Steven Royston Box (born 23 January 1967) is an English animator and director who previously worked for

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited, known simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom. It is known for films and television series made using stop motion and clay animation techniques, particularly those fe ...

. His early work in animation included the popular British

claymation Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine cl ...

television series '' The Trap Door'' for Bristol-based animation studio CMTB Animation. Box joined

in 1990. He directed the video for the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

' " Viva Forever" in 1998. He won a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Award in 1998 for his 11-minute animated film ''

Stage Fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

'' which he wrote, directed and produced. He also provided the voice for the character of Vince in the TV series '' Rex the Runt''. He was the key animator for Aardman's film ''

Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 animated adventure comedy film directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park and written by Karey Kirkpatrick from an original story by Lord and Park. Produced by Pathé and Aardman Features in partnership with DreamWork ...

'' and was an animator for the Wallace & Gromit films '' The Wrong Trousers'' and '' A Close Shave'', before co-writing and co-directing the feature film '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' with

Nick Park Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is an English filmmaker and animator who created '' Wallace & Gromit'', '' Creature Comforts'', '' Chicken Run'', '' Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy ...

. The film scooped his second BAFTA and his first

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is an Academy Awards, Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best animation, animated feature film. An animated feature is defined by the a ...

. The film has also collected another 22 international awards and 12 other nominations for other awards. The film was a massive success at the

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

s where it won 10 Annie awards out of its 16 nominations. In late 2017, Box was announced as the director behind the TV series, ''Moominvalley'', based on the Moomins series. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, the series made its debut in 2019. In June 2022, it was announced that he is working on an original animated film for

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

References

External links

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Four become five in virtual spice

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 21 June 1998.
Animators prepare for the big day

, 4 March 2006.
Aardman's Steve Box Talks
''Animation World Magazine'', 25 July 2002. 1967 births Living people Aardman Animations people Animation screenwriters Annie Award winners British animated film directors Clay animators Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners English animators English film directors English film producers English male screenwriters English screenwriters English television directors English television writers Film people from Bristol Stop motion animators {{animator-stub