Benjamin Gluck

Benjamin (Ben) Gluck
Born	Benjamin James Gluck St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Alma mater	California Institute of the Arts
Occupation	Director, Creator, Head of Story, Disney Animator
Years active	1996–present
Known for	Peanuts 9 Alpha and Omega Disney Animation Studios

Benjamin James Gluck (also known as Ben Gluck) is a creator, director, and supervising storyboard director on feature animation and steaming television. Gluck has developed original animated film productions in collaboration with producers George Lucas, Tim Burton, Charles Roven, and Tyler Perry.^[1] Gluck worked at Disney Animation studios^[2] where he was a director and head of story.

Early life and background[]

Gluck was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Character Animation from the esteemed California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and was awarded a full-tuition merit scholarship from Walt Disney Feature Animation studios. His student short film Man's Best Friend was awarded the Motion Picture Honorary student Academy Award, the Walter Lantz Award.^[3] That film premiered worldwide in heavy rotation on MTV's network,^[1] and received many top awards in the United States and International film circuits and toured worldwide and theatrically in Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Animation Festival.

Career[]

Gluck began his career at DreamWorks Animation, where he was the studio’s very first story trainee, on The Prince of Egypt.

Gluck was recruited by Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he was mentored by Tony Award winner Roger Allers and Pixar Academy Award nominee Jim Capobianco. At Disney, Gluck worked for over a decade as a key member of the feature animation story team. He later became the first head of story at Disney-Television on the films Bambi 2, Piglet's Big Movie and Gluck directed Brother Bear 2, which is Disney's second sequel to have a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes than its predecessor.^[4] While at Disney, Gluck storyboarded one of only two episodes of the adult series Clerks the animated series.

Motivated to push animation storytelling boundaries, Gluck collaborated with Academy Award nominated director Shane Acker, as the head of story, on the Tim Burton executive produced post-apocalyptic animated feature film, 9 for Focus Features. In this role, Gluck helped shape the concept through approved script.

Gluck was one of two directors on the indie film Alpha and Omega, which became the first film in the franchise of the same name, followed by eight follow-up films to become Lionsgate Films highest-grossing original CGI animated franchise. Gluck also consulted and wrote additional screenplay and story material for Madea's Tough Love, tasked with translating the Madea character into animation but for younger audience.

Gluck was hired by George Lucas, at Lucas Film on Strange Magic (film) with who he collaborated with in story and script development for this original animated feature. Gluck also collaborated with executive producer Charles Roven on an animated superhero action reboot of the widely-popular anime comic Battle of the Planets.

Gluck is currently the head of story on the Annie Award nominated Peanuts holiday special: For Auld Lang Syne, the first new Peanuts holiday special since 2011, and the 47th overall. Gluck is also the head of story on the 48th original Peanuts steaming holiday special. Both specials are in collaboration with Apple TV +, and the Charles Schultz family.

Awards and recognition[]

• Walter Lantz Honorary Student Academy Award:^[1] best short animated film "Man's Best Friend."
• Annie Award for Best Home Entertainment Production: Bambi 2 at the 34th Annie Awards.
• Annie Award for Best Screenplay: Brother Bear 2 at the 35th Annie Awards.

Filmography[]

Television[]

• Man's Best Friend (TV) (1996)
• Rugrats (TV) (2000)
• Clerks (TV) (2000)

References[]

5.Apple TV+ New Peanuts Holiday Specials

See also[]

• Modern animation in the United States
• Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Brad Bird
• Brenda Chapman

External links[]

• Ben Gluck at IMDb
• Ben Gluck's Interview with TV Guide