Steven "Steve" Royston Box (born 23 January 1967) is an English animator and director who works for

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay ani ...

. His early work in animation included the popular British

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes 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 clay. Tra ...

television series ''

The Trap Door ''The Trap Door'' is a British animated television series, originally shown in the United Kingdom in 1986. The plot revolves around the daily lives and the misadventures of a group of monsters living in a castle. These include a blue creature c ...

'' for Bristol-based animation studio CMTB Animation. Box joined

in 1990. He directed the video for the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and ...

' "

Viva Forever "Viva Forever" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, '' Spiceworld'' (1997). The song was co-written by the group with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, while production was handled by the latter two. ...

" in 1998. He won a BAFTA Award in 1998 for his 11-minute animated film ''

Stage Fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which 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 ''Rex the Runt'' is a British live-action stop-motion animated claymation pixilation adult comedy series, primarily consisting of a television show and two short films produced by Aardman Animations for BBC Bristol in association with EVA Ente ...

''. He was the key animator for Aardman's film ''

Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by ...

'' and was an animator for the

Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...

films ''

The Wrong Trousers ''The Wrong Trousers'' is a 1993 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park, featuring his characters Wallace and Gromit, and was produced by Aardman Animations in association with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC ...

'' and ''

A Close Shave ''Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave'' is a 1995 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park and produced by Aardman Animations with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC Bristol and BBC Children's International. It is ...

'', 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 a British animator who created ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Creature Comforts'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of ...

. The film scooped his second BAFTA and his first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. 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 cinema and television. Originally de ...

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 The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finns, Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish language, Swedish by Schildts in Finland. The ...

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, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

External links and references

*
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 broadc ...

, 21 June 1998.
Animators prepare for the big day

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