Rich Moore (born ) is an American film and television animation director,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

. He is best known for serving as a director on primetime animated television series such as ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', ''

The Critic ''The Critic'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as w ...

'' and ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'' as well as directing the films ''

Wreck-It Ralph ''Wreck-It Ralph'' is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was directed by Rich Moore and produced by Clark Spencer, from a screenplay by Phil Johnston (filmmaker), Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee ( ...

'' (2012), '' Zootopia'' (2016) and ''

Ralph Breaks the Internet ''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' is a 2018 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is the sequel to the 2012 film ''Wreck-It Ralph''. The film was directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston (filmmaker), Phil Joh ...

'' (2018) for

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

. He is a two-time

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

winner, a three-time

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

winner and an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winner.

Early life

Moore grew up in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

. He studied film and video at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in 1987. While there, he narrated

Jim Reardon Jim Reardon is an American animation director and screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the animated TV series ''The Simpsons''. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series and was credited as a supervising director for seasons 9 t ...

's 1986 student film '' Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown''. Included in his CalArts class were famous filmmakers such as

Andrew Stanton Andrew Ayers Stanton (born December 3, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is best known as the director and co-writer of the Pixar animated films ''Finding Nemo'' (2003), ''WALL-E'' (2008), ''Finding Dory'' (2016), and the upcoming ''Toy Story 5 ...

Brenda Chapman Brenda Chapman (born ) is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and director. In 1998, she became the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major studio, DreamWorks Animation's ''The Prince of Egypt''. In 2012, she ...

, and

Career

Television

After graduating from CalArts, Moore worked for

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (; born October 29, 1938) is a Mandatory Palestine-born American retired animator and filmmaker, known for his fantastical animated films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent anim ...

on CBS's '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'', co-writing all 13 season 1 episodes in 1987. Moore was one of the original three directors of ''

'', directing 17 episodes in the first 5 seasons from 1990 to 1993, including the episodes: " Flaming Moe's", " Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie", and " Marge vs. the Monorail". He won a 1991 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for ''The Simpsons: Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment'', and later return as one of the sequence directors on ''

The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' created by Matt Groening. The film was directed by series veteran David Silverman (animator) ...

'' in 2007. In 1994, Moore became a producer and supervising director for the animated series ''

''. He then oversaw the creative development and production of ''

'' as the show's supervising director. He also directed several episodes of the animated series from 1999 to 2001, including the classic " Roswell That Ends Well", for which he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. Moore's other television animation directing credits include

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

's ''

Drawn Together ''Drawn Together'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein. It aired on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004, to November 14, 2007, spanning three seasons. The series is a parody of house-based reality s ...

'' and " Spy vs. Spy" for ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

''. He served as supervising director on the 2009 animated Fox television series '' Sit Down, Shut Up''.

Film

In 2004, Moore directed the

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

animated short film ''Duck Dodgers in Attack of the Drones''. In 2008, he was invited by

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter ( ; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, a ...

to join

as a director, with the suggestion that he develop a story set in the world of video games. This would become the 2012 animated feature ''

'', Moore's feature directing debut, and a box office and critical success. Moore also supplied the voices for the film's characters Sour Bill and

Zangief Zangief (; Japanese: ), often called the , is a character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' series. Considered to be the first grappling-based fighting game character, he made his debut in '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'' (1991). In the ...

. ''Wreck-It Ralph'' won five

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origi ...

, including Best Animated Feature and a Best Director award for Moore,Carolyn Giardina
"'Wreck-It Ralph' Wins Five Annie Awards Including Best Animated Feature,"
''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 2, 2013. and was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is an Academy Awards, Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best animation, animated feature film. An animated feature is defined by the a ...

.Brian Truitt
"Disney inspiration is huge for 'Ralph' director,"
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', February 22, 2013. Moore's next animated feature film was Disney's '' Zootopia'', which he directed alongside Byron Howard and co-director

Jared Bush Jared Bush (born June 12, 1974) is an American filmmaker, who has served as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2024. He is best known for co-writing and co-directing the company's animated films '' Zootopia'' (201 ...

