Angus Kennedy (January 21, 1991 – December 14, 2021) was a Robloxian animator, writer, producer and director. He is well-known for creating the animated television series Robloxians (2013–2026), which he also wrote, produced, and directed before his death in 2021; Throughout its 13-year run, the series broke the record for the longest animated series on Avast Television.
Born and raised in Seaboard City, North Bloxlina. His father, Tommy Kennedy, was a skilled writer, director and producer, so as his grandfather, Ronald Kennedy, who was an author. Angus Kennedy developed major interests in writing stories and drawing. He also started to become a huge fan of watching animated films, which eventually became his main interest for drawing. Angus then began to develop a new interest in computer writing and until the end of his final years in middle school, he began to get interested in art. By the middle of his senior year at Big Valley High School, when he was still a teenager, he collaborated with his friend Samantha Barnes on his first animated short using stop-motion and computer animation for a special project, titled Summer Hot. He signed a contract with Bob's Animation Studio after graduating from Big Valley High School in the summer of 2009.
In 2010, Angus Kennedy signed a five-year agreement with Avast Television to create new animated films. His second (first official) short film, Pink Sheep, which was the first traditional animation short he worked on, started production shortly after. In addition to directing and writing Robloxians (2011), he also produced the musical comedy television film The Boy And Girl In The Tree? Or Not? in 2011. The short film, which was released in November of the same year, was widely hailed as Angus's debut achievement. Following its initial success, Angus Kennedy began working immediately on his first official television series, which would eventually become the animated television series with the same name. Robloxians premiered on Avast Television in early January 2013 and quickly gained popularity with both children and adults. It also experienced tremendous success in the media during the middle and end of the 2010s. He stopped making short movies, even though Angus Kennedy did the writing and directing. On December 14, 2021, Angus Kennedy was stabbed by his older sister.
Biography
Animation carrer
At the age of ten, Angus started working on a web series while attending his primary school. The series was given the moniker Players, a term that would be utilized later. Prior to the production of the program, Angus had demonstrated a strong interest in sketching and was a regular watcher of anime, particularly Haunted: Tribulation, Primal: Assassination, and Pokemon. Early in 2001, work on Players started, and later that year, manufacturing got underway. But because the schools were closed after the September 11 attacks, Angus's favorite thing to do at home became playing at Players'. He began to gradually give up on the idea of Players while he was in his teens, and by 2003, the online series had been completely canceled.
Samantha Barnes, who had previously assisted Angus with the production of Players, was one of his closest childhood pals. After being an art enthusiast for years, Angus only recently became interested in animation. He brought his interest to school, where the idea began to take shape. With his classmates' assistance, the short film RPS (meaning role-players) was made, and after that, it was shown to the school's audience, receiving "huge praise." He had a primary interest in the idea of writing television shows. Still, Angus and Samantha had "no idea" about any narrative and initially had no experience making a television series, so their impact was not as great as that of Players.
Angus Kennedy and Samantha Barnes would work on the narrative and stories for the "television series" in their spare time, both at home and at school. Nevertheless, in the end, as their middle school year was coming to a conclusion, they "wanted to create" the greatest series for a viewership, even if they had discovered that none of the stories they had written "make no sense." Once they were in high school, the emergence of a television series reached its apex. When Angus and Samantha started working with their newfound classmates from their classes, the majority of them had some but not much animation experience. A new animated web series called The High School Story was produced by Angus when interest in animation peaked once more. Angus thought that working on The High School Story allowed him to connect with people and piqued his interest in the idea of developing a television show, making it one of his best childhood experiences. Still, The High School Story ran for less than a year before being canceled, forcing Angus to work from dawn until midnight, severely affecting production. At times, Angus even had to work through the night, missing one or two days of animating. His curiosity began to wane by the time he graduated from high school and the idea of working on television shows was all but forgotten. Samantha Barnes was also employed, thus she found it difficult to connect with Angus despite her attempts to at least persuade him to rekindle his interest. Angus Kennedy lost his employment in 2008.
Start of short films
Prior to 2009, when Angus Kennedy was a senior at the school and had been looking for a job for the previous two months (all of them centered around animation), he had made short films for his local high school. One of the other short films among them was called Summer Hot and it was stop-motion animated. The inception of Summer Hot started as a special assignment for his art class. But his parents decided to ground him for two weeks because he unexpectedly lost his job. Angus saw this as the ideal opportunity to start working on a fresh idea once more, maybe for a short film rather than a TV show, despite the unfavorable thoughts. Over time, he became less interested in it and instead became interested in making short films after understanding that they would be ideal for someone like him who was just starting out. He spent the bulk of his two weeks concentrating on the narrative of the short film.
