# Ruben A. Aquino

Ruben Azama Aquino is an American Disney animator who formerly worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios, his work has included the several Disney characters, including Maurice in Beauty and the Beast, Simba as an Adult in The Lion King, Chief Powhatan in Pocahontas, Li Shang and Fa Li in Mulan, Pleakly and David Kawena in Lilo & Stitch, Denahi in Brother Bear, Mildred and Mr. Willerstein in Meet the Robinsons and Eudora and James in The Princess and the Frog. His style is easily recognized by his powerful figures and his extremely geometric facial movements.

## 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 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 in The Black Cauldron and submitted it to the review board. He was promoted to animating assistant and worked for Disney from 1982 until 2013.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Credits | Characters | Notes |
| 1981 | Laverne & Shirley in the Army (TV series) | Character Designer - 1 Episode | | End Credited And Known As Ruben Aquino |
| 1981 | The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (TV series) | Character Designer - 11 Episodes | | End Credited And Known As Ruben Aquino |
| 1985 | The Black Cauldron | Animator | | End Credited And Known As Ruben Aquino |
| 1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | Character Animator | | |
| 1987 | Oilspot and Lipstick (Short) | Animator | | |
| 1988 | Mac and Me | Alien Designer | | End Credited And Known As Ruben Aquino |
| 1988 | Oliver & Company | Supervising Animator | | Francis |
| 1989 | The Little Mermaid | Supervising Animator | Ursula | End Credited And Known As Ruben Aquino |
| 1990 | The Rescuers Down Under | Supervising Animator | | |
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast | Supervising Animator | Maurice | |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Supervising Animator | Adult Simba | End Credited And Known As Ruben Aquino |
| 1994 | The Lion King (video game) | Special Thanks | | End Credited And Known As Ruben Aquino |
| 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 | End Credited And Known As Ruben Azama Aquino |
| 2009 | The Princess and the Frog | Supervising Animator | Eudora And James | End Credited And Known As Ruben Azama Aquino |
| 2011 | The Ballad of Nessie (short) | Animator | | |
| 2011 | Winnie the Pooh | Animator | | End Credited And Known As Ruben Azama Aquino |
| 2013 | Wild About Safety: Timon and Pumbaa Safety Smart Honest & Real! (short) | Animator | | End Credited And Known As Ruben Azama Aquino |
| 2013 | Frozen | Additional Visual Development Artist | | |
| 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 | | |
| 2018 | Curious George (TV Series) | Additional Character Designer - 1 episode | | |
| 2019 | Curious George: Royal Monkey (Video) | Character Designer | | End Credited And Known As Ruben Aquino |
| 2023 | Once Upon a Studio (Short) | Animator | |