Tomm Moore

Thomas "Tomm" Moore (born 7 January 1977) is an Irish filmmaker, animator, illustrator and comics artist. He co-founded Cartoon Saloon with Nora Twomey and Paul Young,[1] an animation studio and production company based in Kilkenny, Ireland. His first two feature films, The Secret of Kells (2009), co-directed with Nora Twomey, and Song of the Sea (2014), have received critical acclaim and were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

For other people, see Thomas Moore (disambiguation).

Tomm Moore
Moore presenting Song of the Sea in December 2014
Born
Thomas Moore

(1977-01-07) 7 January 1977
Newry, Northern Ireland
EducationSt Kieran's College
Alma materBallyfermot College of Further Education
OccupationFilm director, film producer, illustrator, screenwriter, character designer
Years active1998–present
Spouse(s)Liselott Olofsson
Children1

Early life

Moore, the eldest of four children, was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.[2] At an early age, his family moved to Kilkenny in the Republic of Ireland where his father worked as an engineer. During his early to mid-teens, he joined the Young Irish Film Makers in Kilkenny, where he grew his knowledge and passion for film and animation. After leaving St Kieran's College secondary school, he studied classical animation at Ballyfermot College of Further Education in Dublin.

Career

During his final year at Ballyfermot in 1998, Moore co-founded the Cartoon Saloon animation studio with Paul Young and Nora Twomey. Initially they set up studio alongside Moore's alma mater Young Irish Film Makers, but the studio soon outgrew the premises. The studio created the television series Skunk Fu!.

Moore's first animated feature film, which he co-directed with Nora Twomey, is The Secret of Kells (2009), written by Fabrice Ziolkowski from a story by Moore and Aidan Harte. It is a co-production by the Cartoon Saloon, Les Armateurs, Vivi Film and France 2 Cinéma.[3] The film is a hand-drawn animation, set in 9th century Ireland, and partially based on and inspired by early Christian history and legend. It premiered on 8 February 2009, at the Berlin International Film Festival. It went into wide release in Belgium and France on 11 February, and in the Republic of Ireland on 3 March. On 2 February 2010, it was announced that the film had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.[4]

In 2014, Moore completed his second feature film, entitled Song of the Sea (2014).[5] Like The Secret of Kells, it is traditionally animated and is based on Irish folklore, specifically selkies. The film was a major critical success and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Also in 2014, Moore co-directed a segment of the Salma Hayek produced film The Prophet with Ross Stewart, adapted from Kahlil Gibran's book of prose poetry essays, The Prophet. The production consisted of different directors for each of the film's collective essays, with animation director, Roger Allers supervising and credited as screenwriter. Both of Moore's 2014 films received their world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.[6]

Moore's third directorial feature film (co-directed with Ross Stewart), Wolfwalkers, was released in 2020 on Apple TV+."Wolfwalkers". Apple TV+. Retrieved 2 November 2020. The film is the final installment in Moore's "Irish Folklore trilogy", comprising Wolfwalkers, Song of the Sea, and The Secret of Kells.[7]

Comics

Moore has drawn two Irish language graphic novels, An Sclábhaí ("the slave", 2001) and An Teachtaire ("the messenger", 2003), telling the story of St. Patrick. Both were written by Colmán Ó Raghallaigh and published in Ireland by Cló Mhaigh Eo.[8] He has also created a two-volume graphic novel adaptation of The Secret of Kells, published in French as Brendan et le secret de Kells.[9]

Personal life

Moore is a nephew of the renowned singer/songwriter Kieran Goss.[10] He has been in a relationship with his wife Liselott Olofsson, a ceramicist, since the mid-1990s, and they have an adult son, Ben (the namesake of the main character of Song of the Sea).[11][12][13] He has been a vegetarian since childhood and is now vegan.[14][15]

Filmography

Films
YearTitleDirectorProducerWriterOtherNotes
2009The Secret of KellsYesYesYesYesDirectoral debut
Character designer
2014Song of the SeaYesYesYes
Kahlil Gibran's The ProphetYesSegment (On Love)
2017The BreadwinnerYes
2020Wolfwalkers[16]YesYesYes
2021My Father's DragonYes

Television
YearTitleProducerOtherNotes
1999Under the Hawthorn TreeYesTV movie
Production designer
2015–2016Puffin RockYesAlso co-creator
2015Eddie of the Realms EternalYes

Awards and nominations

For The Secret of Kells

For Song of the Sea

See also

References
  1. O’Connell, Mark. "Cartoon Saloon and the New Golden Age of Animation". The New Yorker. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  2. van der Lugt, Peter (7 October 2009). "An Interview with Director Tomm Moore". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  3. The Secret of Kells at the Internet Movie Database
  4. Ryzik, Melena (2 March 2010). "An Indie Takes on Animation's Big Boys". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  5. Brown, Todd (12 March 2009). "News: BRENDAN Director Tomm Moore Sings A SONG OF THE SEA". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  6. Wolfe, Jennifer (23 May 2014). "GALLERY: Salma Hayek's 'The Prophet'". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  7. "Wolfwalkers". tiff.net. Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  8. "An Sclábhaí" [The Slave]. Cló Mhaigh Eo (in Irish). Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  9. Brendan et le secret de Kells at Superpouvoir.com (in French)
  10. Kieran Goss [@KieranGoss] (2 February 2010). "My nephew Tomm Moore has been nominated for an Oscar for his movie 'The Secret of Kells': www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTPAvY4y0pY" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. Brady, Tara (10 July 2015). "Tomm Moore, Celtic cartoonist with two Oscar nods". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  12. "Tomm Moore: Kilkenny is a small city with a huge heart". The Times UK. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  13. Tomm Moore [@tommmoore] (12 November 2020). "My wife and I were teenage parents in the 1990s living on incredibly low income for many years - we didn't starve" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. Tomm Moore [@tommmoore] (11 February 2012). "@Vauben been vegetarian since childhood try to eat vegan as much as possible" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. Tomm Moore [@tommmoore] (20 August 2020). "I dunno man I ate like this as a very poor person in my early twenties ... never felt I was missing anything and raised my son a vegetarian we were teenage parents . I honestly find it baffling how it can Cost more to just eat plants ? I went vegetarian as a kid vegan at 30" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. Amidi, Amid (13 February 2017). "Cartoon Movie 2017: Five Innovative Family Films Out of Europe". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  17. Sheehy, Ted (16 July 2008). "Secret Of Kells takes Ireland's Directors Finders Series Award". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  18. Tony (6 December 2009). "Brendan and the Secret of Kells". plexpixel.com. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  19. A 9. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál és a 6. Nemzetközi Animációs Fesztivál díjai (English: "Awards"). Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 2009.
  20. "Winners of the 7th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards". Irish Film & Television Academy. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  21. "Aardman wins at British Animation Awards". BBC News. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  22. "un Prix spécial du Jury a été attribué au Chant de la mer de Tomm Moore". voixdetoiles.com. 27 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  23. "42nd Annual Annie Award Nominees". Retrieved 1 December 2014.
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