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Chris Buck

{{Short description|American filmmaker (born 1958)}}

{{for|the photographer|Chris Buck (photographer)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Chris Buck

| image = Frozenfeverdirectors (cropped).JPG

| caption = Buck in 2015

| birth_name = Christopher James Buck

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|02|24}}

| birth_place = Wichita, Kansas, U.S.

| alma_mater = California Institute of the Arts

| occupation = {{Flatlist|

  • Director
  • animator
  • screenwriter

}}

| notable_works = Tarzan
Surf's Up
Frozen
Frozen Fever
Frozen II
Wish

| employer = {{plainlist|

}}

| years active = 1978–present

| spouse = {{marriage|Shelley Rae Hinton|1989}}

| children = 3

| awards = Academy Award
Annie Award
BAFTA Award

}}

Christopher James Buck (born February 24, 1958) is an American film director, animator, and screenwriter known for co-directing Tarzan (1999), Surf's Up (2007) (which was nominated for the 2007 Oscar for Best Animated Feature), Frozen (2013), (which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2014), Frozen II (2019), and Wish (2023). He also worked as a supervising animator and story artist on Pocahontas (1995) and Home on the Range (2004).

He has won for one Academy Award, Annie Award and BAFTA Award, and has been nominated for two Academy, two BAFTA and five Annie Awards.{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0118333/awards|title=Chris Buck|website=IMDb|access-date=2020-02-24}}

Life and career

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Buck was inspired to explore animation by the first film he ever saw in a movie theatre as a child: Pinocchio (1940).{{cite news|last1=King|first1=Susan|title=Walt Disney Animation Studios turns 90 in colorful fashion|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-disney-anniversary-20131210-story.html|access-date=June 16, 2022|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 10, 2013}} His family eventually moved to Placentia, California, where he graduated from El Dorado High School.{{cite news|last1=Howmann|first1=Anders|title='Frozen' treat for 50|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2014/10/10/frozen-treat-for-50/|access-date=16 June 2022|work=Orange County Register|date=10 October 2014}}

Buck studied character animation for two years at CalArts, where he also taught from 1988 to 1993. At CalArts, Buck became friends with both John Lasseter and Michael Giaimo. He began his career as an animator with Disney in 1978.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Besides his work as a co-director on Tarzan, Buck's other credits at Disney also include the 1995 animated feature Pocahontas, where he oversaw the animation of three central characters: Percy, Grandmother Willow, and Wiggins. Buck also helped design characters for the 1989 animated feature The Little Mermaid, performed experimental animation for The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and was an animator on The Fox and the Hound (1981) and The Black Cauldron (1985).{{cite web | title=Introducing Chris Buck| website=cataroo.com| url=http://www.cataroo.com/hbuck.html | access-date=6 March 2024}}

Buck helped develop several films at Hyperion Pictures and served as a directing animator on the feature Bebe's Kids. He storyboarded Tim Burton's live-action featurette Frankenweenie (1984) and worked with Burton again as directing animator on the Brad Bird-directed Family Dog episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories and as director of the subsequent primetime animated series.

Buck's credits include a number of animated commercials (including some with the Keebler Elves) for such Los Angeles–based production entities as FilmFair, Kurtz & Friends, and Duck Soup.

Buck went on to co-direct Surf's Up at Sony Pictures Animation, which was released in June 2007.{{cite news|last=Orange|first=B. Alan|title=Chris Jenkins, Ash Brannon, and Chris Buck Are Creating Waves in Their New Film 'Surf's Up'|url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/chris-jenkins-ash-brannon-and-chris-buck-are-creating-waves-in-their-new-film-surfs-up|access-date=April 7, 2014|newspaper=MovieWeb|date=June 6, 2007|archive-date=December 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220212019/http://www.movieweb.com/news/chris-jenkins-ash-brannon-and-chris-buck-are-creating-waves-in-their-new-film-surfs-up|url-status=dead}}

File:41st Annie Awards, Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho-crop.jpg and producer Peter Del Vecho]]

In 2008, Buck's old friend Lasseter, by then Disney Animation's chief creative officer, persuaded him to come back to Disney from Sony.{{cite book|last=Solomon|first=Charles|title=The Art of Frozen|year=2013|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco|isbn=978-1-4521-1716-4}}{{rp|6,11}} Around September 2008, Buck pitched three ideas to Lasseter, one of which was a fairytale musical version of The Snow Queen; Lasseter liked the idea and authorized Buck to proceed with development.{{rp|6,11}} After it was put on hold during 2010,{{cite news|title=The Lion King Goes 3D|url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67228|access-date=January 12, 2012|newspaper=ComingSoon|date=June 22, 2010}} the film was officially announced in December 2011 under the title Frozen, with a release date of November 27, 2013.{{cite news|last=Sciretta|first=Peter|title=Walt Disney Animation Gives 'The Snow Queen' New Life, Retitled 'Frozen' – But Will It Be Hand Drawn?|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/519093/walt-disney-animation-the-snow-queen-life-retitled-frozen-hand-drawn/|access-date=June 16, 2022|newspaper=SlashFilm|date=December 22, 2011}} In turn, Buck persuaded Giaimo to come back to Disney to serve as the film's art director,{{rp|33}} for which Giaimo would go on to win the Annie Award for Best Production Design in an Animated Feature Production.

