Walt Disney Animation Studios leadership is getting redrawn.
Jennifer Lee, the company’s chief creative officer and the director of “Frozen” and “Frozen II,” is stepping down and returning to filmmaking full time. Taking her place effectively immediately is Jared Bush, who is currently writing and directing “Zootopia 2” for the studio. He is reporting to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman
As CCO, Bush will oversee the creative output of the animation studio, including its films, series and associated projects. On “Zootopia 2,” TheWrap can exclusively reveal that Byron Howard (“Zootopia,” “Tangled”) is also directing the sequel alongside Bush — they both serve as full directors on the film.
Lee will be directing and writing on “Frozen 3” and writing “Frozen 4” with Marc Smith. She will also serve as executive producer on “Frozen 4.”
Clark Spencer continues as President, Walt Disney Animation Studios.
“I am so grateful to Bob and Alan for supporting my decision to return to filmmaking full time,” Lee said in a statement. “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.”
“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.”
Lee was named chief creative officer in 2018, following John Lasseter’s removal after sexual misconduct allegations and an internal Disney investigation into the matter. At the time, Lee was still working on “Frozen II,” which she directed with Chris Buck and wrote the screenplay for. Since taking over, she has faced some steep challenges, especially during and after the pandemic.
“Raya and the Last Dragon” went through a last-minute creative overhaul and was released simultaneously on Disney+ and in theaters, while “Encanto” was initially viewed as a disappointment when released in late 2021, only to become a true phenomenon on Disney+ and win the Best Animated Feature Oscar.
“Encanto” was followed by two actual disappointments. “Strange World,” an odd, throwback-y adventure set inside the bloodstream of a giant creature, made only $73 million worldwide, with a budget of somewhere between $135 and $180 million. And then there’s “Wish,” which was released last year to coincide with Disney’s 100th anniversary and co-written by Lee. It did considerably better than “Strange World,” making $255 million globally, but cost upwards of $200 million, which meant that it still lost a considerable amount of money. It was not nominated for any Oscars.
Bush, like Lee, is a relative newcomer to the world of animation. He created the Disney Channel animated series “Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero,” which began airing in 2014. That same year he joined the creative leadership of Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he would help out on “Big Hero 6” and in 2016 he would co-direct and write “Zootopia” and write “Moana.” While he would help out where needed on subsequent films, he would return to write (with Charise Castro Smith) and direct (with Byron Howard) in 2021. He is also one of the writers of the upcoming “Moana 2,” which he continues to work on while also working on “Zootopia 2.”
Before stepping down, Lee was overseeing the “Moana” sequel, which began life as a Disney+ streaming series before being reconfigured as a theatrical feature, set to be released this Thanksgiving. It’s a monumental undertaking, not a simple nip-and-tuck job, requiring both Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank and their satellite studio in Canada (described as “one studio, two locations” at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival last month) to work tirelessly on the project, and one that Lee was said to be intimately involved with.
She also had to weather the oversized demands of Disney+, which had the animation studio producing short-form series like “Baymax” and “Zootopia+” while also working on more ambitious, long-form projects like the “Moana” series and an upcoming “Tiana” series, based on the character from “The Princess and the Frog,” which is rumored to be done in an art style that combines 2D and 3D animation and is, somewhat surprisingly, different from both the traditional animation of the feature and the purely 3D animation of the recently opened Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction at Walt Disney World.
“Moana 2” hits theaters in November, while “Zootopia 2” is slated for release on Nov. 26, 2025.
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