He had not done any animation for a long time, so early on, the idea of doing it oneself was novel to him. But for his short film, Angus decided to go in a completely different route. The idea of stop-motion filming reached its zenith, and production got underway soon after. Angus made connections with Samantha Barnes and a few of his pals to work on a new short film after he was rejected by his parents. For a joke, Angus changed the short film's original title, Very Hot, to Summer Hot, which everyone enjoyed and decided to keep. Because they had more spare time and would frequently get together while making the short film, production reached its pinnacle in the summer. The student short film was finished in time for the school's film festival, where teams would screen their works of art for a sizable crowd. After receiving "extremely praise" for Summer Hot, Angus saw an opportunity to rekindle interest in animation and began producing other short videos.
Angus Kennedy then reached a deal with Bob's Animation Studio to make short films for the network Bob Television, which is how the primary idea, concept, and core of Robloxians originated in early 2010. Angus Kennedy was at the pinnacle of his desire to make more short films, having previously made a number of them before to the agreement. Afterwards, Charles Ward, the man behind Bob's Animation Studio, meets with Angus just before the year ends. Some of Charles Ward's coworkers and animators had shown him a video of the short film. In general, Bob's Animation firm is a modest animation firm with just about 100 animators. Understanding that Angus could have the opportunity to make "amazing" and "perfect" short films, Charles Ward made an effort to track him down and attempt to work out a contract with him. But Charles Ward didn't find him for almost two months until much later, on April Fool's Day, when Angus was speaking with Samantha Barnes about producing a brand new short film for Bob Television. But after finding him and speaking with both of them about the short film, Charles Ward wanted to offer Angus a five-year contract to develop new short films for his network, which was very "big." But after just three months, the agreement was canceled because Angus focused on finding Avast Television, which hired him to produce short films for them.
Angus was forced to leave his family and come to Davis Springs with Samantha Barnes because to the significance of the situation for Avast Television. Angus's first work at the studio, which he worked at for a time, was called The Avast Television Animation Studio, where they produced their first batch of short films. Angus and Samantha collaborated with new authors, directors, and producers on Pink Sheep and the early stages of Robloxians' growth, although they received the most of the credit. As part of Avast Television's Family Time, Pink Sheep had its official television debut on Children's Avast Television. It turned out that the short film was a huge success, becoming the most watched Avast Television short ever in years. Angus directed the creation of Robloxians, a short film that Samantha Barnes wrote and produced, because it was realized that this would happen sooner than normal. The inaugural broadcast of Robloxians took place on November 2, 2011, during another Avast Television Family Time program. The short film was viewed as a major "hit and milestone" for Avast Television and proved to be even more successful than the previous one, being the most watched short film of all time in 2011.
Death
See also: Murder of Angus Kennedy
On December 14, 2021, Angus Kennedy passed away at the age of 30 after being stabbed by his older sister, Samantha Kennedy. The event spread shock across the animation community, as well as the general public, who had come to admire his work on Robloxians.
The motive for the attack was initially unclear, and the investigation revealed a complex series of family dynamics. It was discovered that Angus had been in a strained relationship with his sister for several years, tensions rising over both personal and professional matters. Reports from close family members revealed that Samantha had become increasingly frustrated with Angus's success, feeling overshadowed by his accomplishments, especially since she had struggled to find her own path in the entertainment industry. In the months leading up to the incident, there were multiple confrontations between the two siblings, particularly surrounding Angus’s management of their late father’s legacy and his exclusive control over the family business ventures. Sources close to the family revealed that Samantha had expressed her frustrations over what she perceived as a lack of recognition for her own contributions within the family. These conflicts came to an end on the night of December 14, when, in a heated argument at the Kennedy family home, Samantha violently attacked Angus.
The stabbing was a culmination of years of resentment, jealousy, and unresolved emotional conflicts. Samantha was arrested shortly after the attack and many problems occurred within the Kennedy family. Angus's death prompted widespread grief from fans, colleagues, and animators, who praised his creativity, his ability to inspire others, and his vision for animated storytelling. Tributes were given in from across the world, with many acknowledging his immense contribution to the animation industry. Despite the dark circumstances surrounding his passing, Kennedy's work, particularly Robloxians, continued to impact future generations. The series will remain in production until 2026.