In September 2014, it was announced that Buck and Lee would co-direct a short film based on the Frozen characters called Frozen Fever. It was released in March 2015, alongside Cinderella.{{cite web|title=Disney short 'Frozen Fever' coming in spring 2015, with new song|author=Gettell, O.|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-disney-short-frozen-fever-coming-in-spring-2015-20140903-story.html|date=September 3, 2014|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=September 6, 2014}}

On March 12, 2015, Disney announced that Buck and Lee would co-direct Frozen II, the sequel to Frozen.{{cite web|title=Disney Announces 'Frozen 2'|author=Graser, M.|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/disney-announces-frozen-2-1201451480/|work=Variety|date=March 12, 2015|access-date=2015-03-15}} It was released in November 2019.

Buck directed Wish, which was released in November 2023.{{cite web|title=Ariana DeBose to Star in New Disney Film Wish|url=https://playbill.com/article/ariana-debose-to-star-in-new-disney-film-wish|publisher=Playbill|accessdate=2022-11-07|date=September 10, 2022|author=Hall, Margaret}}

Personal life

Buck is married to Shelley Rae Hinton Buck, an Emmy and Oscar Award winner in sound editing. They had three sons, Ryder, Woody, and Reed.{{cite web|last=Wexler|first=David|title=Ryder Buck: 'Live and Love. We're Only Here Once'|url=http://janglinsouls.com/2014/01/22/friends-esmz-celebrate-ryder-buck/|publisher=Janglin Souls|access-date=March 7, 2014|date=January 22, 2014|quote=The band performed alongside Ryder's band, and brothers Woody and Reed.}}

Their oldest son, Ryder, died at age 23 on October 27, 2013, in a car collision, when he was hit by two cars after his car broke down on the Glendale Freeway just one month before Frozen was released.{{cite web|last=Walker|first=Chris|title=The Tragic Death of Local Musician Ryder Buck, and His Uplifting Story|url=https://www.laweekly.com/the-tragic-death-of-local-musician-ryder-buck-and-his-uplifting-story/|publisher=LA Weekly|access-date=June 16, 2022|date=February 6, 2014}} Ryder was a singer and songwriter performing in his band Ryder Buck and the Breakers, and was recovering from a year-long battle with a Stage 4 testicular cancer. On March 2, 2014, upon accepting the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for co-directing Frozen at the 86th Academy Awards, Buck dedicated the award to his son Ryder. The tragedy was an inspiration for the song "The Next Right Thing" in Frozen II, as well as a character named "Ryder."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/movies/frozen-2-songs.html|title=How to Follow Up 'Frozen'? With Melancholy and a Power Ballad|last=Cohn|first=Gabe|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 29, 2019|access-date=December 5, 2019}}

Reed lent his voice to Arnold, a little penguin from Surf's Up, directed by his father.{{cite web|last=Armstrong|first=Josh|title=Directors Buck and Brannon on Surf's Up|url=http://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/|publisher=Animated Views|access-date=March 13, 2014|date=June 11, 2007}}

Filmography

=Feature films=

class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2"|Year

! rowspan="2"|Film

! colspan="7"|Credited As

Director

! Writer

! Animator

! Character
Designer

! Visual
Development

! Other

! Notes

1981

| The Fox and the Hound

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes|Character}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

|

1985

| The Black Cauldron

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

|(Uncredited)

1987

| The Brave Little Toaster

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

|

1988

| Oliver & Company

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

|

1989

| The Little Mermaid

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

|

1990

| The Rescuers Down Under

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

|

1992

| Bebe's Kids

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Animation Director

1995

| Pocahontas

| {{No}}

| {{Yes|Story}}

| {{Yes|Supervising}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

| Storyboard Artist / Supervising Animator: Percy/Grandmother Willow/Wiggins

1999

| Tarzan

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

|

rowspan=2 | 2004

| Home on the Range

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes|Supervising}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| Supervising Animator: Maggie

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Animation Consultant; Direct-To-Video

2006

| Open Season

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Special Thanks

2007

| Surf's Up

| {{Yes}}

| {{Yes|Screenplay}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Voice of Filmmaker #2

2013

| Frozen

| {{Yes}}

| {{Yes|Story}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

|

2014

| Big Hero 6

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| rowspan=9 | Creative Leadership

rowspan=2 | 2016

| Zootopia

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

Moana

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

2018

| Ralph Breaks the Internet

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

2019

| Frozen II

| {{Yes}}

| {{Yes|Story}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

rowspan=2 | 2021

| Raya and the Last Dragon

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

Encanto

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

2022

| Strange World

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

2023

| Wish{{cite web|date=September 9, 2022|title=Ariana DeBose to Star in Disney Movie 'Wish' From 'Frozen' Team|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wish-disney-movie-in-the-works-1235216113/|access-date=September 15, 2022|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{Yes|Story}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

==Short films==

class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2"|Year

! rowspan="2"|Film

! colspan="7"|Credited As

Director

! Writer

! Animator

! Other

! Notes

1979

| Doctor of Doom

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Voice of Pepe

1982

| Fun with Mr. Future

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

|

1984

| Frankenweenie

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Special Thanks

1987

| Sport Goofy in Soccermania

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes|Supervising}}

| {{No}}

|

rowspan=2 | 1988

| Winter{{cite web|last1=Simon|first1=Ben|title=Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2|url=http://animatedviews.com/2012/pixar-short-films-collection-volume-2/|publisher=Animated Views|access-date=February 26, 2017|date=December 27, 2012}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| rowspan=4 | Special Thanks

The Thing What Lurked in the Tub

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

1989

| Palm Springs

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

1990

| Next Door

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

1991

| Box-Office Bunny

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes|Key}}

| {{No}}

|

2010

| Not Your Time

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| {{Yes}}

| Himself

2015

| Frozen Fever

| {{Yes}}

| {{Yes|Story}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

|

2017

| Olaf's Frozen Adventure

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| rowspan=2 | Special Thanks

2018

| A Bug in the Room

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

2020

| Once Upon a Snowman

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Creative Consultant

==Television==

class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2"|Year

! rowspan="2"|Title

! colspan="7"|Credited As

Director

! Animation
department

! Character
Designer

! Notes

1987

| Amazing Stories

| {{No}}

| {{Yes|Supervising}}

| {{No}}

| Animation Supervisor - 1 Episode

1990

| Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Character Designer - 13 Episodes

1993

| Family Dog

| {{Yes}}

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| Series Director

1996

| Quack Pack

| {{No}}

| {{No}}

| {{Yes}}

| Character Designer - 1 Episode

==Documentaries==

class="wikitable"
Year

! Title

! Role

2014

| The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic

| Himself

2020

| Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II

| Himself; Special Thanks

Accolades

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Award

!Category

!Work

!Result

!Reference

1995

| rowspan="2" |Annie Awards

|Best Individual Achievement for Animation

|Pocahontas

|{{Nominated}}

| rowspan="28" |

1999

|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production

| rowspan="2" |Tarzan

|{{Nominated}}

2000

|Sierra Award

|Best Animated Film

|{{Nominated}}

rowspan="3" |2008

|Academy Awards

|Best Animated Feature

| rowspan="3" |Surf's Up

|{{Nominated}}

rowspan="2" |Annie Awards

|Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production

|{{Nominated}}

Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production

|{{Nominated}}

rowspan="4" |2013

|EDA Award

|Best Animated Feature Film

| rowspan="16" |Frozen

|{{Nominated}}

AFCA Award

|Best Animated Film

|{{Won}}

Dubai International Film Festival

|People's Choice Award

|{{Won}}

SLFCA Award

|Best Animated Film

|{{Won}}

rowspan="11" |2014

|Academy Awards

|Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

|{{Won}}

BAFTA Film Award

|Best Animated Featured Film

|{{Won}}

rowspan="2" |BAFTA Children's Award

|BAFTA Kids Vote - Feature Film

|{{Won}}

Best Feature Film

|{{Nominated}}

Annie Awards

|Outstanding Achievement in Directing in an Animated Feature Production

|{{Won}}

Gold Derby Award

|Animated Feature

|{{Won}}

Hugo Awards

|Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form

|{{Nominated}}

International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA)

|Best Animated Feature

|{{Won}}

Italian Online Movie Awards (IOMA)

|Best Animated Feature Film (Miglior film d'animazione)

|{{Nominated}}

Seattle Film Critics Award

|Best Animated Feature

|{{Won}}

VES Award

|Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

|{{Won}}

2015

|Tokyo Anime Award

|Grand Prize, Feature Film

|{{Won}}

2019

|Seattle Film Critics Award

|Best Animated Feature

| rowspan="6" |Frozen II

|{{Nominated}}

rowspan="5" |2020

|BAFTA Film Award

|Best Animated Featured Film

|{{Nominated}}

Annie Awards

|Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production

|{{Nominated}}

Golden Globe award

|Best Animated Feature Film

|{{Nominated}}

LEJA Award

|Best Animated Feature

|{{Nominated}}

OFTA Film Award

|Best Animated Picture

|{{Nominated}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

  • {{IMDb name|0118333}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for Chris Buck

|list =

{{Academy Award for Best Animated Feature}}

{{Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production 2011–2030}}

{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature}}

{{Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film}}

}}

{{Chris Buck}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Chris}}

Category:1958 births

Category:Animators from Kansas

Category:American animated film directors

Category:Animation screenwriters

Category:Living people

Category:Artists from Wichita, Kansas

Category:Annie Award winners

Category:California Institute of the Arts alumni

Category:California Institute of the Arts faculty

Category:Film directors from Kansas

Category:Sony Pictures Animation people

Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people

Category:Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners