William Joyce (writer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids William Joyce
Joyce promoting The Man in the Moon in November 2011
Born	William Edward Joyce (1959-12-11) December 11, 1959 (age 65) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Author illustrator filmmaker
Education	Southern Methodist University
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	Frances Elizabeth Baucum Joyce (1960-2016)
Children	2
Signature

William Edward Joyce (born December 11, 1959) is an American writer, illustrator, and filmmaker. He is known around the world as a creative artist and a leader in digital and animation movies.

William Joyce has written and illustrated over 50 children’s books and novels. These books have been translated into more than 40 languages, reaching many young readers.

He started his film career as a concept artist for the movie Toy Story in 1995. Since then, he has worked on many animated and live-action films. His work includes movies like A Bug's Life (1998) and Robots (2005). His book A Day with Wilbur Robinson was made into the Disney film Meet the Robinsons (2007), where he was directly involved.

Joyce has won many awards for his work. These include six Emmys, three Annies, and an Academy Award. He won the Academy Award for his short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011).

Newsweek magazine once called him "one of the 100 people to watch in the new millennium." Many of his feature films, like Epic, Rise of the Guardians, Robots, and Meet the Robinsons, are based on his books. He also created and ran the animated TV series Rolie Polie Olie.

He has also painted many covers for New Yorker Magazine. His company, Howdybot Studios, creates Joyce's stories in different ways and for various types of media. Joyce's short film Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat (2022) has won awards at several film festivals in the U.S. He is also working on an animated version of The Great Gatsby. Both of these projects are being made with DNEG Animation.

In 2022, Joyce's novel Ollie's Odyssey became a Netflix series called Lost Ollie.

William Joyce's Career

Children's Books

William Joyce has written and illustrated more than 50 children's books. Some of his well-known titles include 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, and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. He also created The Guardians of Childhood series.

His first book, Tammy and the Gigantic Fish, was published in 1983. In 2011, Joyce moved his books to Simon & Schuster. There, he has created many popular books.

One of his most famous books is The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It became a Number 1 bestseller on the New York Times list in July 2012. Morris Lessmore has been translated into over 40 languages. Time Magazine named it one of the 100 best children's books of all time.

Joyce explored new ways to tell the Morris Lessmore story. With his company, Moonbot Studios, he and his partners made the story into a short film, a book, and an interactive story app all at the same time.

The Morris Lessmore story app was very popular. In August 2011, it briefly became the bestselling app in the world, even more popular than Angry Birds. It was later added to the app hall of fame.

Movies and TV Shows

The Canadian children's TV shows Rolie Polie Olie and George Shrinks are both based on Joyce's books. He has won three more Emmys for other animated projects.

Joyce helped create characters for the Disney/Pixar movies Toy Story (1995) and A Bug's Life (1998). In 2001, Pixar founder John Lasseter introduced Joyce to animation director Chris Wedge. At that time, Wedge’s new animation studio, Blue Sky Studios, was starting to make animated feature films.

In 2002, Joyce and Wedge came up with the idea for the film Robots. In the final movie, Joyce is listed as a producer and production designer.

In 2005, Joyce and Reel FX started a company called Aimesworth Amusements. They planned to make feature films, video games, and books. One of their projects, The Guardians of Childhood, was made into the film Rise of the Guardians by DreamWorks Animation. It came out in 2012 and is based on Joyce's book series. Joyce was an executive producer for the film. Dreamworks dedicated the film to his daughter, Mary Katherine, who passed away before the film was released.

In 2007, Disney released Meet the Robinsons, a movie based on Joyce's book A Day with Wilbur Robinson. Joyce was a co-executive producer and production designer for this film. He also wrote parts of the screenplay.

In 2009, Joyce, along with Brandon Oldenburg and producers Lampton Enoch and Alyssa Kantrow, started an animation studio called MOONBOT Studios^[Usurped!] in Shreveport. This studio made the Oscar-winning animated short film and iPad app The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. The short film won an Academy Award. The studio also released another app, The Numberlys, in 2012, which was followed by a short film and a bestselling book.

In 2013, Blue Sky Studios turned Joyce's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs into the film Epic. Joyce worked on this film as a writer, executive producer, and production designer.

In 2021, Joyce wrote and directed the short film Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat with DNEG. DNEG also announced they would make an animated movie of The Great Gatsby, directed by Joyce.

In 2022, Joyce's novel Ollie's Odyssey was made into an animated series with the same name.

