Walt Disney Animation Studios is replacing Jennifer Lee, its chief creative officer, after an uneven six-year tenure.
Disney shook up its animation leadership on Thursday as part of an ongoing effort to improve movie quality.
Jennifer Lee, who has led Disney’s flagship animation operation since 2018, delivering the smash hit “Encanto” and the wipeout “Strange World,” will step down effective immediately, Disney said. She will remain at Disney as a writer-director and focus on shaping the company’s all-important “Frozen” franchise.
Disney named Jared Bush, 50, to succeed Ms. Lee as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Mr. Bush’s directing and writing credits include “Encanto,” “Zootopia” and “Moana.”
In a statement, Ms. Lee, 52, thanked Disney for “supporting my decision to return to filmmaking full time.” She will direct and write the previously announced “Frozen 3,” expected in 2027, and co-write “Frozen 4,” which is unscheduled. Alan Bergman, Disney’s top movie executive, said in a statement that Ms. Lee had “made an indelible mark on both Disney Animation and the industry.”
“There is truly no one better suited to oversee the continuation of the beloved story of ‘Frozen’,” Mr. Bergman added.
Ms. Lee’s rise in animation was meteoric. She got her start in the field in 2012, when she co-wrote the screenplay for “Wreck-It Ralph,” about an arcade game villain who dreams of becoming a hero. The next year, she directed, with Chris Buck, the musical sensation “Frozen” and won an Oscar.
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