Visionary NFB animator Robert Verrall dies at 97

Verrall is being remembered as a pioneer for the National Film Board of Canada's animation work.

Veteran animator, director and producer Robert Verrall has died at age 97.

Born on Jan. 13, 1928, in Toronto, Verrall (pictured) died in Montreal on Jan. 17, according to a statement from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

“Robert Verrall was one of the builders of the NFB, who possessed a keen eye for great stories and talented creators. Gifted in animation, he built on the foundation put in place by Norman McLaren to attract global renown for the NFB as a centre for animation excellence,” said Suzanne Guèvremont, government film commissioner and NFB chairperson, in a statement.

During his 41 years with the NFB, Verrall had more than 50 producing or directing credits to his name.

Verrall began his career in 1945 as a summer student. The following year, he was hired by Norman McLaren, the founder of the NFB’s animation department.

He formed a close association with Colin Low (pictured, rear right) and Wolf Koenig. Verrall (pictured, rear left) and Koenig animated Low’s short film The Romance of Transportation in Canada was released in 1952. It was the first NFB animated film to be nominated abroad. It went on to win the best short animated film award at the Cannes Film Festival and the first to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Verrall served as head of the NFB’s animation department from 1967 to 1972, helping produce films such as Ryan Larkin’s Oscar-nominated Walking (1968), Yvon Mallette’s Boomsville (1968), Zlatko Grgić’s Hot Stuff (1971) and Barrie Nelson’s Propaganda Message (1971).

From 1972 to 1976, he was the NFB’s director of English production, where he extended the organization’s activities to Toronto and Winnipeg. It’s also during this time he helped establish Studio D, the world’s first government-funded studio dedicated to female filmmakers, and the drama-focused Studio B, both in Montreal.

“Robert truly helped to shape the modern NFB, and we are deeply grateful for his legacy,” said Guèvremont. 

In 1979, Verrall became the NFB’s executive producer of special projects, where he helped bring to life projects like the Canada Vignettes program and Paul Cowan’s Commonwealth Games film, Going the Distance, which was nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars in the same year.

In 1980, he became the head of Studio B, where he coproduced such features as Robin Phillips’ The Wars, the miniseries Empire Inc. and Claude Fournier’s The Tin Flute.

He retired from the NFB in 1986 to his farm in the Eastern Townships. He is survived by his son David, who joined the NFB in 1977, going on to head its English Animation Studio in Montreal.

Photo by David Verrall. Other image courtesy of the NFB