Disney has announced that Jennifer Lee has stepped down from her position as Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Jared Bush has been named the new CCO.
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Jared Bush has been named Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Walt Disney Animation Studios effective immediately, reporting to Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, while Jennifer Lee has decided to return to filmmaking full time to steward the Frozen franchise for the studio.
Serving as Chief Creative Officer for Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2018, Lee will be directing and writing on Frozen 3 and writing Frozen 4 with Marc Smith. Thirty-year Disney veteran Clark Spencer (Oscar®-winning producer, Encanto, Zootopia) continues as President, Walt Disney Animation Studios.
“Jared Bush is an incredible filmmaker and a talented executive who’s been a prominent creative force at Disney Animation for the past decade, and I am thrilled that he’ll be taking the reins of this storied studio,” Bergman said. “I also want to thank Jennifer Lee for her passionate leadership of the studio over the past several years — she’s made an indelible mark on both Disney Animation and the industry. I know she has so many more stories to tell, and there is truly no one better suited to oversee the continuation of the beloved story of Frozen.”
“I am so deeply grateful to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman for their faith in me, and thankful to Jennifer for her leadership and for her generous support as she embarks on the next chapters of Frozen,” said Bush. “Disney Animation is home to some of the greatest stories and characters of the past century, and I’m so excited to work with all of our filmmakers, artists, and Disney Animation team members as we shape the future of this legendary studio together.”
Said Lee: “I am so grateful to Bob and Alan for supporting my decision to return to filmmaking full time. Every day working with them is a master class in creativity, business, community, and integrity. I’ve always believed in Jared’s incredible talent and can’t wait to see, with his passion and dedication to animation, what he brings to the CCO role. For me, getting to collaborate with this studio of artists, animators, and storytellers is such a privilege, and I look forward to all we will create together.”
As CCO, Bush will oversee the creative output of the iconic animation studio, including its films, series, and associated projects. Bush has been with the studio for over a decade, receiving the Academy Award in 2022 for Encanto, for which he was both director and a writer, in the same year in which he was executive producer for the Oscar-nominated Raya and the Last Dragon. Bush was also co-director/co-writer on 2016’s Oscar-winning Zootopia, writer of the original Oscar-nominated hit Moana, and received an Emmy® Award for Zootopia+. He serves as a writer and executive producer on the upcoming Moana 2 and is directing and writing Zootopia 2, set to release Fall 2025.
Lee is the Oscar-winning screenwriter and director behind Frozen and Frozen 2, two of the biggest animated films of all time. Lee joined Disney in 2011 as co-writer of the Oscar-nominated Wreck-It Ralph. She was also an integral part of building the story for Zootopia and served as executive producer on Encanto, Wish, and Raya and the Last Dragon, as well as the upcoming Moana 2. She also oversaw Disney Animation’s first foray into animated series, including Baymax, the first-of-its-kind series Iwájú, and Zootopia+, for which she received an Emmy Award, and she is the Tony®-nominated writer of the book for the Broadway musical Frozen.
Among the highly anticipated titles on Walt Disney Animation’s upcoming slate are Moana 2 on November 27, 2024 and Zootopia 2 on November 26, 2025.
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