Ruben A. Aquino
Ruben Azama Aquino (born December 18, 1953) is a Japanese-born Filipino-American character animator and a supervising animator who formerly worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios. His work has included several Disney characters, including Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Maurice in Beauty and the Beast, Simba as an adult in The Lion King, Chief Powhatan in Pocahontas, Li Shang in Mulan, Denahi in Brother Bear and Eudora and James in The Princess and the Frog. In March 2013, it was announced that Aquino had been laid off, as well as 8 other animators who worked at the studio, including Nik Ranieri.
Ruben A. Aquino | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ruben Azama Aquino December 18, 1953 |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Supervising Animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Employer | Walt Disney Animation Studios (1981-2013) |
His style is easily recognized by his powerful figures and his extremely geometric facial movements.
Early life
Ruben A. Aquino was born on December 18, 1953 in Okinawa, Japan. His mother is Japanese while his father is a Filipino.
He studied in Christ the King International School in Okinawa from kindergarten to high school and graduated in 1971. He attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and majored in Architecture.
Professional career
From 1975 to 1979, Ruben worked as a graphic artist in Honolulu, Hawaii. He worked for Farmhouse Films as a trainee, which was his first job in animation.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1980, he worked for Hanna-Barbera Studios in visual development, character design and layout. He was laid off after a year.
Months later, he was able to enter Walt Disney Feature Animation's clean-up training program and after completing it, he worked on a 30-second animation test of Fflewddur Fflam from The Black Cauldron and submitted it to the review board. He was promoted to animating assistant and worked for Disney from 1982 until 2013.[1][2]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Credits | Characters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Laverne & Shirley in the Army (TV Series) | Character Designer - 1 Episode | |
| The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (TV Series) | Character Designer - 11 Episodes | ||
| 1985 | The Black Cauldron | Character Animator | |
| 1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | Character Animator | |
| 1988 | Mac and Me | Alien Designer | |
| Oliver & Company | Supervising Animator | Francis | |
| 1989 | The Little Mermaid | Directing Animator / Supervising Animator | Ursula |
| 1990 | The Rescuers Down Under | Supervising Animator | Jake |
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast | Supervising Animator | Maurice |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Supervising Animator | Adult Simba |
| The Lion King (Video Game) | Special Thanks | ||
| 1995 | Pocahontas | Supervising Animator | Chief Powhatan |
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Additional Animator | |
| 1998 | Mulan | Supervising Animator | Li Shang and Fa Li |
| 1999 | Tarzan | Additional Animator | |
| 2000 | Fantasia 2000 | Additional Animator | |
| 2002 | Lilo & Stitch | Supervising Animator | Pleakly and David Kawena |
| 2003 | Brother Bear | Supervising Animator | Denahi |
| 2007 | Meet the Robinsons | Supervising Animator | Mildred and Mr. Willerstein |
| 2009 | The Princess and the Frog | Supervising Animator | Eudora and James |
| 2011 | The Ballad of Nessie (Short) | Supervising Animator | |
| Winnie the Pooh | Animator | ||
| 2013 | Frozen | Additional Visual Development | |
| 2015 | Pups of Liberty: The Dog-claration of Independence (Short) | Supervising Animator | |
| 2016 | The Land Before Time: Journey of the Brave (Video) | Character Designer / Character Animator | |
References
- "Ruben Aquino - Taught By A Pro Art and Animation Instruction". Taught By A Pro. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
- "Ruben Aquino". The Animator Letters Project. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2016-12-20.