Robert Verrall (born January 13, 1928 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

) is a Canadian animator, director, film producer and administrator who worked with the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB) from 1945 until the 1980s. One of the first to join the NFB's fledgling animation unit, under

Norman McLaren William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a cas ...

, Verrall would work as animator on such notable NFB animated shorts as '' The Romance of Transportation in Canada'' and produce such shorts as ''

Cosmic Zoom ''Cosmic Zoom'' is a 1968 short film directed by Robert Verrall and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. It depicts the relative size of everything in the universe in an 8-minute sequence using animation and animation camera shots. Sy ...

'', '' Hot Stuff'' as well as the Academy Award-nominees '' The Drag'' and '' What on Earth!''. His NFB animation credits as executive producer included ''

The Family That Dwelt Apart ''The Family That Dwelt Apart'' is a 1973 animated short film created by Yvon Malette for the National Film Board of Canada. Summary Based on the 1937 short story "Preposterous Parables; III The Family Which Dwelt Apart" by E. B. White, the film ...

'' and ''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'', also Oscar nominees. Verrall was named director of English-language NFB animation in 1967, and director of NFB's English-language production overall, in 1972. In the 1980s he acted as executive producer on a number of NFB co-productions, including the film adaption of ''

The Wars ''The Wars'' is a 1977 novel by Timothy Findley that follows Robert Ross, a nineteen-year-old Canadian who enlists in World War I after the death of his beloved older sister in an attempt to escape both his grief and the social norms of oppressiv ...

'', and ''

The Tin Flute ''The Tin Flute'' (original French title ''Bonheur d'occasion'', literally "secondhand happiness") is the first novel by Canadian author Gabrielle Roy and a classic of Canadian fiction. Imbued with Roy's brand of compassion and understanding, th ...

''. His documentary production credits include

Alanis Obomsawin Alanis Obomsawin, (born August 31, 1932) is an Abenaki American Canadian filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist primarily known for her documentary films. Born in New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the n ...

's 1986 '' Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child''. He is the father of David Verrall, who would himself go on to head the NFB's English-language animation unit.

References

External links

*
''Making Movie History: Robert Verrall''
Video interview, 5 min., NFB {{DEFAULTSORT:Verrall, Robert 1928 births People from Toronto Canadian animators Canadian film producers Canadian animated film directors Canadian animated film producers National Film Board of Canada people Living people