as a Production Assistant at Pixar. He wanted to pursue his education so he chose to leave Pixar hoping one day to return, which he did. His animation credits included the line drawings at the end of the film ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include ...

'' (2007), the storyboards for ''

WALL-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...

'' (2008) and the short film '' Presto'' (2008).

Death

On the evening of Tuesday, March 18, 2008, Wright collapsed at Pixar and died instantly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, just ten days after his 27th birthday. ''WALL-E'' is dedicated in “loving memory” of him, as seen in the credits.Justin Wright, Pixar artist, passes away
at theanimationblog.com

References

External links

*
Justin Wright's blog
1981 births 2008 deaths Pacific Union College alumni American animators American Seventh-day Adventists Heart transplant recipients Pixar people {{US-animator-stub