Ralph Eggleston, a Disney/Pixar animator, art director, storyboard artist, writer, film director, and production designer, has died at the age of 56.

Eggleston lost a long battle to pancreatic cancer.

Eggleston started his career with former Disney animator Bill Kroyer, working on things like the title sequence for “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and eventually Kroyer’s directorial debut “Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest.” Eggleston then left to join Disney, working on some of the most celebrated movies in the company’s filmography — “Aladdin,” “The Lion King” and “Pocahontas” — before joining Pixar in 1992 as the studio was transforming from a company that did software and commercials to a full-fledged movie studio.

Eggelston was hired by Pixar during the development of “Toy Story,” his work on which won him the Annie Award for Best Art Direction. The moving van company that Andy’s family uses in the final chase of the movie is even named after his nickname: Eggman Movers

Eggleston also wrote and directed the Oscar-winning Pixar short film “For the Birds.” He worked as production designer on the film “Inside Out” for six years; this film received the Annie Award for Best Production Design. He was awarded the 2018 Winsor McCay award, in recognition of his lifetime contributions to the art of animation.

Prior his time with Disney and Pixar, Eggleston worked at Warner Brothers and Amblin/Universal TV, giving him a resume that includes working on “Scooby-Doo” and “Rugrats “in addition to his impressive work at Disney.

Eggleston was born in Lake Charles in 1965. He was a 1983 graduate of Sam Houston High School in Moss Bluff.

“He was a unique talent and a beautiful soul,” said writer and director Roger Gould, who worked with Eggleston at Pixar. “We’re all better for having known him.”