3.45-Filmmaker Interview with Aaron Blaise

In today's episode, I interview Aaron Blaise, director of the animated short film "Snow Bear," a story of a lonely polar bear navigating a rapidly changing Arctic in search of connection. 

Listen to hear about how Aaron found his way into animation, what he learned from his many years as an animator at Disney, and the emotional inspiration for the story of this new film.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

• Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Films and TV shows mentioned in this episode include:

• "Snow Bear" directed by Aaron Blaise
• The Lion King directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
• Beauty and the Beast directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale
• Mulan directed by Tony Bancroft
• Brother Bear directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker
• Bambi directed by David D. Hand
• Moana directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
• Moana 2 directed by David Derrick Jr.
• Mufasa: The Lion King directed by Barry Jenkins
• Back to the Future directed by Robert Zemeckis
• E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial directed by Steven Spielberg
• Aladdin directed by John Musker and Ron Clements
• Oh Brother, Where Art Thou directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
• The Big Lebowski directed by Joel Coen
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind directed by Steven Spielberg
• Jaws directed by Steven Spielberg
• The Little Mermaid directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
• Tarzan directed by Chris Buck and Kevin Lima
• Pocahontas directed by Eric Goldberg and Mike Gabriel
• "Dear Basketball" directed by Glen Keane
• The Wild Robot directed by Chris Sanders
• Lilo & Stitch (2002) directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders
• Lilo & Stitch (2025) directed by Dean Fleischer Camp
• How to Train Your Dragon (2010) directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• How to Train Your Dragon (2025) directed by Dean DeBlois
• Polar written by Aaron Blaise
• The Hidden written by Aaron Blaise

Follow Aaron on Instagram @aaronblaiseart, check out his work at www.creatureartteacher.com and be sure to check out the film at Tribeca this June.