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Ben Stassen

Ben Stassen

Director, producer and writer, also cinematographer · Born January 1, 1959 (67) · Aubel, Belgium

Ben Stassen is a Belgian film producer and director. He founded nWave Pictures in 1994, producing highly successful CGI ride films including the groundbreaking Devils Mine. Starting in 1997, Ben Stassen began focusing on large format films usually screened at IMAX theaters, and made some of the most successful large format films to date, including Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun and Alien Adventure. Contrary to most large format films, which mix education with spectacular visuals, most of Stassen's films are aimed exclusively at the entertainment market. As IMAX theaters around the world increasingly became capable of screening stereoscopic (3-D) films in the late nineties, Stassen quickly embraced this new technology, and directed a succession of popular 3-D large format films, such as Encounter in the Third Dimension and Haunted Castle. Upon screening "Haunted Castle", Imax corporation sent a fax to all the exhibitors warning them about the content of the film. Imax went as far as labeling "Haunted Castle" as degrading to the brand. This triggered a strong reaction from both the exhibitors and the press. The film was marketed as "The film Imax corporation does not want you to see". It went on the become a huge success worldwide. Ben Stassen's first feature length animated film, Fly Me to the Moon, was released in North America on 15 August 2008 on both regular size and IMAX screens, exclusively in 3-D. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ben Stassen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia .

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1959 (67)
From
Aubel, Belgium
Works as
Director, producer and writer, also cinematographer
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 24% in 30 days

What are Ben Stassen's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
46%
Self
28%
Power
5%
Survival
5%
Society
5%
Ideas
5%
Morality
4%
Family bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship4 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 9 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 8 · Heightened 2

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 9 · Charged 2 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 10 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 10 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 10 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
9
Hopeful
7
Warm
3
Thrilling
5
Tense
3
Other
3

How their films linger

Feel-good8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ben Stassen's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ben Stassen's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

25 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • The Inseparables(2023)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness(2022)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Bigfoot Family(2020)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • The Queen's Corgi(2019)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • Son of Bigfoot(2017)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • The Wild Life(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • Wild Cats 3D (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director · Writer

  • Sammy & Co (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Show 104 episodes · Original Story

  • Thunder and the House of Magic(2013)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • African Safari (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Idea · Producer · Screenplay

  • A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise(2012)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • The Little Prince 4D (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director · Writer

  • A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures(2010)

    Director · Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Fly Me to the Moon 3D(2007)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • African Adventure: Safari in the Okavango (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Wild Safari 3D: A South African Adventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • Haunted House 3-D (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Writer

  • Misadventures in 3D (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

  • Infekcija(2003)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • S.O.S. Planet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

  • Haunted Castle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director · Editor · Executive Producer · Writer

  • Alien Adventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director · Writer

  • Encounter in the Third Dimension (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director · Executive Producer · Story

  • Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

  • Devil's Mine Ride (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Producer · Script

Career shape

A full career of 23 titles from 1991 to 2022.

Biggest box office

A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures (2010)

$71M worldwide

Highest rated

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022)

Midcredits 62nd

Most popular right now

The Queen's Corgi (2019)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing19 of 23: 2 only directing, 17 with another role · typical Midcredits score43rdWriting14 of 23: 2 only writing, 12 with another roleProducing16 of 23: 1 only producing, 15 with another role · typical Midcredits score36thEditing1 of 23: 0 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew1 of 23: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

23 titles, 18 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 14 of them.

By decade

1990s4 · crew2000s7 · crew2010s10 · crew2020s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Ben Stassen's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 38th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 44th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

44thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

33rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th7
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 11 titles are Mixed.

  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Mixed8

Most divisive · producer

Infekcija (2003)

90th percentile spread · 28% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022)

Midcredits 62nd · 56% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 58/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Ben Stassen's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, alcohol & drugs runs lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles31–47 · median 42 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles15–46 · median 24 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles29–42 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles2–33 · median 21 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles34–46 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Ben Stassen work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ben Stassen's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; John L. Jack shares the most, 10.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers

Producers

  • John L. Jack10 titles    See all 10 shared titles with John L. Jack
  • Matthieu Zeller9 titles    See all 9 shared titles with Matthieu Zeller
  • Caroline Van Iseghem9 titles    See all 9 shared titles with Caroline Van Iseghem
  • Eric Dillens8 titles    See all 8 shared titles with Eric Dillens