Aaron Blaise

Creator, Director& Animator.

For 21 years Aaron was with Walt Disney Feature Animation where he helped to create some of the greatest animated films ever made. During that time he worked as an animator or supervising animator on The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas and Mulan.

In 2003 he was director of Brother Bear for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.

After Brother Bear he helped to develop several projects but ultimately left Disney to pursue an opportunity back home in Florida. Aaron also served as a 2D Animation Supervisor and Character Designer for the The Bear and the Hare an advertisement loved by millions around the world.

He was recently named as the 2025 recipient of the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award in animation by ASIFA-Hollywood and was presented the award at the 2025 Annie Awards.

In 2013 Aaron and his business partner, Nick Burch founded one of the worlds top online art schools, CreatureArtTeacher.com

Director’s Statement

I spent over three years bringing Snow Bear to life in my personal studio, working on every aspect of the film’s creation – from storyboards to final animation… entirely on my own. This project marks a return to my roots as an artist and storyteller, reminiscent of my days animating on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, as well as directing Disney’s Brother Bear. In Snow Bear, I wanted to capture something deeply personal: a sense of awe for the natural world, paired with the emotional depth that only hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation can convey.

The film was inspired by the resilience of our planet’s polar regions, and I’m honored that both Polar Bears International and the National Parks Conservation Association have chosen to stand behind it. Their missions underscore the very themes I hoped to illustrate: the fragility of our environment, and the importance of protecting it for the generations yet to come.

More than anything, I want viewers to leave this short film having felt a range of emotions from laughter at a lonely polar bear’s resourcefulness to reflection on how we, too, can find hope in the most challenging of circumstances. Ultimately, I believe that if Snow Bear can make audiences pause, reflect, and feel even a spark of wonder, then I’ve succeeded in my goal of bringing a little more beauty to our world.