. The film, released on March 4, 2016, became the second highest-grossing animated feature film of 2016 with a worldwide box office gross of over $1.023 billion. The film also won the

. After ''Zootopia'', Moore returned to direct ''

'', the sequel to ''Wreck-It Ralph'', with fellow filmmaker Phil Johnston. The film was a financial success, outgrossing the original film with over $529.3 million worldwide. It was also nominated for multiple awards in the Best Animated Feature category, including the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, and

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

. On April 8, 2019, Moore revealed that he had left Disney to join

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and found ...

, where he would direct and produce original animated films for the studio, and ultimately produced the film '' Vivo''. On March 16, 2022, Moore revealed that he has entered into an exclusive, multi-year overall deal with Skydance Animation. On October 18, 2023, it was revealed that Moore is directing an untitled

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...

project at Skydance.

Filmography

Films

Shorts

Other credits

Awards

;

Feature Film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

s ;

s * 1991 – Outstanding Animated Program (Programming Less Than One Hour) for ''

'' (" Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment") * 2002 – Outstanding Animated Program (Programming Less Than One Hour) for ''

'' (" Roswell That Ends Well") ;

s * 2002 – Directing in an Animated Television Production for ''Futurama'' ("Roswell That Ends Well") * 2012 – Directing in an Animated Feature Production for ''

'' * 2016 – Directing in an Animated Feature Production for '' Zootopia'' (Shared with Byron Howard) ;

s * 2012 – Nominated:

for ''Wreck-It Ralph'' * 2016 –

for '' Zootopia'' * 2018 – Nominated:

for ''

Television directing credits

''The Simpsons''

*" The Telltale Head" (season 1, episode 8, original air date: February 25, 1990) *" Homer's Night Out" (season 1, episode 10, March 25, 1990) *" Simpson and Delilah" (season 2, episode 2, October 18, 1990) *" Treehouse of Horror" (season 2, episode 3, October 25, 1990) *" Dead Putting Society" (season 2, episode 6, November 15, 1990) *" Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" (season 2, episode 13, February 7, 1991) *" Lisa's Substitute" (season 2, episode 19, April 25, 1991) *" Stark Raving Dad" (season 3, episode 1, September 19, 1991) *" Bart the Murderer" (season 3, episode 4, October 10, 1991) *" Flaming Moe's" (season 3, episode 10, November 21, 1991) *" Lisa the Greek" (season 3, episode 14, January 23, 1992) *" Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" (season 3, episode 24, August 27, 1992) *" A Streetcar Named Marge" (season 4, episode 2, October 1, 1992) *" Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" (season 4, episode 6, November 3, 1992) *" Marge vs. the Monorail" (season 4, episode 12, January 14, 1993) *" The Front" (season 4, episode 19, April 15, 1993) *"

Cape Feare "Cape Feare" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox in the United States on 7th October, 1993. The episode features guest star Kelsey Grammer in hi ...

" (season 5, episode 2, October 7, 1993)

''The Critic''

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

" (season 1, episode 1, January 26, 1994) *"Lady Hawke" (season 2, episode 3, March 19, 1995) *"I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show" (season 2, episode 10, May 21, 1995)

''Futurama''

*" Space Pilot 3000" (co-directed with Gregg Vanzo) (season 1, episode 1, March 28, 1999) *" Hell Is Other Robots" (season 2, episode 9, May 18, 1999) *" A Clone of My Own" (season 2, episode 15, April 9, 2000) *" Anthology of Interest I" (co-directed with

Chris Louden Chris Louden is an American Animation, animator. He is credited with directing several episodes of ''Futurama''. Directing credits ''Futurama'' episodes *"Put Your Head on My Shoulders" *"Anthology of Interest I" (co-directed with Rich Moore) *" ...

) (season 3, episode 20, May 21, 2000) *" Roswell That Ends Well" (season 4, episode 1, December 9, 2001)

''Baby Blues''

* "Bizzy Moves In" (season 1, episode 2, July 28, 2000)

''Drawn Together''

*" Clum Babies" (season 2, episode 5, November 16, 2005) *" Alzheimer's That Ends Well" (season 3, episode 14, March 8, 2006)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Rich Living people People from Oxnard, California American animated film directors American television directors Primetime Emmy Award winners Walt Disney Animation Studios people Sony Pictures Animation people Skydance Media people Annie Award winners California Institute of the Arts alumni American male voice actors Animation screenwriters Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners Film directors from California Male actors from California Screenwriters from California 1963 births