The news has been broken that WildBrain's director of animation development, Todd Brian, has passed away after a short battle with an illness. The Animation Director worked extensively at Corus Entertainment before joining WildBrain.
What's interesting is that even though the report says he died on December 28th, 2022, it is only now being announced. There is no telling why the information is coming out a week later - it could have been the family's wishes or a decision on the side of the studio, but we now know that he passed at the age of 59.
Regardless of why the studio chose to delay the announcement, here is what WildBrain had to say about their late animation director.
"Brian was hugely respected with great affection by all who knew him, particularly for his love of life and laughter as well as his outstanding creative talent. He will be greatly missed by his WildBrain family and the entertainment community of which he was such an integral part. As a development executive, Todd’s deep creative instincts, production experience, and collaborative spirit saw him nurture a slate of standout WildBrain projects which serve to illustrate his career legacy."
In addition to the official statement from the company, WildBrain's Chief Content Officer, Stephanie Betts, added the following heartfelt statement regarding her late colleague.
“Todd was not just my colleague but one of my dearest friends, we shared so much through our 17-year friendship. He made everyone he met feel appreciated and seen. I’ll miss seeing his bright smile and hearing his playful laugh every day."
Brian is survived by his mother Judy Jacobs (and husband Peter), brother Troy Brian (and wife Susan, as well as their children Chelsea, Megan, and Brock), and sister Tara Brian (and son Gavin).Todd's family spoke out with the following message in the wake of their loss:
“Todd was a very charismatic soul who would light up a room with his energy and humour. He was an avid runner, participating in many marathons as well as a passionate tennis player, belonging to a League in Toronto. He was a world traveler, visiting both coasts of Canada, Vancouver and Halifax, Greece, Spain, France, and Australia among many other locations, having friends in every place he visited.”
Todd Brian was a graduate of Ryerson University’s Film Studies program and the Canadian Film Centre, Brian built his strong industry relationships while working in various senior creative positions in both animation and live-action productions. Before joining WildBrain, he worked at Corus Entertainment as a Production Executive/Corus Kids; Development Executive/Kids & Family at Toronto-based marblemedia; Senior Writer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC); and had multiple credits as a Writer/Story Editor ranging from preschool to tween/family co-view programming.