Fumi Kitahara, a respected publicity executive who guided award-winning campaigns for studios including DreamWorks, Aardman, Laika, Netflix and Disney, died Monday of complications related to a rare blood cancer. She was 56.
Among the features Kitahara helped publicize are the first three “Shrek” films, “Chicken Run,” “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Coraline,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “Over the Moon” and “The Sea Beast.”
She oversaw awards campaigns for Oscar-winning shorts such as “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse,” and “War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.”
Kitahara graduated from Cal State Northridge and started her career in 1992 at Walt Disney Studios in the office of Howard Green, working with him on features including “The Lion King,” “Pocahontas,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Toy Story,” and “Frank and Ollie,” in addition to a variety of live-action titles.
She joined DreamWorks SKG in 1996 and served as Head of Animation Publicity for the next 11 years, starting with “The Prince of Egypt” and launching campaigns for Oscar-winners including “Shrek” and “Wallace & Gromi: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.”
Veteran producer Bonnie Arnold said in a statement, “I have had the pleasure of working with Fumi for over three decades, from our Disney/Pixar days, through DreamWorks and Locksmith projects…her positive energy and effort in making connections and supporting independent filmmakers within our industry are irreplaceable. She was known and beloved by all and will be sorely missed by our community.”
After DreamWorks, she opened her own boutique firm, and worked on the publicity and awards campaigns for the 2022 Oscar-winning feature Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” as well as such Oscar-nominated films such as “Coraline,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” “ParaNorman,” “The Boxtrolls,” “Shaun the Sheep Movie,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “Mirai,” “Missing Link,” “Klaus,” “I Lost My Body,” “Over the Moon,” “Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon,” “The Mitchells vs The Machines,” and “The Sea Beast.”
“We at Aardman are so very deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague Fumi. It’s hard to put into words just how much she will be missed; her years of unrelenting enthusiasm, invaluable support and her eternally generous spirit and friendship will always live on for us. A bright and very precious light has surely gone out in the animation world today,” said Nick Park, Executive Director at Aardman Studios.
Kitahara also spent four years at Google Spotlight Stories working on films including “Pearl,” “Sail” and “Duet,” and worked with Baobab Studios.
“Fumi was a life force of joy. From her early days working in Disney publicity with Howard Green and throughout the years, she has remained a constant source of encouragement for every artist and filmmaker who has ever been blessed to have her come alongside and help present their work to the world. Beyond any Award or recognition that Fumi’s considerable talent helped shine a light upon, the greatest prize was simply to count Fumi Kitahara as a dear friend,” said Keane.
She served as PR Chair for Women in Animation for more than a decade, and was a member of the Public Relations branch of AMPAS.
“For more than a decade, Fumi served on the Board of Directors for WIA. WIA would not be where we are today without her extraordinary and relentless work. She was the ultimate connector to the media as well as the ideal Annecy ambassador for our World Summit,” said Jinko Gotoh, Vice President of WIA and fellow Academy colleague.
Women in Animation is establishing the Fumi Kitahara Membership and Scholarship Fund in her memory, “to recognize the impact Fumi has had on the members of WIA she lifted up through her hard work over the years. This fund will support future generations in our industry as we sustain the incredible legacy of kindness and generosity that Fumi gave to all of us,” said Marge Dean, President of WIA.
She is survived by her husband, Simon Otto, a veteran director (“That Christmas”), head of character animation (the “How to Train Your Dragon” films), and animator; and their son, Max. Other survivors include her mother Teruko Kitahara; sister, Hiroko Kitahara Domes and brother Keiichi Kitahara.
Plans for a celebration of life are in progress.
