Spanish Animation Legend Jose Luis Moro, RIP
José Luis Moro Escalona, who ran one of Spain’s leading commercial animation studios and created the iconic Familia Telerín, died yesterday in Madrid at the age of 88. Although he had suffered from Alzheimer’s, the cause of death was natural.
In 1955, Moro launched Estudios Moro in Madrid with his brother Santiago. The company, which lasted until 1970, dominated Spanish commercial production and popularized the Cartoon Modern style in that country. “Jose Luis and his brother Santiago Moro were the Spanish Walt and Roy Disney,” director and former Disney animator Raul Garcia told Cartoon Brew. “They invented modern advertising in Spain, and inspired a whole generation of animation artists.” The studio won hundreds of advertising awards and eventually opened satellites in Barcelona, Lisbon, and the United States.
Moro’s work received a new wave of critical attention in the late-2000s when he was recognized for his contributions in shaping 20th century Spanish popular culture. In 2008, the Valencia Museum of Illustration and Modernity presented the first major exhibit dedicated to his company, “Estudios Moro: The Beginnings of the Commercial,” which examined how his studio introduced a modern and fun sensibility to the Spanish public at a time when the country was under a dictatorship and the public yearned for more freedom.
Raul Garcia, a friend and colleague of Jose Luis Moro, has kindly shared these memories with Cartoon Brew:
Jose Luis Moro was a genius. He was modest and shy but his talent spoke volumes about him. During the 60’s and 70’s he was one of the most prolific animation directors and designers on TV from commercials to toy and mascot design. When I was 13, “a friend of a friend of a friend” took me to visit Moro studios, and it was a magic moment, when I met Jose Luis, a very gentle man who show me drawings and cels and inspired me to become an animator. Later on I had the pleasure to work with him in the feature Katy Caterpillar and some years later at Bluth Studios.
He was a very talented and incredible person who really never had the deserved recognition in his own country. His style was elegant and incredibly appealing. His animation was beautiful and full of grace and personality. La Familia Telerín, a brief animated vignette shown on TV to entice the kids to go to bed at the end of the day was immensely popular in all Spanish speaking countries and an early merchandising phenomenon in Spain. He made a series of films showcasing Cantinflas in one of the best caricatures of the actor ever made and Hanna Barbera used his original design for the TV series Amigo and Friends that actually we animated in Madrid. His spirit and inspiration will always be with us.
In addition to his animation work, Moro was a prolific artist who illustrated comics, children’s books and magazines. Below is a selection of his illustration work as well as commercials made by his studio:
