Phil Mulloy (born 29 August 1948) is an Irish-English animator. He was born in Wallasey, Merseyside and studied both painting and filmmaking. Mulloy worked as a screenwriter and director of live-action films until the late 1980s before becoming an animator. His animations have been described as "satirical grotesque" and often portray the dark side of human nature and contemporary social, political, and religious values in a humorous and at times, shocking way. His visual style is distinctive in its use of primitive, often skeletal figures and minimalist backgrounds. Mulloy has made over 30 animated films many of which are in themed groupings based on Hollywood genres. Mulloy has won many international awards for his work and has conducted several workshops for young animators. Early life Mulloy was born in Wallasey to an Irish father, Michael Mulloy, who migrated to Liverpool to work on the docks and an English mother named Elizabeth. Education Mulloy studied painting at Ravensbourne College followed by film at the Royal College of Art graduating in 1973. Career Early work Mulloy's 1982 drama film Mark Gertler: Fragments of a Biography won the British Film Institute's Grierson Award. MTV Idents Mulloy created many of MTV's iconic idents during the 1980s and 90s. These included the much lauded Boxers to Lovers in which two boxers, depicted as crude stick figures, stop fighting and embrace one another, only to find themselves engulfed by the furious crowd of spectators baying for blood. Cowboys Mulloy produced the Cowboys series in 1991 with funding from Channel Four and the Arts Council. The series consists of six 3-minute-long films on 35 mm: Slim Pickin's, That's Nothin''', Murder!, High Noon, The Conformist and Outrage. The shorts brought Mulloy to the attention of audiences in the UK and internationally. Mulloy exploits many of the clichés of the Western genre, minimalist Saguaro cactus dotted wilderness, stock characters like the Stetson wearing semi-nomadic wanderer, horses, lynchings and so forth drawn using brush and black ink in an intentionally primitive, silhouetted style to portray male violence, greed and rivalry using absurd black comedy. Mulloy, commenting on his creative approach said:“The audience is familiar with genres and clichés, and I take advantage of that fact. The viewers soon discover their position in the usual scheme of things, and become conscious of their role.”Music for the films was provided by Alexander Bălănescu and Keith Tippett. The Ten Commandments Mulloy created The