Benjamin Gluck


Ben Gluck is an American animation director, screenwriter, story editor, and story artist known for his work as a senior creative in story development on animated films and television specials. He has directed for studios including Disney and Lionsgate.

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. After being accepted, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Character Animation from CalArts. His second-year student film Man's Best Friend was awarded the Walter Lantz Animation Prize at the CalArts Producers Show, where he thanked Thomas and Johnston personally. The film later premiered on MTV's network and screened theatrically as part of the Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation.

Career

Upon graduating from CalArts, Gluck joined Walt Disney Feature Animation, contributing to multiple theatrical films and later serving as Head of Story and Director on studio releases, including Bambi II, Piglet's Big Movie, and the Annie Award-winning Brother Bear II.
After Disney, Gluck pursued opportunities to tell new kinds of stories in animation, becoming Head of Story on the Tim Burton-produced 9 for Focus Features. The film was praised by Roger Ebert for its ambition and tone and contrasted with the works of Hayao Miyazaki.
In 2010, Gluck directed Alpha and Omega, launching a franchise distributed by Lionsgate Family Entertainment that grossed over $50.0 million worldwide and became the studio’s highest-grossing original animated franchise.
Gluck later played a key role in revitalizing the Peanuts franchise, serving as senior creative and Head of Story for Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne, the first new Peanuts holiday special in eighteen years, and Snoopy Presents: To Mom, With Love. The latter was noted for breaking new ground with its inclusion of LGBTQ families and was the first in the franchise to receive a Humanitas Prize nomination. Both specials were produced for Apple TV+ and marked a new chapter in the expansion of Peanuts programming.

Filmography

Television