‘Zootopia,’ ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Director Rich Moore Signs Exclusive Overall Deal With Skydance Animation

Rich Moore, the director of Zootopia and Wreck-It Ralph, has inked an exclusive, multi-year overall deal with Skydance Animation. Under the terms of the deal, Moore will create, develop and produce original animated features for the studio.

Cartoon Brew exclusively reported that Moore had moved to Skydance last month.

At Skydance, Moore will reunite with John Lasseter, his former boss at Disney. Lasseter left Disney at the end of 2018 after allegations of sexual misconduct. His hiring as the head of Skydance Animation was announced nine days after his last day at Disney.

Moore left Disney around the same time, after he’d completed directing Ralph Breaks the Internet, and shifted to Sony Pictures Animation in 2019. His time at the studio was short-lived and his sole credit was as a producer on Vivo.

Moore, 58, has enjoyed a lengthy career in animation prior to working in features, and spent many years in tv animation. He served as one of the three original directors on The Simpsons and later became a producer and supervising director on The Critic.

Skydance Animation, a subsidiary of David Ellison’s Skydance Media, is gaining momentum in the industry and has attracted A-list directors, particularly those who have had a previous working relationship with Lasseter. Other directors now there include Nathan Greno (Tangled) and Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).

The studio’s first feature release, Luck, directed by Peggy Holmes (The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning, The Pirate Fairy), will debut on Apple TV+ August 5. Skydance released its first animation project, the Joe Mateo-directed short Blush, on Apple TV+ last year.