Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Benjamin Gluck
American filmmaker From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Ben Gluck is an American animation director, screenwriter, and story artist. He has worked as a senior creative in story development on various animated films and television specials, and has directed for studios such as Disney and Lionsgate.
Remove ads
Early life
Benjamin "Ben" Gluck was born in St. Louis, Missouri. As a teenager, he showed his art portfolio to Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston during their book tour for Bambi: The Story and the Film. They encouraged him to apply to California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).[1] After being accepted, Gluck earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Character Animation from CalArts. Gluck's second year student film Man's Best Friend was awarded the Walter Lantz Animation Prize[2] at the CalArts Producers Show, where Gluck thanked Thomas and Johnson personally. His film premiered on MTV's network,[3] and was screened in theaters as part of the Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation.
Remove ads
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Upon graduating from CalArts, Gluck immediately obtained a job as a storyboard and visual development artist at Walt Disney Feature Animation. Gluck contributed to several theatrical films, including Dinosaur, The Emperor's New Groove, and Home on the Range. Prior to Disney, Gluck was part of DreamWorks Animation’s first story internship, working on The Prince of Egypt.
Gluck transitioned to Disneytoon Studios where he was Head of Story for Bambi II and helped adapt A.A. Milne’s The House at Pooh Corner into Piglet's Big Movie both of which received theatrical releases.[4] Gluck also directed the Annie Award-winning film Brother Bear II.[5][6][7]
After Disney, Gluck pursued opportunities to tell new kinds of stories told in animation.[8] He became Head of Story on the Tim Burton-produced 9 for Focus Features, contributing to character development and overseeing the story animatic. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four, contrasting it with the works of Hayao Miyazaki and saying that "the visuals are entrancing[9].” Gluck was also a segment storyboard artist on the acclaimed adaptation of Kahlil Gibran's, The Prophet.
Gluck served as the senior creative of the story department for the Peanuts holiday special Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne, where he contributed to the plot and to Lucy’s characterization, emphasizing a more introspective portrayal. Chuck Wilson from The Village Voice praised the special, saying, "Lucy is transformed from a character of nostalgia into a girl as self-reflective and searching as any young person watching the special might be. Her crisis of self is sure to resonate[10].”
He also served as senior creative of the story department for Snoopy Presents: To Mom (and Dad), With Love, building and leading the story team while overseeing narrative development and the final storyboard reel. This special emphasized the theme that all families deserve recognition[11] and was nominated for a Humanitas Prize[12]. Both specials were produced by Apple TV +.
Remove ads
Advocacy
Gluck’s work has been recognized for incorporating narratives involving underrepresented groups on screen.[13][14][15]
Filmography
Remove ads
Television
- Rugrats (TV) (2000)
- Clerks (TV) (2001)
- MTV's Cartoon Sushi’s Man's Best Friend (1998)
See also
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads