Meet Gini Cruz Santos, the Fil-Am Animator Behind Some of Your Favorite Pixar Films
Having worked with Pixar for three decades now, she has been part of the creative teams behind many of their iconic films like Finding Nemo, Hoppers, and more.
by Kyla Villena
Published on Mar 11, 2026
The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios have unveiled an all-new feature film, Hoppers. The animated release explores a playful yet thought-provoking premise: what if animals and humans could speak the same language?
Beyond its charming visuals, the film tackles timely themes of coexistence, ethics, and environmental responsibility. Having hit theaters less than a week ago, Hoppers is already earning a strong critical reception, currently holding a 93 percent score on the Tomatometer based on reviews from Rotten Tomatoes’ Top Critics.
Animated films that strike a balance between emotional depth and playful storytelling have long been part of Pixar’s creative DNA—and behind them is a formidable team of artists. Lending their voices to Hoppers are actors Piper Curda, Dave Franco, and Meryl Streep, among others. Filipino performers Deedee Magno Hall and Nikki Castillo were also credited for providing additional voices.
Because the story centers on an entire ecosystem rather than a single protagonist, the animation process proved more intricate than usual. Director Daniel Chong shared in an interview with Yong Chavez that “it takes a lot of patience and focus to deal with the amount of animal crowds, human crowds, ant crowds. Everything had a crowd.” He added, “It’s a big undertaking, and Gini was amazing.”
He was referring to Gini Cruz Santos, the Filipino-American animator who led a team of young artists and supervised many of these complex sequences. Her work on Hoppers is just one of several contributions she has made to some of animation’s most beloved titles. Read on.
Who Is Gini Cruz Santos? 5 Things About the Fil-Am Animator
She is around 60 years old.
While her birthday was not specified, it is known that Virginia “Gini” Cruz Santos was born in the year 1966. She was born in Pasay City, but is now based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
She graduated from a Philippine university.
Gini studied at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila for high school, and went on to major in Advertising at the University of Santo Tomas’ College of Architecture and Fine Arts (UST CAFA). She once said in an interview that she’s not the only UST CAFA graduate at Pixar—there’s also “story guy” Ronnie del Carmen.
Years later, she further pursued her craft at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she earned a Master’s in Computer Arts.
She entered Pixar as an animator in 1996.
Gini’s masteral thesis was enough for Pixar to see her talent. She sent her digitally illustrated short film called Eclipse without attaching her résumé, and got a call back! This year marks her 30th year with the animations studio.
She was behind many of Pixar’s iconic films.
In the early years of her time at Pixar, Gini joined the teams behind Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, and Monsters Inc.. Come 2003, she went onto bigger tasks, which include developing Dory’s character design in Finding Nemo, assuring that the forgetful bluefish always appears true to character.
Her other notable works include The Incredibles, Up, Cars, Brave, and Ratatouille. For Ratatouille, she and her fellow animators studied two clean rats that were kept as reference, showcasing their commitment to the craft.
She is an award-winning animator.
Gini was also part of the team that worked on Coco, the first Pixar film centered on a Mexican cultural festival. The movie took around six years to make, with the team traveling back and forth to the mentioned country for intensive research.
It was then recognized as the Best Animation Motion Picture at the 2018 Golden Globes, making her a co-recipient of the award.
Kyla Villena loves a good lip gloss and a trip to the art gallery. She is Preview's beauty girl, who doubles as a self-proclaimed motivational speaker.
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