Fumi Kitahara, One Of The Animation Industry’s Top Publicists, Dies At 56
One of the animation industry’s top publicists, Fumi Kitahara Otto, passed away on February 24, due to complications from a rare blood cancer. She was 56 years old.
Over a 30-year career in the industry, she created and guided campaigns for studios as DreamWorks, Disney, Aardman, Laika, and Netflix. Among the many films she helped to 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 also oversaw the awards campaigns for numerous Oscar-winning shorts including The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse; If Anything Happens I Love You; and War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.
The importance of good publicists cannot be overstated. They are an essential part of the animation ecosystem and work hand-in-hand with media like us to help make animated projects known to the public, as well as draw attention to artists and their craft.
On a personal note, I’d worked with Fumi for multiple decades, stretching back to my time at AWN in the late 1990s, and she was truly one of the best at the job. Fumi knew how to advocate for her clients, and made sure that films, people, and causes got in front of my eyes, without ever coming across as pushy. She chose her clients carefully and believed in what she was representing, which means that whenever she pitched me a story, I was already assured of its quality and knew that this might be a valuable story for readers. She also had great people skills, and was authentic and forthright, which can be rare qualities in this trade.
Kitahara started her animation publicity career at The Walt Disney Studios in 1992, working in the office of Disney publicity legend Howard Green. In that department, she worked on films including The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Toy Story, and Frank and Ollie. In 1996, she joined the fledgling Dreamworks Animation, helped to start her own department, and went on to serve as the studio’s head of animation publicity for the next 11 years, handling early efforts including Shrek, Chicken Run, Antz, and Madagascar.
In 2007 she launched her own boutique firm, The PR Kitchen, where she worked on publicity and award campaigns for Netflix’s 2022 Oscar-winning feature Pinocchio, as well as 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, The Mitchells vs The Machines, and The Sea Beast.
Another key client was Google Spotlight Stories where she worked on strategy, launch, and awards campaigns for such titles as Emmy winners Pearl and Age ofSail, as well as Glen Keane’s directorial debut Duet. She also worked with Baobab Studios and on documentary titles including Walt & El Grupo, Waking Sleeping Beauty, and Tyrus (about Disney concept artist Tyrus Wong).
Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park said in a statement:
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.
Director and animator Glen Keane’s statement:
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.
Olivier Mouroux, head of animation publicity at Netflix, wrote about Kitahara on Facebook and we are sharing an excerpt here with his permission:
So much to say yet the words are so hard to find. Fumi taught this Frenchman good food, and the joys of sharing plates to try out different flavors rather than just ordering your own individual one. That was my experience of Fumi’s approach to work and life in a nutshell. She always operated from a place of kindness and passion, showing no fear or insecurity. She’s taught me everything I know about animation publicity and has been the biggest champion and most incredible mentor of my career. She taught me unwavering ethics and professional generosity, and how to be a better person. … Fumi was an amazing person & friend, and she will forever be a beautiful soul shining bright over so many of our lives.
Kitahara also served as the PR Chair for WIA (Women in Animation) for over ten years, was a member of the Public Relations branch of AMPAS, and served on the organizing committee of the first edition of Animation is Film. “WIA would not be where we are today without her extraordinary and relentless work,” said Jinko Gotoh, vice president of WIA. “She was the ultimate connector to the media as well as the ideal Annecy ambassador for our World Summit.”
Women in Animation has announced that it is establishing the Fumi Kitahara Membership and Scholarship Fund to “support future generations in our industry as we sustain the incredible legacy of kindness and generosity that Fumi gave to all of us.”
Kitahara is survived by her husband, Simon Otto, who recently directed the Netflix feature That Christmas and was head of character animation on the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, as well as a son, Max. She is also survived by her mother Teruko Kitahara; sister, Hiroko Kitahara Domes; brother Keiichi Kitahara; and their family around the world. Plans for a celebration of life are in progress.