Kroyer Films

Last updated
Kroyer Films, Inc.
Industry Animation
Computer animation
Founded1986
Founder Bill Kroyer and Susan Kroyer
Defunct1994 (general operations)
January 7, 2022 (dissolution)
Fate Bankruptcy
Headquarters Hollywood, California, United States
Products Animated feature films

Kroyer Films, Inc. was a pioneering animation studio formed in 1986 by animator Bill Kroyer and his wife Susan Kroyer and is one of the earliest studios to combine computer and hand-drawn animation. [1] Kroyer Films became dormant after 1994 and was ultimately dissolved on January 7, 2022.

Contents

Productions

Kroyer Films produced the Oscar-nominated short film Technological Threat and the 20th Century Fox feature film FernGully: The Last Rainforest . [2] [3] It also produced the animation for the 1994 video game Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure . [4]

Legacy

The Academy Film Archive preserved Technological Threat in 2013. [5]

Filmography

Films

TV Series

Video Game

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<i>FernGully: The Last Rainforest</i> 1992 animated musical fantasy film by Bill Kroyer

FernGully: The Last Rainforest is a 1992 independent animated musical fantasy film. The feature directorial debut by Bill Kroyer, FernGully was scripted by Jim Cox and adapted from the "FernGully" stories by Diana Young. The film is an Australian and American venture produced by Kroyer Films, Inc., Youngheart Productions, FAI Films, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars the voices of Tim Curry, Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Jonathan Ward, Robin Williams and Grace Zabriskie. FernGully is set in an Australian rainforest inhabited by fairies, including Crysta, who accidentally shrinks a young logger named Zak to the size of a fairy. Together, they rally the fairies and the animals of the rainforest to protect their home from the loggers and Hexxus, a malevolent pollution entity. Wayne Young, the film's producer, said that the film was "blatantly environmental", although he made an effort to avoid "preaching".

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<i>Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure</i> 1994 video game

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is a side-scrolling action-platform video game developed by Activision in conjunction with Kroyer Films and originally published in North America and Europe in 1994. The fourth installment in the Pitfall! franchise, players assume the role of Pitfall Harry Junior as he embarks on a journey through the Mayan jungles of Central America in an attempt to rescue Pitfall Harry, his father and the protagonist of previous entries in the series, from the evil Mayan warrior spirit named Zakelua. Its gameplay mainly consists of action and platforming mixed with stage-based exploration using a main six-button configuration.

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Technological Threat is a 1988 American animated short made by Brian Jennings and Bill Kroyer and was produced by Kroyer Films. It was an example of early computer animation, integrated with traditional animation, and is itself an allegory for the possibilities of combining the two. The robots and backgrounds were drawn based on computer-generated 3D models, while the dogs and wolves were drawn by hand.

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<i>Computerized Coloring Books</i> Video game series

Computerized Coloring Books is a collection of three games developed by Capstone Software and published by its parent company IntraCorp for MS-DOS and Amiga. A port for Windows 3.1 was planned but never released. The games are based on Bill Kroyer's film FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Don Bluth's film Rock-a-Doodle, and John Hughes's film Home Alone. The Rock-a-Doodle game was as released with Trolls and An American Tail: The Computer Adventures of Fievel and His Friends on the Capstone CD Game Kids Collection.

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References

  1. William Kroyer|Faculty Profile|Chapman University
  2. "Bill Kroyer". Art of the Title. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024.
  3. Tattoli, Chantel (July 16, 2018). "Robin Williams's Best Role". The Paris Review. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024.
  4. Kroyer, Bill. "What links, classic Disney animation and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure?". Eurogamer (Interview). Interviewed by John Linneman. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024.
  5. "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024.
  6. Short Film Winners: 1989 Oscars
  7. "The 61st Academy Awards – 1989". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on March 11, 2024.