Jennifer Lee, Chief Creative Officer and Oscar winner of Disney Animation, is shifting her focus back to filmmaking, leaving her role as the studio’s CCO to fully concentrate on writing and directing “Frozen 3” and “Frozen 4.” ” Jared Bush, who won an Academy Award for “Encanto” and is one of the writers and executive producers of “Moana 2,” has been named CCO of the studio.
Lee will write and direct “Frozen 3” and will co-write “Frozen 4” with Marc Smith – the sequel to Disney Animation’s “Snow Queen”-inspired 2013 cultural hit “Frozen,” for which she served as writer/director. The film made $1.3 billion worldwide and earned two Oscars, for best animated feature and for the earworm song “Let It Go.”
Bush, a longtime Disney creator, won an Oscar for 2021’s “Encanto,” for which he served as writer and director. Previously, Bush served as executive producer of “Raya and the Last Dragon,” co-director/co-writer of the Oscar-winning “Zootopia” and received an Emmy for “Zootopia+.” He wrote the Oscar-nominated “Moana” and serves as writer and executive producer on “Moana 2.” Also on his schedule is directing and writing “Zootopia 2,” due out next fall.
“Jared Bush is an incredible filmmaker and talented executive who has been a prominent creative force at Disney Animation for the past decade, and I am thrilled that he is taking the reins of this legendary studio,” said Alan, Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment. Bergman in a statement. “I would also like to thank Jennifer Lee for her passionate leadership of the studio over the past few years – she has left 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 Frozen’s beloved story.”
Lee was named CCO of the animation studio in 2018, following the departure of John Lasseter. At the time, she was also writing and directing (with her “Frozen” collaborator Chris Buck) “Frozen II,” which premiered in 2019 and grossed $1.45 billion worldwide, though it wasn’t as celebrated as the original.
“I am so grateful to Bob and Alan for supporting my decision to return to filming full-time,” said Lee. “I have always believed in Jared’s incredible talent and can’t wait to see what he brings to the role of CCO, with his passion and dedication to animation.”
Bush said, “I am so deeply grateful to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman for their confidence in me, and grateful to Jennifer for her leadership and for her generous support as she embarks on the next chapters of the book. FrozenBush said. “I am 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.”
