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William Joyce

William Joyce

Writer and producer · Born December 11, 1957 (68) · Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Oscar winner · 1 other major award body

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. 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 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. 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 The Great 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Joyce, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 11, 1957 (68)
From
Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
Works as
Writer and producer
Titles
11 on Motif · 23 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 17% in 30 days

What are William Joyce's films like?

Across their 8 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
50%
Self
24%
Society
13%
Morality
7%
Ideas
6%
Family bonds7 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 4 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 6 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
5
Hopeful
5
Warm
3
Bittersweet
2
Thrilling
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Feel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy5
  • Bittersweet2
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch William Joyce's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for William Joyce's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

23 credits, 11 with a Motif page.

  • Lost Ollie(2022)

    Show 4 episodes · Book

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2021)

    Director

  • Martha: A Picture Story(2019)

    Associate Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The Numberlys (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)

    Creator

  • The Raven (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)

    Adaptation

  • The Cask of Amontillado (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)

    Director · Adaptation

  • Silent (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)

    Executive Producer · Writer

  • The Numberlys (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • The Scarecrow (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)

    Producer

  • Epic(2013)

    Book · Executive Producer · Production Design · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Rise of the Guardians(2012)

    Executive Producer · Novel

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Writer

  • The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012: Animation (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2012)

    Director

  • Meet the Robinsons(2007)

    Book · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Robots(2005)

    Producer · Production Design

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • The Man in the Moon (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · Novel

  • Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun(2002)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films

  • A Bug's Life(1998)

    Visual Development

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Rolie Polie Olie(1998)

    Show 78 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows

  • Buddy(1997)

    Co-Producer · Screenplay · Screenstory

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films

  • Toy Story(1995)

    Concept Artist

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Santa Calls (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Book

  • The Great Gatsby (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 22 titles, 20 of them dated from 1995 to 2022.

Biggest box office

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

$307M worldwide

Highest rated

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Midcredits 90th

Most popular right now

Robots (2005)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing7 of 22: 4 only directing, 3 with another roleWriting11 of 22: 3 only writing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score78thProducing9 of 22: 2 only producing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score65thOther crew6 of 22: 3 only other crew, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score65th

22 titles, 10 with more than one role — writing and producing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

1990s4 · crew2000s3 · crew2010s11 · crew2020s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

an Oscar from 2 major nominations, 2006–2012.

WinNomination
  1. 2012
    • Oscar, won · Best Short Film, Animated
  2. 2006
    • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do William Joyce's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Midcredits score in the 78th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

62ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

91stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th3
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · producer

Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun (2002)

77th percentile spread · 23% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Martha: A Picture Story (2019)

Midcredits 97th · 85% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 51/100 and the plot and story 46/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is William Joyce's work okay for kids?

Across up to 6 Motif titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and alcohol & drugs run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles23–49 · median 32 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles7–27 · median 12 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles8–33 · median 16 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles2–18 · median 9 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense6 titles33–53 · median 41 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does William Joyce work with?

People who share at least 2 of William Joyce's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Peter Ramsey shares the most, 2.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers