Monty Oum#cite note-18

{{Short description|American animator and voice actor (1981–2015)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Monty Oum

| image = Monty Oum at PAX Prime 2013 (9669012406) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Oum at PAX 2013

| birth_name = Monyreak Oum

| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1981|6|22}}

| birth_place = Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2015|2|1|1981|6|22}}

| death_place = Austin, Texas, U.S.

| occupation = {{csv|Animator|screenwriter|animation director|voice actor}}

| years active = 2002–2015

| employer = Rooster Teeth Productions

| notable works = {{ubl|RWBY|Red vs. Blue|Haloid|Dead Fantasy}}

| parents = {{ubl|Mony Oum|Vanna Oum}}

| spouse = {{marriage|Sheena Duquette|2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/2x6ac1/i_am_sheena_duquette_oum_ask_me_anything/|title=r/roosterteeth - I am Sheena Duquette Oum. Ask me anything.|website=reddit|date=26 February 2015 |access-date=6 November 2018}}

| signature = Mounty Oum signature.svg

}}

Monyreak "Monty" Oum{{Cite web |url=https://roosterteeth.com/post/3307507 |title=Rooster Teeth · Farewell Monty |website=Rooster Teeth |access-date=20 March 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171027231314/http://roosterteeth.com/post/3307507 |archive-date=27 October 2017 |url-status=deviated }} ({{IPAc-en|oʊ|m}} {{respell|OHM}}; June 22, 1981 – February 1, 2015) was an American web-based animator and writer.

Oum attracted attention within the gaming community after releasing an animated video in 2007, titled Haloid, where characters from the Halo and Metroid video game franchises fight against each other, which went viral. In October of the same year, he released a follow-up, Dead Fantasy. Oum began working for Rooster Teeth, serving as the lead animator for Red vs. Blue, and creating the original animated series RWBY.

Oum had a severe iatrogenic allergic reaction and fell into a coma in January 2015. He died on February 1, 2015 in Austin, Texas.

Early life

File:Sheena and Monty Oum at PAX Prime 2014 (15157153681).jpg West 2014]]

Oum was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1981.{{cite news|last=Slotnik|first=Daniel E.|title=Monty Oum, Web-Series Animator, Dies at 33|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/arts/video-games/monty-oum-web-series-animator-dies-at-33.html|access-date=February 6, 2015|work=New York Times|date=February 3, 2015}} He was of Cambodian, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese heritage.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/montyoum/status/346156789307437057|title="@ShawnaKhut: @montyoum Quick question. What's your nationality?" I am Cambodian, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese! :)|last=Oum|first=Monty|date=2013-06-15|website=@montyoum|language=en|access-date=2020-04-10}} He had four older brothers (including Neath, who took over voicing RWBY character Lie Ren after Oum's death) and two older sisters.{{cite web|url=http://montyoum.net/archives/602|title=Passing|last=Oum|first=Monty|date=6 October 2012|website=montyoum.net|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928220018/http://montyoum.net/archives/602|archive-date=28 September 2018|access-date=10 April 2020}} As a teenager, he was a student at New Urban Arts, a community art studio for high school students in Providence.{{Cite book|title=The creative underclass: youth, race, and the gentrifying city|last=Denmead, Tyler |isbn=978-1-4780-0659-6|location=Durham|oclc=1083466366|date = 2019-11-08}}

Career

=Independent work=

Oum dropped out of high school and began putting together gaming fan videos as early as 2002.{{cite web|url=http://gamingdead.com/2009/07/07/gd-at-ax-interview-with-monty-oum|title=GD at AX: Interview with Monty Oum|publisher=Gaming Dead|first=Meredith|last=Sweet|date=2009-07-07|access-date=2011-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202221728/http://gamingdead.com/2009/07/07/gd-at-ax-interview-with-monty-oum|archive-date=2015-02-02|url-status=dead}} In January 2007, he discovered some reverse engineering techniques online that allowed him to extract models from Halo 2 and, utilizing assets from Super Smash Bros. Melee, created the "ultimate showdown" between a SPARTAN (Halo) and Samus Aran (Metroid) in Haloid, a portmanteau of their respective franchises. The videos garnered a significant number of views online.{{Cite news|last=Ryzik|first=Melena|date=2015-02-04|title=An Animator's Death Releases a Flood of Sadness (Published 2015)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/arts/monty-oum-dies-at-33-and-his-fans-grieve.html|access-date=2020-12-23|issn=0362-4331}} Later in 2007, Oum produced a series called "Dead Fantasy" in which characters from Final Fantasy and Dead or Alive fight.{{Cite web|last=Kietzmann|first=Ludwig|date=October 3, 2007|title=Haloid creator mashes up Final Fantasy and Dead or Alive {{!}} Joystiq|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/13/haloid-creator-mashes-up-final-fantasy-and-dead-or-alive/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912080441/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/13/haloid-creator-mashes-up-final-fantasy-and-dead-or-alive/|archive-date=September 12, 2014|access-date=December 23, 2020|website=Joystiq}}

=Industry work=

Two months after the premiere of Haloid, many gaming companies sought Oum,Solomon, Dan. [https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2013-07-19/the-full-monty/ "The Full Monty"] (July 19, 2013), Austin Chronicle and he was eventually hired by Midway Games as a combat designer. In 2008 he was hired by Namco Bandai Games as a combat designer and animator for Afro Samurai.{{cite web|url=http://www.popten.net/2009/07/monty-oum-hail-to-the-king/|title=Monty Oum – Hail to the King|publisher=Popten|first=Andrew|last=Monkelban|date=2009-07-29|access-date=2011-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203005901/http://popten.net/2009/07/monty-oum-hail-to-the-king/|archive-date=2015-02-03|url-status=dead}} The brief experience in the gaming industry frustrated Oum, and in 2009, he met Rooster Teeth co-founder Burnie Burns at a panel during San Diego Comic-Con and the two discussed the possibility of Oum working for the company.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXXhZi8i_Sk|title=Monty Oum Interview (PAX East 2010)|first=Sam|last=Dean|website=YouTube|date=2010-04-21|access-date=2011-07-05}} It wasn't until PAX East 2010 that it was announced that Oum had been hired as an animator for the company's long-running web series Red vs. Blue.{{cite web |last=Burns |first=Burnie |author-link=Burnie Burns |date=2010-03-29 |title=Monty Oum signs on with Rooster Teeth |url=http://roosterteeth.com/viewEntry.php?id=1989 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713012254/http://roosterteeth.com/viewEntry.php?id=1989 |archive-date=2012-07-13 |access-date=2011-07-06 |work=Red vs. Blue |publisher=Rooster Teeth Productions}}

His next work, the animated series RWBY, featured highly involved and fantastical combat sequences between super-powered characters that garnered a following online.{{cite news |author=Ryzik |first=Melena |date=February 4, 2015 |title=An Animator's Death Releases a Flood of Sadness |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/arts/monty-oum-dies-at-33-and-his-fans-grieve.html |access-date=March 20, 2015 |work=The New York Times |quote=For fans of a certain kind of animation, Monty Oum was the Wizard—and the King, the Knight and the Pawn, all rolled into one. Millions of people watched his web series "Red vs. Blue" and "RWBY."}} RWBY was a commercial success for Rooster Teeth, and critical reviews highlighted the high quality of its animated fight scenes.{{cite web |last1=Pedersen |first1=Erik |last2=Bloom |first2=David |date=February 3, 2015 |title=Monty Oum Dies: Rooster Teeth Animation Director, 'RWBY' Creator Was 33 |url=https://deadline.com/2015/02/monty-oum-dead-rwby-creator-rooster-teeth-animator-1201365261/ |access-date=November 6, 2018 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}{{Cite web|last=Eisenbeis|first=Richard|date=November 11, 2014|title=Another Season of RWBY Means More Epic Fights|url=https://kotaku.com/another-season-of-rwby-means-more-epic-fights-1657100758|access-date=December 24, 2020|website=Kotaku}} Two seasons of the show were produced, with a third in production at the time of Oum's death in early 2015. The show has now run for nine seasons.{{Cite web|last=Cardine|first=Kyle|date=January 24, 2023|title=RWBY Volume 9 Premieres on Crunchyroll on February 18|url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2023/01/24/rwby-volume-9-premieres-on-crunchyroll-on-february-18|access-date=March 31, 2023|website=Crunchyroll}}

Death

On January 22, 2015, Oum had an unspecified severe allergic reaction during a "simple medical procedure".{{cite web |last=Hullum |first=Matt |title=Monty Oum has passed away |url=http://roosterteeth.com/post/3302319 |website=Rooster Teeth |access-date=January 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20151016055734/http://roosterteeth.com/post/3302319 |archive-date=2015-10-16 |language=en |date=February 2, 2015}} On January 30, Rooster Teeth co-founder Burnie Burns stated that Oum was "in critical care and it is not known if he will recover".{{cite web |last=Burns |first=Burnie |author-link=Burnie Burns |date=January 30, 2015 |title=Monty Oum hospitalized |url=https://roosterteeth.com/post/3301055 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20151016055734/http://roosterteeth.com/post/3302319 |archive-date=2015-10-16 |access-date=February 1, 2015}} A donation page was set up for the medical expenses on GoFundMe, which received over $210,000. On February 1, 2015, at 4:34 p.m., Oum died as a result of anaphylaxis at the age of 33.{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/rooster-teeth-animator-monty-oum-has-passed-away-the-p-1683287272 |title=Rooster Teeth Animator Monty Oum Dies At 33 |last=Klepek |first=Patrick |work=Kotaku |publisher=Gawker Media |date=February 2, 2015 |access-date=February 3, 2015 }}

Filmography

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Name

!Other

!Notes

2007

|Haloid

|{{yes}}

|Producer, cinematographer, editor, visual effects

2007–09

|Dead Fantasy

|{{yes}}

|Creator

2009

|Afro Samurai

|{{yes}}

|Additional designer

2010–12

|Red vs. Blue

|{{yes}}

|Cinematographer

2010–14

|Immersion

|{{yes}}

2013

|Internet Box Panel, RTX 2013

|{{yes}}

|P. F. Chang's Deliveryman

2013–16

|RWBY

|{{yes}}

|Creator, voice of Ren (Volumes 1 and 2)

Accolades

class="wikitable sortable" \|+ List of awards and nominations
Year ! Award ! Category ! Title of work ! Result
2014 \|Streamy Awards \| Best Animated (Channel, Show or Series) \| RWBY \| {{won}}
2014 \|International Academy of Web Television \| Best Animated Series \| RWBY \| {{won}}
2012 \|Producers Guild of America \| Outstanding Digital Series \| Red vs. Blue \| {{nominated}}

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ List of awards and nominations

Year

! Award

! Category

! Title of work

! Result

2014

|Streamy Awards

| Best Animated (Channel, Show or Series)

| RWBY

| {{won}}