When the projector turned off and the lights came on in room 1 of Super Cines Los Aviadores, Jorge Ruíz Cano’s excitement was evident. He was not only happy to see the results of months of work and effort, but to be able to do it surrounded by friends in his city, Maracay. Although it was not the first time I saw Moana 2a film on which he worked as an animator, watching it at home, surrounded by his family, made the experience something special, so much so that he admitted that the Spanish version was better than the original.
“Don’t judge me, but it’s the first time I think the Spanish dubbed version is cooler than the original. It’s cooler, it has more jam,” Jorge Ruiz Cano confessed after a special screening of Disney’s most recent animated film, which hit Venezuelan movie theaters on November 28, organized by Cine Color.
Ruiz Cano, 41 years old, has been working as an animator at Disney for more than a decade. The maracayero appears in credits of recognized films from the House of Mouse such as Frozen, Big Hero 3, Zootopia, Raya and the Last Dragon, Wreck-It Ralph, Charming, Moana 1 y 2in which he worked in the character animation department.
The sequel to the Polynesian sailor, who ventures to the seas of Oceania in search of new lands after a call from her ancestors, surpassed $700 million at the global box office this weekend, making it one of the films highest grossing of the year, behind Intensamente 2, Deadpool & Wolverine y Despicable Me 4.
The role of the Venezuelan in Moana 2and in many of the films in which he has participated, is to give life to the characters. Beyond appearance, Ruiz Cano is responsible for every movement, every step and every gesture that the character takes and that makes him unique. “No one walks like Moana, no one moves like Moana. It is unique,” says the animator.
Jorge Ruiz Cano during the screening of Moana 2 in Maracay, his hometown | Photo Ezequiel Carías
Jorge Ruiz Cano was not in charge of animating a single character, he worked in sequences or groups of shots, which allowed him to participate in all of them. Although he admits that he feels more affinity with characters like the pig Pua or the rooster Heihei, both Moana’s pets, he enjoys being able to animate all types of characters. “A sequence can have 15 animators and each one can choose six or seven shots. Depending on your affinity with the characters, you will notice which ones have more of you and that will cause you to be assigned more shots of them. I love being half a chameleon, not having one type of character or shots. I love that they give me characters and tell me: ‘Jorge, tell him they are cakes.’”
In this installment of Moanabeyond the technological elements to make the animations more realistic, the great challenge for Ruiz Cano was the pressure that, he says, the team of animators imposed on themselves, who developed all the animations in six weeks, to meet the expectations of all. “From a technological point of view there were many challenges. Everything was super crazy because imagine again that little bit of water, that little bit of sea. Moana’s hair was also crazy and all the ropes and sails on the canoes was also a theme with all the tech equipment. From another point of view, I think the self-pressure we had as a team was a challenge because we know what Moana means to the audience. “It was a lot of responsibility.”
Ruiz Cano: «I am fascinated by inspiring stories» | Photo Ezequiel Carías
For the Venezuelan animator it is important to have a connection with the characters, to know their history, where they come from and what makes them who they are. He feels more affinity with stories of resilience, such as Moana. “My tastes change a lot, but generally I love stories of mystery, romance, but above all resilience. I am fascinated by those inspiring stories.”
Jorge Ruiz Cano feels good working at Disney, it is like a second home for him. It is a space – he assures – in which he is encouraged and his creative freedoms are celebrated. “They celebrate who I am, my identity and my individual journey as an artist because they know that that, the value of each of us, is only going to enrich the films.”
In addition to Disney, the Maracayero also has credits in projects such as the documentary Free Color (2020) and in the music video for the song “Welcome to El Sur” by Rawayana. He is also a professor of animation and Storytelling at the California Institute of the Arts.
Jorge Ruiz Cano would like to reach other spaces with his work as an artist. He does not see the House of Mouse as the highest he can aspire to. “I would be fascinated if my pastels, my drawings, my scripts, my ideas, my artistic direction see other stylizations and other groups and cultures. “I would love to continue collaborating with people I admire.”
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