Awards and Honors

Joyce in March 2012 holding an Oscar for his short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore during a parade in his hometown.

William Joyce received the 2008 Louisiana Writer Award. This award recognized his lasting contributions to the literature of Louisiana. He won an Academy Award on February 26, 2012, for Best Animated Short Film, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

Newsweek magazine once named him one of the top 100 people to watch in the new millennium.

He has also received a Gold medal and three silver medals from the Society of Illustrators for his artwork, including for his book Santa Calls.

Academy Awards

Emmy Awards

Personal Life

William Joyce lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, with his son, Jackson Edward Joyce. His daughter, Mary Katherine, passed away in 2010. The film Rise of the Guardians was inspired by stories he told her as a child. The movie was dedicated to her memory, with a message at the end saying, "For Mary Katherine Joyce, a Guardian Fierce and True." The main character in the film Epic was also named after her. His wife, Frances Elizabeth Baucum Joyce, passed away in 2016. He remarried in 2020.

In 2006, Joyce started the Katrinarita Gras Foundation. This foundation helped raise money for people affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. He sold prints of his Mardi Gras The New Yorker cover, and the money went to artists and arts groups in Louisiana.

Works by William Joyce

Books

In May 2017, Atheneum Young Readers re-released some of his picture books. These included Bently & Egg, A Day with Wilbur Robinson (which became the film Meet the Robinsons), and Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo. These books are part of a collection called The World of William Joyce.

Note: All books are written and illustrated by Joyce, except when noted.

• My First Book of Nursery Tales, retold by Marianna Mayer and illustrated by William Joyce (1983)
• Tammy and the Gigantic Fish by Catherine & James Gray, illustrated by William Joyce (1983)
• Waiting-for-Spring Stories by Bethany Roberts, illustrated by William Joyce (1984)
• William Joyce's Mother Goose, illustrated by William Joyce (1984)
• George Shrinks (1985)
• Shoes, written by Elizabeth Winthrop (1986)
• Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo (1988)
• Humphrey's Bear by Jan Wahl, illustrated by William Joyce (1989)
• Some of the Adventures of Rhode Island Red by Stephen Manes, illustrated by William Joyce (1990)
• A Day with Wilbur Robinson (1990)
• Nicholas Cricket by Joyce Maxner, illustrated by William Joyce (1991)
• Bently & Egg (1992)
• Santa Calls (1993)
• Don't Wake the Princess: Hopes, Dreams, and Wishes, Cover art (1993)
• A Wiggly, Jiggly, Joggly Tooth by Bill Hawley, illustrated by William Joyce (1995)
• The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs (1996), Play (premiere at Strand Theatre, Shreveport) - 1998
• Buddy (1997)
• World of William Joyce Scrapbook by William Joyce, photos by Philip Gould and design by Christine Kettner (1997)
• Life with Bob (board book) (1998)
• Baseball Bob (board book) (1999)
• The Art of Robots (2004)
• The Art of Rise of the Guardians (2012)
• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012)
• The Mischievians (2013)
• The Numberlys, co-illustrated with Christina Ellis (2014)
• A Bean, a Stalk and a Boy Named Jack (2014)
• Billy's Booger (2015)
• Ollie's Odyssey (2016)
• Bently & Egg (2017)
• Rocket Puppies (2024)

Rolie Polie Olie Series

1. Rolie Polie Olie (1999)
2. Rolie Polie Olie: How Many Howdys? (board book) (1999)
3. Rolie Polie Olie: A Little Spot of Color (board book) (2000)
4. Rolie Polie Olie: Polka Dot! Polka Dot! (board book) (2000)
5. Snowie Rolie (2000)
6. Rolie Polie Olie - Character Books: Olie, Spot, Zowie, Billie (2001)
7. Sleepy Time Olie (2001)
8. Big Time Olie (2002)
9. Busy Books - Peakaboo You!, Rolie Polie Shapes, Be My Pal!, Rocket Up, Rolie! (2002)

The Guardians of Childhood Series

Novels

1. Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, written with Laura Geringer (2011)
2. E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core! (2012)
3. Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies (2012)
4. The Sandman and the War of Dreams (2013)
5. Jack Frost: The End Becomes the Beginning (2018)

Picture Books

1. The Man in the Moon (2011)
2. The Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie (2012)
3. Jack Frost (2015)

Filmography

Film

Television Series