Thomas McGrath (born August 7, 1964) is an American voice actor, animator, screenwriter, and film director. He is known for the DreamWorks animated film ''

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

'', which he co-directed with

Eric Darnell Eric Darnell (born August 21, 1961) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, screenwriter, songwriter and occasional voice actor best known for co-directing ''Antz'' with Tim Johnson, as well as co-directing and co-writing ''Madagas ...

while voicing the character of Skipper the Penguin. The film spawned two direct sequels, along with a spin-off

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...

and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

based on the penguins in which McGrath reprised his role as Skipper. McGrath has also directed other DreamWorks animated films such as ''

Megamind ''Megamind'' is a 2010 American computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, the film stars the ...

'', ''

The Boss Baby ''The Boss Baby'' is a 2017 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee, it was directed by Tom McGrath fr ...

'' and its 2021 sequel.

Life and career

McGrath was born and raised in

Lynnwood, Washington Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the fou ...

. He studied Industrial Design at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and graduated from the Character Animation program at

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

. McGrath's experience in both television and feature animation includes work as an animator on ''

Cool World ''Cool World'' is a 1992 American live-action/animated black comedy fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi and written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor. Starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne and Brad Pitt, it tells the story of a cartoonist w ...

'' and ''

Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel We ...

'', storyboard artist and director for ''

The Ren and Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' (also known as ''Ren & Stimpy'') is an American animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon, the series aired from August 11, 1991, to Dece ...

'', and storyboard artist on the live action film ''

Cats & Dogs ''Cats & Dogs'' is a 2001 spy-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It stars Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, with the voices of (among others) Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, ...

''. He also worked as a storyboard artist, concept artist and prop and set designer for ''

How the Grinch Stole Christmas ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...

''. McGrath also stepped in on ''

Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and W ...

'' by

Aardman Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay ani ...

, the creators of '' The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', to help make improvements prior to its release. McGrath made his film directing debut as the co-director and co-writer of ''

''Keeping Control of the Zoo Tom McGrath Directs Madagascar to Laughs by Sara Michelle Fetters.
MovieFreak.com. Retrieved June 21, 2011. along with

, where he also voiced the leader of the squad of penguin characters, Skipper. He reprised his role as Skipper and co-directed and co-wrote the sequel, '' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa''. He also worked on ''

The Penguins of Madagascar ''The Penguins of Madagascar'' is an American computer-animated television series co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon. It stars nine characters from DreamWorks' animated film ''Madagascar'': the penguins Skipper ( Tom McGrath) ...

'', a spin-off TV series, as a creative consultant and as the voice of Skipper. He directed ''

'', released in November 2010. In 2017, he directed ''

'', and has also directed the 2021 sequel '' The Boss Baby: Family Business''.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Television series

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Tom 1964 births Living people Animators from Washington (state) American animated film directors American male voice actors California Institute of the Arts alumni University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design alumni DreamWorks Animation people Nickelodeon people Showrunners People from Lynnwood, Washington American male screenwriters Writers from Washington (state) American storyboard artists Film directors from Washington (state)