William Joyce | |
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Born | William Edward Joyce December 11, 1959 Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. |
Occupation |
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Education | Southern Methodist University |
Years active | 1981–present |
Spouse | Frances Elizabeth Baucum Joyce (1960-2016) |
Children | 2 |
Signature | |
Website | |
williamjoyce |
William Edward Joyce (born December 11, 1959) is an American writer, illustrator, and filmmaker. He has achieved worldwide recognition as an author, artist and pioneer in the digital and animation industry. [1] [2]
He has written and illustrated over 50 children’s books and novels which have been translated into over 40 languages.
Joyce began his film career as a concept artist for Toy Story (1995), and has since been active in both animation and live-action. He subsequently landed credits on the films including A Bug's Life (1998) and Robots (2005). His book A Day with Wilbur Robinson was adapted into the Disney film Meet the Robinsons (2007), with which he had direct involvement.
Among his many awards, Joyce has won six Emmys, three Annies, and an Academy award, the last being for his short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011).
Joyce was named by Newsweek magazine as “one of the 100 people to watch in the new millennium. [3] His feature films, all based on his books, include Epic , Rise of the Guardians , Robots, and Meet the Robinsons. His television series include the animated Rolie Polie Olie , for which he was creator and showrunner.
He has also painted numerous covers for the New Yorker Magazine . His company, Howdybot Studios, is focused on Joyce's stories in a variety of mediums and media. Joyce's short film Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat (2022) has won awards at a number of film festivals in the U.S. He is also in pre-production on an animated version of TheGreat Gatsby. Both projects are in collaboration with DNEG Animation.
In 2022, Joyce's novel Ollie's Odyssey was adapted into a Netflix series titled Lost Ollie . [4]
Joyce has written and illustrated over 50 children's books including George Shrinks , Santa Calls, Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo, Rolie Polie Olie , The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, A Day with Wilbur Robinson, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, The Guardians of Childhood series, and many others.
Joyce's first book Tammy and the Gigantic Fish by James and Katherine Gray was published by Harper & Row (now Harper Collins) in 1983. After the retirement of his longtime editor Laura Gerringer, in 2011 Joyce moved his backlist and all subsequent books to Simon & Schuster, where his editor is Caitlyn Dlouhy.
Since being at Simon & Schuster, Joyce has produced a number of bestselling titles, including The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore which debuted at Number 1 on the New YorkTimes bestseller list in July 2012, a position it held for several weeks. Morris Lessmore has been translated into over 40 languages and was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best children's books of all time. Morris Lessmore is the most expansive and experimental of Joyce’s stories. With his company Moonbot Studios, Joyce along with his partners, produced the Lessmore story in a variety of media and mediums simultaneously. A short film was in production (using handmade miniature sets) while the book was being illustrated (along with Joe Bluhm) and an interactive story app was being devised.
The story app of Morris Lessmore received overwhelmingly positive attention and in August 2011 briefly dislodged Angry Birds as the bestselling app in the world. It was voted into the app hall of fame soon after. [5]
The Canadian children's series Rolie Polie Olie and George Shrinks are both based on Joyce's books. He has received three additional Emmys for other animated projects.
Joyce created conceptual characters for the Disney/Pixar feature films Toy Story (1995) and A Bug's Life (1998). In 2001, Pixar founder John Lasseter introduced Joyce to animation director Chris Wedge. At this time, Wedge’s fledging animation studio Blue Sky Studios was completing the short film Bunny and intended to begin developing feature animated films, which they soon did with the Ice Age franchise.
In 2002, Joyce and Wedge conceptualized the film Robots while attempting to adapt the former's book Santa Calls into a feature film. In the final film, Joyce is credited as a producer and production designer. [6]
In 2005, Joyce and Reel FX launched a joint venture, Aimesworth Amusements, to produce feature films, video games and books. [7] The new company announced plans to make three feature films: [8] The Guardians of Childhood, The Mischevians, and Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo. [9] The first of those projects, The Guardians of Childhood was developed by DreamWorks Animation into the feature film, Rise of the Guardians . It was released in 2012 and is based on Joyce's book series and the short film Man in the Moon, directed by Joyce. [10] Joyce was originally slated to direct the film, however early in the production his daughter Mary Katherine, his wife Elizabeth, and his sister Cecile were diagnosed with terminal illnesses. He continued on as an executive producer along with his friend Guillermo del Toro. At the beginning of the end credits, Dreamworks dedicated the film to Mary, who died before the film's release.
In 2007, Disney released Meet the Robinsons , a feature film based on Joyce's book A Day with Wilbur Robinson . Joyce served as co-executive producer and production designer, and wrote several drafts of the screenplay.
