Director
Director (1950-2011) Deceased
Kirkland was raised in Utah as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Weber State College in Ogden, Utah. His career in animation started in 1979 as a layout artist. This evolved into XAM! Productions, a partnership based in Salt Lake City that subcontracted for larger Los Angeles based studios. He moved his family to Los Angeles in 1986.
Kirkland worked as a producer for Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Animated Series, and with storyboards for G.I. Joe: The Movie, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, My Little Pony: The Movie, and Starchaser: The Legend of Orin. He also worked on various Mormon cartoons from the Living Scriptures, Inc, including "The Savior in America" and "The Miracles of Jesus.
Notable works:
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero:
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero is considered a major personal achievement in Boyd Kirkland's career. As a writer, director and producer on the film, he was seen as an integral part of the creative process. This gave him a unique opportunity to highly influence critical decisions, and to make the type of movie that he felt Batman fans would enjoy and appreciate.
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm:
Boyd Kirkland was a sequence director and storyboard artist for the 1993 film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
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Batman: The Animated Series
Boyd Kirkland was a writer and director for Batman: The Animated Series.
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The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Boyd Kirkland was a director for the show's second season. The episode "Michael Korvac" was dedicated to his life. The ending credits included the dedication, "In Loving Memory Of Boyd Kirkland: Friend, Father, Director, Avenger." After the dedication, the episode's end credits played in complete silence, which is highly unusual for an American television series.