MOONBOT STUDIOS RETURNING
TO ITS ROOTS
Company Re-Forms in
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, LA - After months of
speculation and rumors of a possible purchase, the founder of Moonbot Studios
William Joyce has announced the re-establishment of the Academy Award-winning
company in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment
and producer of the Despicable Me franchise, said “I love Bill Joyce’s
imagination. He is a storyteller who taps into universal truths and his designs
have irresistible charm and distinction. I am looking forward to the creative
output of Bill’s reconstituted Moonbot Studios.”
Kristine Belson, President of Sony Animation, said "Bill Joyce is a creator with true vision, and the relentless energy and passion to turn his vision into reality."
Joyce has written and illustrated 50
bestselling and classic children's books and written, produced or designed a
number of major feature films for 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks and Disney.
Joyce began his film career doing design and story work on Pixar's "Toy
Story" and "A Bug’s Life" and according to Blue Sky Animation
Studios co-founder Chris Wedge has been busy pushing the boundaries of
animation and storytelling ever since.
In 2012 Joyce founded Moonbot Studios
in his hometown of Shreveport, a move that Joyce admits seemed at odds with
Hollywood norms. Joyce explained "John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer of
Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios) had told me many times ' Bill, you get
a great deal of your strength and inspiration from Shreveport ' and Chris Wedge
said to me that the future of animation is in being smaller. When you get
advice from Mt. Rushmore you'd be a dope not to listen."
The dream of starting a world class
creative company in the country's 106th largest city worked, according to
Joyce. "We were able to recruit some of the best young talent in America.
They liked our spirit, our bare-knuckled gumption, but more than anything they
liked the stories we wanted to tell" said Joyce. "Good storytelling
is the heart of everything I've ever done. And I wanted it to be the DNA of
Moonbot.”
The local community embraced the
company and its employees and soon dubbed them The Moonbots. When the
“little-studio-that-could” proved its mettle by winning the best animated short
film Oscar for its maiden effort "The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr Morris
Lessmore," the mayor proclaimed a city holiday and a ticker tape parade
ensued, the first such celebration in downtown Shreveport since the end of
World War Two. "It was like something out of a Frank Capra movie,"
remembers Joyce. ”Real life very seldom gives you moments like that." Soon Moonbot Studios earned international
acclaim for its work. The Morris Lessmore book became a #1 New York Times
bestseller and has been translated into 35 languages. The studio’s follow-up
short film "The Numberlys" was short-listed for the Academy Award and
its book and app versions won numerous awards. The Numberlys was followed by
the Cannes Lion and CLIO winning work for Chipotle's “Scarecrow” and a lengthy
list of critically successful projects.
"I don't think there's been a creative company this small
that has achieved so much in so many venues in such a short period of
time" said Christina Steinberg, former
Dreamworks producer. Joyce added, "Our young crew were like creative
samurai. They never flinched. They never faltered. If I asked the impossible
they stayed chill and fearless and did what had to be done. Directing them has
been the highlight of my career."
But the company hit trying times when
Joyce's teenage daughter and then his wife were each confronted with terminal illnesses.
With Bill’s time divided the company turned more to work for hire commercials
and gaming initiatives. The ambitions to generate sustaining revenue were not
realized, and the company eventually dissolved after exploring some
alternatives that would have moved the company away from Shreveport. Joyce was
able to retain all his intellectual properties and after a year of recovering
from his family's tragic losses he was ready to rebuild.
“I intend to bring Moonbot back to its
original purpose,” Joyce said, "Original books, feature animation and
television that can delight a worldwide audience. Shreveport is my hometown.
The idea of home and family is a part of all my work. So keeping Moonbot here
makes every kind of sense “
Moonbot will continue its highly
successful publishing imprint with Simon and Schuster and is exploring
collaborations with television and feature companies that will be formalized
soon. Moonbot’s first animated feature will be announced in early summer, with
Joyce directing. “I’ve been fortunate to have been mentored by directors
like Lasseter, Wedge, Francis Ford Coppola, and Guillermo del Toro,” Joyce
said. He will be teaming with del Toro on an upcoming project.
Joyce indicated he will also be exploring more investment opportunities
for local investors within the coming months. “I have learned a lot about
what helps create a winning company. This community has always been so
supportive of Moonbot and me, we want very much to bring jobs and be nurtured
by this wonderful community as we imagine and create original entertainment in
the years ahead.” In addition to an Academy Award, Moonbot Studios and
William Joyce have won 4 Emmy Awards, 14 Cannes Lions Awards, 17 Clio Awards
and were recently nominated for 3 more Emmys. Mr. Joyce will be named Humanist
of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment to the Humanities this week in Baton
Rouge.
