Recent graduate Mohanned “Mo” Hassan is one of the animators behind Disney’s latest box office smash Frozen. The film has been honored with a host of awards including Best Animated Feature at the 2014 Academy Awards.
Hassan is a member of the Visual Effects team at Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California. At the Visual Effects Society Awards, Frozen swept the four awards for animated feature film, including outstanding animation.
Hassan graduated from UCF in 2011 with a B.F.A. in Art – Emerging Media: Experimental Animation. During his years of study in UCF’s School of Visual Arts & Design, Mo distinguished himself with impressive artistic and technical handling of lighting in 3-D graphics. Shortly after graduating, he was hired at Disney where he has been a Lighting Apprentice since March 2013.
UCF’s Experimental Animation specialization also features 2-D/cel animation, stop-motion, and new hybrid analog/digital techniques.
The 53rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Frozen tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on an epic journey alongside a rugged, thrill-seeking mountain man, his loyal pet reindeer, and a hapless snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.
It is now one of the most successful Disney films of all time, so far earning nearly a billion dollars at the box office. The film is also an undisputed critical success, having garnered dozens of industry awards. In addition to two Oscars, Frozen won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film and Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globes.