William "Bill" Kroyer is an award-winning director of animation and computer graphics commercials, short films, movie titles and theatrical films. He and Jerry Rees

Jerry Rees

Jerry W. Rees is an animator and director best known for the 1987 Emmy-nominated animated film The Brave Little Toaster. He supervised and helped create many of the visual effects for the cult classic Tron, and is also a sculptor and fine artist....

 were the main animators for the CGI sequences in Tron

Tron (film)

Tron is a 1982 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Lisberger, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Jeff Bridges as the protagonist Kevin Flynn; Bruce Boxleitner in a dual role as security program Tron and Tron's "User", computer programmer Alan Bradley; Cindy...

. He currently the head of the Digital Arts department at Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University

Chapman University

Chapman University is a private, non-profit university located in Orange, California affiliated with the Christian Church . Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media...

  .

Career

Kroyer began his animation career in 1975 by working in a small commercial studio. In 1977 he finally ended up at Disney Studios but left Disney because he did not want to work on The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron (film)

The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and originally released to theatres on July 24, 1985...

. It was then he met future Tron director Steven Lisberger

Steven Lisberger

Steven M. Lisberger is an American film director, producer and writer famous for directing Tron in 1982.Lisberger was born in 1951 in New York City and grew up in Hazelton, Pennsylvania. He is a 1974 graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts...

, who was working on Animalympics

Animalympics

Animalympics is a 1980 animated film produced by Lisberger Studios and released by Warner Bros.. Originally commissioned by the NBC network as two separate specials, it spoofs the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, and features the voices of Billy Crystal, Gilda Radner, Harry Shearer and Michael...

. After Animalympics was completed, Lisberger developed Tron and sold it to Disney.

After Tron was finished, Kroyer decided to stay with computer animation instead of traditional animation and worked at Robert Abel and Associates

Robert Abel and Associates

Robert Abel and Associates was a pioneering production company specializing in TV commercials made with computer graphics. Robert Abel's company, RA&A was especially known for their art direction and won many Clio Awards....

 and Digital Productions. In 1986, he and his wife, Sue, started Kroyer Films to combine computer animation with hand-drawn animation. They made a short film titled, Technological Threat and it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988.

He directed Computer Warriors

Computer Warriors

Computer Warriors was a toy line made by Mattel from 1989-1990. The storyline behind the toys involves a top-secret government computer which unleashes evil Virus troops. These troops, led by Megahert, hide in everyday household objects and have the goal of world domination by taking control of...

 in 1990 as well as directed Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

FernGully: The Last Rainforest

FernGully: The Last Rainforest is a 1992 Australian-American animated film directed by Bill Kroyer, produced by Peter Faiman and Wayne Young, and written by Jim Cox based on a book of the same name by Diana Young. It is a film with a strong environmental theme...

 in 1993. He was originally set to direct Quest for Camelot

Quest for Camelot

Quest for Camelot is a 1998 animated feature film from Warner Bros. Animation, based on the novel The King's Damosel by Vera Chapman, starring the voices of Jessalyn Gilsig, Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, Eric Idle, Don Rickles, Jane Seymour, Pierce Brosnan, Bronson Pinchot, Jaleel White, Gabriel Byrne,...

but he was replaced with Frederik Du Chau

Frederik Du Chau

Frederik Du Chau is a film director, screenwriter and former animator. He is well known for directing films like Racing Stripes and Underdog...

.

Soon after he joined Rhythm and Hues Studios as Senior Animation Director and supervised the CGI animation for films such as Garfield

Garfield (film)

Garfield: The Movie, also known as Garfield, is a 2004 American live-action film based on the Jim Davis comic strip with the same name. In the film, Garfield the cat was created with computer-generated imagery, though all other animals were real...

, Scooby Doo, Cats & Dogs and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 comedy film and prequel to 1994's The Flintstones based on the hit cartoon series of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera and distributed by Universal Studios...

.

Filmography

• FernGully: The Last Rainforest
  FernGully: The Last Rainforest
  FernGully: The Last Rainforest is a 1992 Australian-American animated film directed by Bill Kroyer, produced by Peter Faiman and Wayne Young, and written by Jim Cox based on a book of the same name by Diana Young. It is a film with a strong environmental theme...
  
  (director)
• Computer Warriors: The Adventure Begins
  Computer Warriors
  Computer Warriors was a toy line made by Mattel from 1989-1990. The storyline behind the toys involves a top-secret government computer which unleashes evil Virus troops. These troops, led by Megahert, hide in everyday household objects and have the goal of world domination by taking control of...
  
  (writer, director)
• Technological Threat (writer, director, producer)

External links

• Creating the Memories by William Kroyer