John Agbaje ’05 Wins Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film

John Agbaje ’05 created his first comic book in AP Studio Art while a student at ShattuckSt. Mary’s. This past March, he won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for the film adaptation of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse. Originally a beloved book by Charlie Mackesy, the short film was created by Bad Robot Productions, where John works as Senior Vice President of Animation.

“It was an incredibly humbling experience to be part of this team, especially for my first project as a producer,” John shared. The story follows a Boy as he searches for a home, since he has never had one before. Along the way, he meets the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, and throughout their adventures together, they discover that home is where their friendship is. “The original book has resonated so deeply with readers the world over with its beautiful images and elegant messages about kindness, vulnerability, and friendship,” he continued. “The film was an honor to work on and I’m glad that we were able to do the book justice.”

John was able to attend the Oscars Ceremony in person, along with the film’s co-director Peter Baynton and producers Cara Speller of Nonemore and Hannah Minghella of Bad Robot. “It was an electric moment,” said John. “Later on that night, it was a bit surreal to hold the statue, but it was an experience I will not soon forget.”

When John joined Bad Robot Productions as a creative producer, the company had just received the first draft of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse script. “From then on, we were involved in every aspect of the film’s creative development,” said John, citing script changes, casting, and virtual recording sessions with the stars of the film, including Idris Elba. “We also gave creative notes on the animatic, a rough video assembly of storyboards that allows us to ‘see’ the film before it’s animated.”

An entirely new animation studio was created in the U.K. to produce this film, including more than 120 artists around the world working together to make sure that the artwork from the book could be translated into animation that looked authentic to the original story. Additionally, lockdowns due to the pandemic presented extra challenges for everyone involved. “It was important to keep in mind the deeper purpose behind the project,” said John. “Simply to make people feel better. We hope that the Oscar win will expose these characters to more people and that they’ll find some comfort in them.”

After such a wonderful success, it’s impossible not to wonder what John and the rest of the studio at Bad Robot will be working on next. “Bad Robot is a famously secretive company, so many of the original projects that I’m most excited about I can’t talk about yet,” he shared. “But with all of them we’re eager to push animation forward as a storytelling medium into new genres, tones, and styles.” Among Bad Robot’s upcoming projects are Batman: Caped Crusader, an animated television show for Amazon, and a musical adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go

For those who haven’t seen The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, it’s definitely worth the watch. The tender, heartwarming film came to the screen at a moment when the world needed more stories exactly like it. “I’ll always value the in-depth, thoughtful conversations I was able to have with members of the team at every stage of development about what we were saying with the project and why we were making it,” said John.

Congratulations to John on this incredible achievement-the SSM community is thrilled to see what’s next for him!

James Zabawa-Martinez ’09 won the position of violinist in both the Cincinnati Symphony and New World Symphony.

Sedra Bistodeau ’13 is currently touring with up-and-coming country singer, Hailey Whitters, which has included recent performances on the TODAY Show and The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Osip Nikoforov ’13 is currently touring the United States with a solo all-Rachmaninoff program, which will include two performances in MN.

Ines Guanchez Mercado ’14 was hired by Minnesota Public Radio as a producer and recently produced her own show, which was titled La Mujer en la Musica: How Latin American Women Have Shaped Classical Music.

Juna Shai ’14 starred in Galaxy Train in London, a new musical based on the Japanese novel Night on the Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa.

Magdiell Antequera ’15 won the position of violinist with the Naples Philharmonic.

Sara Aldana ’16 won the position of Assistant Conductor of Reno Chamber Orchestra, which was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Jonathan Rhodes ’16 just finished up his role in The Kennedy Center’s sold-out production of The Ice Cream Truck is Broken.

Dominique White ’23 took 3rd place at the state level in the Music Teacher’s National Association Competition in the Composition category.

Girls U19 Reaches Pinnacle in Second Season

On Monday, March 27, the Girls U19 team cruised to its first ever High School National Championship in just the second year of the team's existence at Shattuck-St. Mary’s as they defeated Anchorage 2-0. The Sabres dominated the tournament, winning all six games and not relinquishing a single goal.

Head Coach Mitch Baker lauded his team’s ability to raise the bar each game. “We took the approach that we needed to play our game every shift and commit to our habits. I was really proud of the consistency our players showed as the tournament progressed. We didn’t take shortcuts. We played together. Winning the national championship showcased the work our players and staff put in from the first days of the season. We didn’t take anything for granted and our players earned it.”