#79 Aaron Blaise: The Emotional Story of SNOW BEAR: A Hand-Drawn Animated Masterpiece

In this in-depth podcast interview, we sit down with Aaron Blaise, a legendary animator with 38 years of experience, known for his work at Disney Animation Studios during the golden era of the 1990s. Aaron shares incredible stories from animating Disney classics like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and directing Brother Bear.

Aaron opens up about his life-changing journey after the devastating loss of his wife in 2007, a moment that led him to leave Disney and rebuild his career from the ground up. He founded Creature Art Teacher (The Art of Aaron Blaise), an online education platform dedicated to teaching drawing, animation, and traditional animation techniques to artists around the world.

We dive deep into the creation of SNOW BEAR - A Hand-Drawn Animated Short Film. Created digitally while using classic traditional animation methods, the making of Snow Bear was fully documented across Aaron’s YouTube channel and website, building anticipation for the film, which has just been shortlisted for Best Animated Short at the upcoming Academy Awards.

Inspired by grief, healing, and finding love again, Snow Bear tells the touching story of a lonely polar bear searching for companionship, making it both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅ Aaron Blaise’s career at Disney Animation in the 1990s

✅ Working on iconic animated films like The Lion King and Aladdin

✅ Leaving Disney and starting Creature Art Teacher

✅ The emotional story behind Snow Bear

✅ How to create an animated short film from scratch

✅ Using traditional animation techniques in a digital workflow

✅ Art, loss, resilience, and finding purpose again

Whether you’re an animator, artist, Disney fan, or storyteller, this episode is packed with inspiration, practical insights, and honest reflection from one of the industry’s most respected figures.

🎬 Video Podcast:

🎬 Watch Snow Bear: https://youtu.be/xOXolSQcEb4?si=9LTK7XS0g4DfE97o

🌐 Official Snow Bear Film Website: https://snowbearshort.com/

🎨 Aaron Blaise’s Website / Creature Art Teacher: https://creatureartteacher.com/

🐻‍❄️ Polar Bears International: https://polarbearsinternational.org/