Crazy artists making a living doing what they want to do, with Tomm Moore

Tomm Moore is an award-winning animator and director, and the co-founder of Cartoon Saloon animation studio in Kilkenny, Ireland. His notable work includes Wolfwalkers, Song of the Sea, and the Secret of Kells, a trilogy of films based on Irish folklore. Discover how Tomm and his partners built Cartoon Saloon from scratch, without any prior business knowledge, in the small city where they grew up.

More from the episode

• Why learning to run a business meant graduating from the school of “mend and make do.”
• How parenthood changed Tomm’s outlook on his professional career, and inspired his films.
• The importance of soft skills like self-reflection and emotional intelligence when starting a business.
• Tomm describes the moment he decided not to give up on Cartoon Saloon and “get a real job.”
• What goes into making an Oscar-nominated film, and why does Tomm compare it to writing a haiku?
• Tomm explains why he decided to stay in his hometown (Kilkenny, Ireland), and how it paid off.

About Tomm Moore

Over Cartoon Saloon’s history, Tomm has worked as Director, Art Director, Storyboarder, Animator and Illustrator across a range of the studio's projects. Tomm has directed 3 universally successful feature films: The Secret of Kells in 2010 and the spiritual follow-up, Song of the Sea in 2015, and Wolfwalkers in 2020. All three were nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.

His latest feature film Wolfwalkers which he co-directed with Ross Stewart received several prominent critics awards including LAFCA Award and NYFCC Award as well as nominations for a Golden Globe and a Bafta and wins in several categories including Best Director and Best Independent Feature at the 2021 Annie Awards. He is currently working as a producer across several of Cartoon Saloon’s new film and series projects as well as refocusing on his personal art training.

Additional links

The Blog of Kells

Cartoon Saloon

Wolfwalkers trailer