# Chris Buck
**Chris Buck** (born in Wichita, Kansas) is an American animation film director whose credits include the Disney features *[Tarzan](https://www.edgepedia.org/tarzan-1999-film)*, *Frozen*, *Frozen Fever*, and *Frozen II* and [Sony Pictures Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures-animation)'s *Surf's Up*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0118333/) *Frozen* won the [Academy Award for Best Animated Feature](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-animated-feature) at the 86th Academy Awards.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) Before directing, he worked for a decade as a character animator and supervising animator on Disney's late-1980s and 1990s hand-drawn films.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/266787-Chris-Buck)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthplace | Wichita, Kansas[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0118333/) |
| Birth year | Listed as 1958 by IMDb[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0118333/) and as 1960 by Rotten Tomatoes[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_buck) |
| Training | Two years in character animation at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/) |
| Directing debut | *Tarzan* (1999), co-directed with Kevin Lima, his feature directing debut[6](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/chris-buck-3027/biography/) |
| Annie nominations | Best Individual Achievement for Animation for Grandmother Willow in *Pocahontas* (1995); directing nomination for *Tarzan* with Kevin Lima[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/) |
| Academy Award | Best Animated Feature for *Frozen* (2013), shared with Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) |
| Later credits | Director of *Frozen Fever* (2015) and *Frozen II* (2019); co-director and shared story credit for *Wish* (2023)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_buck) • [13](https://press.disney.co.uk/press-kit/wish) |
## Training and early animation work
Buck studied character animation at CalArts for two years. One of his first major jobs was as a character animator on Disney's *The Fox and the Hound* (1981).[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/) • [6](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/chris-buck-3027/biography/) He followed it with work on the short *Fun with Mr. Future* (1982) and on commercials for Los Angeles studios including Film Fair, Kurtz & Friends, and Duck Soup.[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/)
In the late 1980s he served as a key animator on the [Brad Bird](https://www.edgepedia.org/brad-bird)-directed *Family Dog* episode of [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s *Amazing Stories* (1987), then performed experimental work on *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* (1988) and helped design and animate characters for *The Little Mermaid* (1989) and *The Rescuers Down Under* (1990).[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/266787-Chris-Buck) He then moved to Hyperion Pictures as directing animator on the feature *Bébé's Kids* (1992).[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/)
**Teaching and Disney return.** From 1988 to 1993 Buck taught character animation classes at CalArts.[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/) Back at Disney he became a supervising animator on *Pocahontas* (1995), responsible for the tree character Grandmother Willow, a performance that earned him an Annie Award nomination for Best Individual Achievement for Animation.[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0118333/)
## Move into directing
His feature directing debut came with *Tarzan* (1999), co-directed with Kevin Lima.[6](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/chris-buck-3027/biography/) The two received an Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production.[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/) Buck has described *Tarzan*'s Deep Canvas (Disney 3D technique rendering painted-looking backgrounds) backgrounds, computer-generated but finished to look like paintings, as an early step in his gradual move from traditional to computer animation; he later trained on the 3D software Maya after *Home on the Range* (2004), on which he was a supervising animator.[5](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/)
He then joined Sony Pictures Animation for *Surf's Up* (2007), co-directed with Ash Brannon and produced by Chris Jenkins.[7](https://stg.sonypicturesanimation.com/index.php/projects/films/surfs) Buck said he came to Sony specifically for the project, drawn by its documentary, or "mockumentary," style in which the penguin characters speak to a camera crew, unlike a standard animated film; he shared directing credit, story, and screenplay on the film.[8](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/19543-exclusive-a-preview-of-surfs-up) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/266787-Chris-Buck) Research for the film included planting a table on the sand at a professional surf contest at Trestles, south of San Clemente, and interviewing surfers as they came out of the water.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-17-ca-surf17-story.html)
## Frozen and later Disney work
Buck returned to Disney to co-direct *Frozen* (2013) with Jennifer Lee. The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year, credited to Buck, Lee, and producer Peter Del Vecho, at the [Dolby Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolby-theatre) ceremony on March 2, 2014; the film's song "Let It Go" also won the Original Song Oscar.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) Buck's later directing credits include *Frozen Fever* (2015) and *Frozen II* (2019), and *Wish* (2023) lists him among its co-directors and story contributors, with Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore writing the screenplay.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_buck) • [13](https://press.disney.co.uk/press-kit/wish)
In a 2015 interview with MTV, Buck described a private story he had told Lee while making *Frozen*: in his own imagination, [Anna](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-frozen) and Elsa's parents survived their shipwreck, reached a jungle island, and had a baby boy who would grow up to be Tarzan, with surfing penguins on the other side of the island linking to *Surf's Up*. Time reported the theory based on Lee's earlier Reddit AMA, and noted it remained Buck's personal headcanon rather than anything shown on screen.[10](https://time.com/3996220/tarzan-frozen-theory-anna-elsa-parents/)
## Other credits
The [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) catalog also lists still photography credits for Buck on the independent films *Trust* (1991, still photographer) and *Laws of Gravity* (1992, stills).[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/266787-Chris-Buck)
The name Chris Buck is shared by other public figures, including a Toronto-born portrait photographer and director based in New York and Los Angeles,[11](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/585aa453b8a79b1d06294290/t/5f774ad64b203e2159c297b7/1601653472280/ChrisBuck-Uneasy.pdf) and a Welsh blues-rock guitarist who is a member of Cardinal Black and has a signature Yamaha Revstar model.[12](https://guitar.com/artists/chris-buck/) The film director discussed here should not be confused with either.
## References
1. [Chris Buck, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0118333/)
2. [The 86th Academy Awards (2014), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014)
3. [Chris Buck filmography, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/266787-Chris-Buck)
4. [Chris Buck Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_buck)
5. [Directors Buck and Brannon on Surf's Up, Animated Views (June 11, 2007)](https://animatedviews.com/2007/directors-buck-and-brannon-on-surfs-up/)
6. [Chris Buck Biography, Showtimes](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/chris-buck-3027/biography/)
7. [Surf's Up, Sony Pictures Animation](https://stg.sonypicturesanimation.com/index.php/projects/films/surfs)
8. [Exclusive: A Preview of Surf's Up, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/19543-exclusive-a-preview-of-surfs-up)
9. [The board members who loved 'Surf's Up', Los Angeles Times (February 17, 2008)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-17-ca-surf17-story.html)
10. [Here's a Surprising Theory That Connects Frozen and Tarzan, Time (August 13, 2015)](https://time.com/3996220/tarzan-frozen-theory-anna-elsa-parents/)
11. [About Chris Buck, photographer's biography PDF](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/585aa453b8a79b1d06294290/t/5f774ad64b203e2159c297b7/1601653472280/ChrisBuck-Uneasy.pdf)
12. [Chris Buck, Guitar.com](https://guitar.com/artists/chris-buck/)
13. [press.disney.co.uk](https://press.disney.co.uk/press-kit/wish)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Film and television directors › Directors of the United States and Canada › Contemporary film directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license