Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
Hello! My name is Matt Acuña, and I’m an Animation Writer from Maryland. I didn’t always know I wanted to be a writer. At first I tried out comics and even coding my own (very basic) video games. But over time I realized I really only enjoyed the story aspect of each, not the art or coding side. So my transformation into a writer was complete! During college, I was able to come out to Los Angeles for a summer internship program in 2016. I interned for a live-action company, which was a wonderful experience, but it really solidified my desire to work in animation. So after moving home and saving up as much as I could through serving and bartending jobs, I was able to make the official move to L.A. in late 2018.
After a bit of food service and other internships, I landed my first animation job at Bento Box Entertainment on Bob’s Burgers. I was brought on as the Office Assistant in charge of getting lunch for the writers, making deliveries, and other tasks like that. Unfortunately… that was in February 2020. One month later the world shut down thanks to COVID, and my job became completely obsolete. They could have easily laid me off, but instead, they moved me into production as the Digital Production Assistant, and I’m forever grateful to my boss for making that decision. It quite literally saved my career.
After about a year I was moved up to Digital Production Coordinator. But my drive to write kept me going. So I decided to say farewell to Bento Box and move on to a Script Coordinator role at Wild Canary Animation on Disney Jr.’s Ariel. I was very lucky to be given the opportunity to write two episodes and was bumped up to Associate Writer afterward, where I was put into the regular staff writing rotation! As for where I am now, I’m currently looking for what comes next. I’m also pitching around to studios at the moment, and hope to sell something in the near future.
What challenges have you faced in navigating a career in animation?
The uncertainty of the industry has definitely given me my fair share of sleepless nights. I find that anytime a show or season is ending, and there’s the big question of “okay… now what?”, there’s never a clear answer. We’ve picked careers that truthfully are never a guarantee, even with all the skills and connections in the world. As contracts have gotten shorter, and jobs are much scarcer, it feels like the job hunt never truly ends, even while you’re employed. Growing up, I heard stories of creatives settling in at studios like Disney or Cartoon Network and staying for years, maybe even decades. I dreamed about that sense of community and pride in being established at “your” studio. But it feels like that’s not the case anymore, and the stability of this career has dredged up the unpleasant question of: “Is this viable for my entire life? Can I keep hustling every other year, even when I’m in my 60s?”
Truthfully though, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. My passion and love for my craft and the stories we tell through animation outweighs this fear each and every time. Of course, though, I do want the issue to get better. We all deserve stability. At least for a few years.
Who are your inspirations in the field of animation?
Honestly, way too many to count. I’m greatly inspired by creators like Jorge R. Gutiérrez, who instills his love of his culture into his work so vibrantly and proudly. Of course, gotta mention Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for creating Avatar: The Last Airbender, which inspired me to go into animation in the first place. I also greatly look up to and respect my Showrunner, Lynne Southerland, and Story Editor, Keith Wagner, from my time writing on Disney Jr.’s Ariel. Their guidance and mentorship really helped me flourish and gain confidence in my writing abilities.
I’m also inspired daily by my amazing writer friends: Angela M. Sánchez, Jeff D’Elia, Nick Rodriguez, Michelle Calderon, and Denisse De La Cruz. Each of them are so talented and inspire me with their creativity and determination!
What do you hope to accomplish as a writer in the animation industry?
Well, first things first: find myself another job! But beyond that, I want to tell stories that are authentically me. Fantasy and adventure were my escape from the world when I was younger, and honestly they still are today. Of course, I want to create awesome fight scenes set to cool anime music, but I also want those moments to represent points in my life where I felt alone, and to show others going through the same thing that they aren’t alone at all. I grew up with hyperthyroidism, which caused my eyes to quite literally bug out of my head. Needless to say, other kids weren’t nice about it. I haven’t seen any media that really represents that exact experience. I want to use what I’ve gone through, alongside my love of fantasy, to create a story that encapsulates that feeling and give hope to anyone going through something similar. I hope I can one day move up to Story Editor, and maybe even Showrunner to make that happen.
What does being in the Union mean to you?
To me, being in the Union means being a part of a tight-knit community. Animation workers are some of the friendliest, most welcoming people I’ve ever met, and you can feel that in this Union. We not only fight for ourselves, we fight for our co-workers, our friends, our fellow Union members we’ve never even met, and those who will come after us. Back at my time working in production at Bento Box, I was a part of the organizing committee striving to get our production workers into TAG (spoiler alert: it happened!), and while it was a daunting task filled with a lot of worry and uncertainty, it was also filled with the strongest sense of communal support I’ve ever felt.
Learn more about Matt at his website.
Follow him on Bluesky and Instagram.
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