Snow Bear
Music
DirectorAaron Blaise
ProducerNicholas Burch
StudioAaron Blaise Studios
ReleasedNovember 28, 2025
Runtime11 minutes
CountryUnited States

Snow Bear is a 2025 American animated short film written and directed by Aaron Blaise (known for the 2003 Academy Award-nominated feature Brother Bear). The 11-minute wordless[1] animated film following the life of a lonely polar bear was selected in various international film festivals, including the Annecy Film Festival,[2] the Tribeca Film Festival[3][4] and Animafest Zagreb.[5] The film was entirely animated by Aaron Blaise himself over the span of three years.[6]

Snow Bear is currently available to watch on Blaise's YouTube channel.

It was shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards in the category of Best Animated Short Film.[7][8]

Plot

A lonely male polar bear named Glen lives on an unforgivable ice floe in the Arctic. After failing to befriend an arctic fox, an orca and some Canada geese, he decides to create his own out of snow. He spends his days with it watching the aurora borealis, playing hide-and-seek, eating seals, sliding down snowbanks and even imitating nearby walruses together.

One morning, the snow-made bear starts melting. Glen tries to save it, but is unable to. Eventually, after mourning the loss of his "friend", he discovers an Arctic island with green grass. While exploring, Glen discovers another snow-made bear made by a female polar bear named Luma. The two become mates and make another snow bear to be friends with Luma’s snow bear.

Accolades

Since its release, the film has been selected in various festivals around the world:

YearFestivalsAward/CategoryStatus
2025Annecy International Animation Film FestivalYoung Audience Award[9]
Cleveland International Film FestivalBest Family Short Audience Choice Award[10]
Animafest ZagrebBest Film for Children and Youth[11]
El Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (FICG)Rigo Mora Prize[12]
Hollyshorts Film FestivalBest Animated Short[13]
Tribeca Film Festival[14]Best Animated Short[15]
San Francisco Film FestivalFamily Short Award[16]
Santa Fe International Film FestivalBest Animated Short Jury Award[17]
Jackson WildPlanet in Crisis Award - Short Form[18]
2026Annie AwardsBest Animated Short Subject
Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production (for Aaron Blaise)

See also

References

  1. ^ Robinson, Tasha (December 12, 2025). "A Disney animator drew all 11,000 frames of this beautiful short film on his own". Polygon. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  2. ^ "Film d'animation catégorie Jeune public : Snow Bear |" (in French). www.annecyfestival.com. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
  3. ^ Coates, Jazz Tangcay,Matt Minton,Abigail Lee,Lauren (2025-04-24). "Tribeca Festival Launches Immersive Technology Exhibit 'In Search of Us' – Film News in Brief". Variety. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
  4. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (2025-04-22). "Tribeca Fest Unveils Animated Shorts Lineup Curated by Whoopi Goldberg". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  5. ^ "animafest.hr". animafest.hr. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
  6. ^ Billington, Alex (2025-03-26). "Aaron Blaise's Homemade Animated Short 'Snow Bear' Official Trailer | FirstShowing.net". www.firstshowing.net. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  7. ^ "98th Oscars Shortlists in 12 Award Categories Announced". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  8. ^ Hilary Lewis, Beatrice Verhoeven (December 16, 2025). "2026 Oscars Shortlists Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  9. ^ Zahed, Ramin (2025-03-17). "Exclusive: Annecy Intl. Animation Festival Reveals Eclectic Lineup for Its 2025 Official Shorts Competition". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  10. ^ "CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE CIFF49 AWARD WINNERS". www.clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  11. ^ Staff, F. N. E. "Winners of Animafest Zagreb 2025 - FilmNewEurope.com". www.filmneweurope.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  12. ^ "Oso de nieve" (in Spanish). vp.eventival.com. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
  13. ^ "21st Annual HollyShorts Film Festival". hollyshorts2025.eventive.org. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  14. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (2025-04-22). "Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils Expanded Shorts Program With Dedicated Screening Room". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  15. ^ Sabroski, Ryan (2025-06-08). "'Snow Bear' (Tribeca) Non-Spoiler Review – A Simple But Stunning Animated Tale". The Cinema Spot. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  16. ^ "AwardsWatch - 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) Lineup: Josh O'Connor in 'Rebuilding,' Tributes to André Holland, Chris Columbus". AwardsWatch. 2025-03-26. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  17. ^ Molloy, Tim (2025-10-23). "Free Leonard Peltier, Nika and Madison Win Top Awards at Santa Fe International Film Festival". www.moviemaker.com. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  18. ^ "2025 Jackson Wild Media Awards". Jackson Wild. Retrieved 2025-12-31.