Yvett Merino is a film producer who served as a main producer for the film Disney's ''

Encanto ''Encanto'' is a 2021 American animated Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, co-directed by Charise Castro Smith, and ...

''. As producer, she won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, with

Jared Bush Jared Bush (born June 12, 1974) is an American filmmaker, who has served as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2024. He is best known for co-writing and co-directing the company's animated films '' Zootopia'' (201 ...

Byron Howard Byron P. Howard (born December 26, 1968) is an American animator, character designer, story artist, film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as one of the directors of the Walt Disney Animation Studios films '' Bolt'' (2008) ...

, and

Clark Spencer Clark Spencer (born April 6, 1963) is an American film producer, businessman and studio executive best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and for winning the Oscars for Best Animated Feature for his work on '' Zootopia'' and ' ...

Personal life

Merino's grandparents are from Mexico. Her father was a machinist, and her mother was an office manager. She grew up in

Norwalk, California Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 102,773 at the 2020 census. Founded in the late 19th century, Norwalk was incorporated as a city in 1957. It is located southeast of downtown Los Angeles a ...

, and studied sociology at

University of California Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

. Working as a social worker for a year, she began taking temp placements outside of that role, including at Disney.

Career

Merino began with Disney Animation in the 1990s, expecting to stay for five years. Merino was a

software engineer Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software applications. It involves applying engineering principles and computer programming expertise to develop ...

and technology administration manager for '' Chicken Little'' (2005), and promotional support for ''

Meet the Robinsons ''Meet the Robinsons'' is a 2007 American animated science-fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the 1990 children's book ''A Day with Wilbur Robinson'' by William Jo ...

'' (2007). Having worked up through the technology department to the role of administrative manager, ''

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American animated musical film, musical Adventure film, adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in th ...

'' (2010) producer Roy Conli asked her to manage the editing department, which made her a production manager. She re-enrolled in school, receiving an MBA. She was a production assistant for ''

Wreck-It Ralph ''Wreck-It Ralph'' is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was directed by Rich Moore and produced by Clark Spencer, from a screenplay by Phil Johnston (filmmaker), Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee ( ...

'' (2012). Merino was a production manager and departmental leadership for '' Big Hero 6'' (2014), departmental leadership for ''

Zootopia ''Zootopia'' (titled ''Zootropolis'' or ''Zoomania'' in various regions) is a 2016 American animated buddy cop comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore from a screenplay by Jared Bush an ...

'' (2016), production manager for '' Moana'' (2016), and studio and creative leadership for ''

Raya and the Last Dragon ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' ( ) is a 2021 American animated fantasy action adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by ...

'' (2021). Merino joined ''

'' (2021) two years into development, as it started to transition to production. It is her first film where she is listed as the main producer. Merino created an employee resource group at Disney called ''Voces'' (Voices). Separately, ''Encanto'' had a Familia Group, which would meet monthly for lunch to discuss the concept of family.

Filmography

*'' Big Hero 6'' (2014) (production manager) *'' Moana'' (2016) (production manager) * ''

'' (2021) (producer) * '' Once Upon a Studio'' (2023) (producer) * ''

Moana 2 ''Moana 2'' is a 2024 American animated musical film, musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The second film in the Moana_(franchise)#Films, ''Moana'' franchise, it was directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and D ...

'' (2024) (producer) * '' Zootopia 2'' (2025) (producer)

Awards

* ''

'' (2022)
NHMC Impact Awards Gala
(Producer Impact Award) * ''

'' (2022) (

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

) ( Best Animated Feature Film) * '' Once Upon a Studio'' (2023) (

Children's and Family Emmy Awards The Children's and Family Emmy Awards, or Children's and Family Emmys, are a part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts a ...

) ( Outstanding Animated Short Form Program)

References

External links

* Living people 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen Year of birth missing (living people) People from Norwalk, California Film producers from California American animated film producers American film producers American people of Mexican descent Children's and Family Emmy Award winners Walt Disney Animation Studios people University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Producers who won the Best Animated Feature Academy Award {{US-film-producer-stub