Last month, Aaron Blaise released a brand-new animated film called Snow Bear. Available on YouTube to watch for free, it's been a tremendous success, with the solo project now hitting 1.4 million views – a well deserved reception for a truly beautiful animation that should be watched by everyone this Christmas holiday.
Snow Bear is about a lonely bear who needs to find a friend in a difficult environment, and the hand-drawn illustration with its immaculate detail combined with the heartfelt themes have been reducing the audience to tears. It has won 40 international awards, proving that the 11,000 illustrations it took Blaise to make it were worth every second.
Embarking on a solo project must have been a very different experience from working on behemoth Disney films like The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas. It took Blaise three years to create the 11 minute film, drawing the backgrounds in Photoshop and animating the whole thing in TVPaint.
Because of this personal investment, Blaise is over the moon at the reception, taking to Instagram to share his joy. "I honestly don’t have words… but I’ll try," he says.
"When I started Snow Bear, it was just me, a pencil, and a story I needed to tell. To everyone who watched, shared, or connected with it in any way... 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨! Seeing this story find a place in so many hearts has reminded me why I fell in love with animation in the first place. It’s about the connection, the emotion, the humanity. Watching drawings come to life has never stopped being like MAGIC… I am so glad that so many have said the same. I’m incredibly grateful."
In a world where films are getting faster and more over stimulating, a return to pure 2D animation is a real treat – and the response shows that audiences feel the same. It reminds me of that moment I watched The Snowman for the first time as a child – a pure magic I haven't experienced watching more modern films with my own children. Until now.
See here what is coming up for animation in 2026.
