Animation Pioneer Luis de la Rosa Dies at 34 in French Train Accident

The animation world is mourning the loss of Luis de la Rosa, a talented animator whose fingerprints were all over some of the biggest projects in modern animation, from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to Space Jam: A New Legacy. On Friday, de la Rosa was struck by a locomotive near the train station in Annecy, France—a city close to the French-Swiss border—while attending the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. He was 34.

De la Rosa had built an impressive career in animation over the past decade, starting in 2016 with work on the Nickelodeon series Pig Goat Banana Cricket before moving on to major studio projects. His resume reads like a highlight reel of the animation industry: My Little Pony: The Movie, Animaniacs, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and the Spider-Man films. He was at the festival’s market—the industry’s gathering place where animators network and pitch projects—when the accident occurred, bringing his original project Ash Raider World.

Local newspaper Le Dauphine Libéré first reported the incident, noting that the man had been wandering too close to the tracks when the train hit him. Emergency services responded immediately but couldn’t save his life. The festival later confirmed de la Rosa’s identity to industry outlets and announced that Artistic Director Marcel Jean will speak about him during Saturday’s closing ceremony.

What makes this tragedy particularly stark is its suddenness. De la Rosa wasn’t just another animator—he was someone actively engaged with the community, pitching ideas, meeting collaborators, building his next chapter. He was at the festival doing exactly what animators do: connecting, creating, pushing the medium forward. The animation industry has lost a voice in the middle of its stride.