Eagle Passan Glen John Claybrook Wins 2014 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

Eagle Passan Glen John Claybrook, a 1974 graduate of Eagle Pass High School, was awarded the highest professional cinematography award at the 2014 86th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, also known as the Oscars, for being a member of the production crew of the Best Animated Feature Film–Walt Disney Animation Studio’s film, Frozen, as the Character Technical Director on March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, announced the Board of Governors, of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, becoming the first known Eagle Passan to receive a prestigious Academy Award.

The movie, Frozen, received Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year and the Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Picture, Original Song, at the 86th Annual Academy Awards. As the Character Technical Director of the movie, Frozen, Claybrook shares an Oscar Award along with the cast and crew of the movie.

The film Frozen is a 2013 computer-animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, the latter of whom also wrote the screenplay, and produced by Peter Del Vecho. The film focuses on Anna, a princess, who sets off on a journey to find her estranged sister, Elsa, whose magical powers to control ice and snow have trapped their kingdom in an eternal winter.

Frozen premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on November 19, 2013, before going on wide release on November 27, in over 3,700 theaters in the United States and Canada. It debuted in second place with over $67 million. The film has grossed a worldwide total of over $1.26 billion on a production budget of $150 million, As of 2014, Frozen , is the highest grossing animated feature film as well as the fifth highest grossing film worldwide of all time and the highest grossing film of 2013.

Frozen has garnered a variety of awards and nominations, many of them in the Best Original Song (for “Let It Go”) and Best Animated Feature categories. At the 71st Golden Globe Awards, the film earned two nominations, winning for Best Animated Feature. At the 41st Annie Awards, Frozen led the nominations along with Monsters University, both earning ten nominations. The film went on to win five Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature.

At the 86th Academy Awards, Frozen became the first film by Walt Disney Animation Studios to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The film also won Best Original Song for “Let It Go”. Frozen also won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. The film’s visual effects were acclaimed by the Visual Effects Society, which gave the film awards in all four of its animated film categories.

Glen John Claybrook graduated from Eagle Pass High School in 1974 and later graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979. Claybrook began his career in animation/multi-media in 1985 as a director/technical director for Broadcast Arts/Curious Pictures Inc., where he worked until 1996.

Claybrook proceeded to go to work for Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1996, where he currently works at, as Character Technical Director.

Claybrook has been involved in animation films such as Walt Disney’s 2013 Frozen, 2012 Wreck it Ralph, 2010 Tangled, 2008 Bolt , 2005 Chicken Little, 2004 Home on the Range, and many other film projects.

Claybrook’s most recent work can be seen in the 2014 Walt Disney animated feature film, Big Hero 6.

Claybrook’s Oscar award is phenomenal and outstanding, particularly for his creativity and ingenuity in developing the technical characters of the movie, Frozen.

To win an Oscar Award is the epitome and career goal of all film professionals and actors and actresses. Claybrook helped achieve this goal with his work in the movie, Frozen. He is passionate and brilliant in his work as the Character Technical Director at Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Claybrook clearly demonstrates that a young person growing up in Eagle Pass on the U.S.-Mexico border can dream and accomplish any goals that he or she sets through dedication, commitment, and perseverance. He is a role model for all young Eagle Pass students who participate in the Media Tech program at both Eagle Pass High School and C. C. Winn High School.

Claybrook is the son of the late attorney John Claybrook and Lydia Claybrook, formerly of Eagle Pass.

The Eagle Pass Business Journal congratulates Glen John Claybrook on winning the prestigious Academy Award at the 86th Annual Academy Awards for his extraordinary work in the Walt Disney animated feature film, Frozen, and wishes him continued excellence in his professional animation career.