One Disney Classic Just Got a Spiritual Sequel From Its Award Nominated Director (And It’s Perfect)

One Disney classic, that fans might not have paid much attention too, just got a spiritual successor from one of its Academy Award nominated directors, and it’s absolutely perfect. Disney has released a lot of animated classics over the decades as it has gone through multiple eras of films. Some eras have been more successful than others, and there was a transitional period where their 2D animated films weren’t seen in the same light that they used to be. Despite how strong the early 2000s era films were, they didn’t get the same amount of acclaim as other hits a decade prior.

Aaron Blaise, legendary animator who has worked on Disney films like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, most famously worked as director for Brother Bear alongside Robert Walker. The film was then nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards that year, but it’s not exactly the first Disney classic that fans bring up in conversation. But that’s going to change as Blaise has returned with a new, completely hand drawn short that’s going to blow minds. Check out Snow Bear below.

What Is Snow Bear?

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Snow Bear was entirely animated by Blaise himself. Featuring over 11,000 drawings, animated over the course of three years, the short film has been taking over the festival circuit for a while. The animated short is more reminiscent of the Disney Renaissance era that kicked off a whole new life for animation in theaters, and it’s a short that helps to emphasize the kind of spirit that the company used to have before it made its shift to CG animated projects. It’s both nostalgic and fresh, and serves as a fun spiritual successor to Brother Bear thanks to the polar bear at the center of it all.

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It’s also reminiscent of the Disney Renaissance in that there is a much bigger message in store with the short. As it follows a polar bear traveling across the arctic in search of a friend, it also digs into how much the arctic has changed in the wake of our ever shifting climate. But at the same time, it also makes sure to find the hope in such a dark situation like many of the Disney classics that fans used to love watching in action all those decades ago. It’s just so cool to see such a well crafted animation in motion.

What Happened With Brother Bear?

Brother Bear was kind of a victim of timing more than anything else. While the Academy Award nominated film was one of the strongest in its library in the early 2000s, tastes had begun to shift at that time. There was still a desire to see hand drawn animation, but instead the 2000s started to really explore CG animated work as the technology to do so improved further. Soon enough, Disney decided to go that route as well for their works so films like Brother Bear felt like the sunset on a previous era.

Like many successful Disney films, Brother Bear did get an official sequel that released exclusively on home video a few years later. It’s just not brought up in the conversation when it comes to the best Disney animated films, and it’s likely because it released at such an odd time compared to everything else fans hold in high regard. But with the success of shorts like Snow Bear, it’s clear there’s still an appetite for heart and hand drawn animation.

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