In August 2009, Joyce and Reel FX co-founder Brandon Oldenburg and producers Lampton Enoch and Alyssa Kantrow founded a Shreveport-based animation and visual effects studio MOONBOT Studios. [11] The studio produced an Oscar-winning animated short film [12] and an iPad app [13] The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore . The short film went on to win an Academy award. A book adaption was released in summer 2012. [14] The studio released in January 2012 another app, The Numberlys. A short film and a bestselling book followed soon after. The Numberlys film was short listed for the 2012 Academy Awards animated short film Oscar. [15]
In 2013, Blue Sky Studios adapted Joyce's book The Leaf Menand the Brave Good Bugs into the film Epic , with him serving as writer, executive producer, and production designer. [16]
In 2021, Joyce wrote and directed the short film Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat with the visual effects company DNEG. DNEG also announced they would be producing a feature animated film adaptation of The Great Gatsby , directed by Joyce and written by Brian Selznick. [17]
In 2022, Joyce's novel Ollie's Odyssey was adapted into an animated series of the same name.
Joyce received the 2008 Louisiana Writer Award for his enduring contribution to the "literary intellectual heritage of Louisiana." The award was presented to him on October 4, 2008, during a ceremony at the 2008 Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge. On February 26, 2012, he won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore .
Newsweek called him one of the top 100 people to watch in the new millennium. [3]
Gold medal from the Society of Illustrators for Santa Calls.
Three silver medals from the Society of Illustrators.
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
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2012 | The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore | Best Animated Short Film | Won |
Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result |
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1998-1999 | Rolie Polie Olie "Little Sister, Big Brother" | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Won |
1999-2000 | Rolie Polie Olie | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Won |
2004-2005 | Rolie Polie Olie | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Won |
2013-2014 | The Scarecrow | Outstanding New Approaches - Original Daytime Program | Won |
2014-2015 | Silent | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Won |
2016-2017 | Taking Flight | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Won |
William Joyce lives with his son Jackson Edward Joyce in Shreveport, Louisiana. His daughter, Mary Katherine, died on May 2, 2010, at the age of 18, due to complications from brain cancer. [18] [19] Rise of the Guardians , a film inspired by The Guardians of Childhood book series and in turn by stories that he told her as a child, was dedicated to her memory, reading "For Mary Katherine Joyce, a Guardian Fierce and True" during the credits. [20] The main character of Epic , which is based on Joyce's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, was named after her. [21] His wife, attorney Frances Elizabeth Baucum Joyce, died on January 20, 2016, at the age of 55, due to complications of ALS. [22] He remarried on July 31, 2020. [23]
In 2006, Joyce founded the Katrinarita Gras Foundation to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. He sold prints of his unpublished Mardi Gras The New Yorker cover, with profits going to Louisiana artists and arts organizations. [24]
In May 2017, Atheneum Young Readers released the picture book Bently & Egg, A Day with Wilbur Robinson , the film version of which is entitled Meet the Robinsons, and Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo. All are under the label The World of William Joyce. [25]
Note: All books are written and illustrated by Joyce, except as noted
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1995 | Toy Story | Conceptual and art design | |
1997 | Buddy | Screenwriter, co-producer | Screen story |
1998 | A Bug's Life | Conceptual and art design | |
2005 | Robots | Writer, producer, production designer [a] | |
2007 | Meet the Robinsons | Writer, executive producer [b] | |
2007 | Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium | Production designer | Main title sequence design |
2011 | The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore | Director, writer | |
2012 | Rise of the Guardians | Writer, executive producer [c] | |
2013 | Epic | Writer, production designer, executive producer | |
2013 | The Scarecrow | Executive producer | |
2013 | The Numberlys | Director, writer | |
2014 | Silent | Executive producer | |
2014 | The Cask of Amontillado | Director | |
2022 | Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat | Director, writer | |
TBA | The Great Gatsby | Director | Animated film adaptation [17] |
Year | Title | Notes |
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1998–2004 | Rolie Polie Olie | Created by, based on the book series of the same name |
2000–2003 | George Shrinks | Created by, based on the book of the same name |
2022 | Lost Ollie | Based on the book Ollie's Odyssey [4] |
Rolie Polie Olie is an animated television series created by William Joyce, and is produced by Nelvana in co-production with French broadcaster La Cinquième/France 5. It was produced in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Disney Channel/Playhouse Disney in the United States. The show focuses on a robot boy and his family who are composed of several spheres and other three-dimensional geometric shapes. The show was one of the earliest series that was fully animated in CGI. The series was broadcast from October 4, 1998, to April 28, 2004, and was followed with two straight-to-video films titled The Great Defender of Fun and The Baby Bot Chase, in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
Michael Hirsh (born April 7, 1948) is a Belgian-born Canadian producer, TV executive, entrepreneur, and author. He has been attributed to building from the ground up the Canadian animation industry and, more specifically, award-winning children's programming since the 1980s. He co-founded Nelvana, a Canadian based animation and entertainment studio in 1971 with partners Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith producing numerous cartoons that established Nelvana as a leader in the industry including Little Bear, Franklin, Babar, Max & Ruby, The Magic School Bus, Care Bears, The Adventures of Tintin, Inspector Gadget, Droids and Ewoks, among many, many others. After Corus Entertainment's acquisition of Nelvana, Hirsh became the CEO of Cookie Jar Entertainment, which created numerous highly popular children's shows, among them Arthur, Johnny Test, and Strawberry Shortcake. When Cookie Jar was acquired by DHX Media Hirsh became the Executive Chairman of the company, the largest supplier of kids programming to online streaming services as well as a leader in production and licensing and merchandising for children. Three years after the acquisition by DHX Media, Hirsh left the company to serve as CEO and chairman of WOW! Unlimited Media from 2015 to December 2023.
Mary Blair was an American artist, animator, and designer. She was prominent in producing art and animation for The Walt Disney Company, drawing concept art for such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South and Cinderella. Blair also created character designs for enduring attractions such as Disneyland's It's a Small World, the fiesta scene in El Rio del Tiempo in the Mexico pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase, and an enormous mosaic inside Disney's Contemporary Resort. Several of her illustrated children's books from the 1950s remain in print, such as I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss. Blair was inducted into the group of Disney Legends in 1991.
Catherine Disher is a British-born Canadian actress. She has won two Gemini Awards: in 2005 for Best Actress for her role in the Canadian mini-series Snakes and Ladders, and in 2010 for her role in The Border. She was also nominated for her role as Dr. Natalie Lambert in the Forever Knight TV series.
Peter Sauder is a Canadian film and TV writer, television producer and animator best known for his contributions to Nelvana franchises such as Care Bears, Babar, Strawberry Shortcake and Star Wars: Droids. Peter, who is originally from Toronto, wrote the first ever story for another hit Nelvana series, Franklin. He is sometimes credited as Pete Sauder.
Peter Hudecki is an animator. He directed the Roseanne Barr animated series Little Rosey, and was Chief Modelmaker for Gemini Award- and Emmy Award-winning series Rolie Polie Olie.
Out of the Box is an American children's television series which premiered on Playhouse Disney on October 7, 1998, and ended its run on September 27, 2004, with reruns until June 2006. The series takes place in "The Box", a playhouse made entirely of cardboard boxes, where two hosts, Tony James and Vivian Bayubay McLaughlin, make crafts, sing songs, and act out plays.
Jennifer Pertsch is a Canadian writer, producer, and one of the founding partners of Fresh TV, a Toronto-based production studio specializing in teen and family oriented television projects. She began her career as a writer for Nelvana Ltd., before moving to Fresh TV. She co-created and executive produced 6teen, Stoked, Total Drama Island, Total Drama Action, and Total Drama World Tour.
Rudolf Stussi is a Swiss-born Canadian painter, animator and illustrator based in Toronto, Canada.
Sparx* Studios is a French-Vietnamese animation studio. Originally founded as Sparx Animation Studios in 1995, it initially worked primarily on animated feature films. In 2011, Virtuos purchased the company and reopened in Ho Chi Minh City the same year. The current incarnation of the company primarily works on animation for video games as well as VFX work for feature films.
Todd John (TJ) Galda is a Canadian animator who has worked on 2 Academy Award-nominated films and 5 Emmy Award winning projects.
Ron Rubin is a Canadian voice actor and writer. His credits include X-Men: The Animated Series (Morph), The Avengers: United They Stand, C.O.P.S., Police Academy, Beetlejuice, Stickin' Around, Care Bears, Kratts' Creatures (Tark), and the English-language dub of Sailor Moon (Artemis).
Rise of the Guardians is a 2012 American animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Ramsey from a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on the book series The Guardians of Childhood and the short film The Man in the Moon by William Joyce. It stars the voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, and Hugh Jackman. The film tells a story about Guardians Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman, who enlist Jack Frost to stop the evil Pitch Black from engulfing the world in darkness in a fight of dreams.
Elizabeth Hanna is a Canadian film and television actress and speech language pathologist, most notable for her voice acting work in animated films. She is best known as the voice of Hen in Little Bear.
Scott Kraft is an American actor, writer, and producer.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a 2011 animated short film directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, and produced by Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. Described as an "allegory about the curative powers of story," the film centers on bibliophile Lessmore and his custodianship of a magical library of flying books. It was created using computer animation, miniatures and traditional hand-drawn techniques.
Brandon Oldenburg is an American filmmaker and illustrator.
Caio César Ignácio Cardoso de Melo was a Brazilian actor and police officer. César provided the Brazilian Portuguese voiceover of Harry Potter in all eight of the Harry Potter films from 2001 to 2011.
Luca Biagini is an Italian actor and voice actor.
Ramsey included a dedication to her at the end of the film, a gesture for which Joyce said he is very appreciative.