Jared Bush

Jared Bush
Born (1974-06-12) June 12, 1974 (age 50)
Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • producer
  • director
Years active1998–present
EmployerWalt Disney Animation Studios (2014–present)
SpousePamela McDonald
AwardsAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature
Encanto (2021)

Jared Bush (born June 12, 1974) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director, who has served as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2024.[1] He is best known for co-writing and co-directing the Walt Disney Animation Studios film Zootopia (2016) and its upcoming sequel Zootopia 2 (2025), writing the film Moana (2016), its sequel Moana 2 (2024) and the 2026 upcoming live-action remake, and writing, directing, and winning an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for the film Encanto (2021), besides co-creating and executive producing the Disney XD animated series Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero.[2][3]

Career

Bush was originally hired by Walt Disney Animation Studios on a "provisional eight-week contract".[4] He joined the Zootopia project early on, before it evolved from a spy film into a police procedural; he was excited to work on a spy film because both his father and grandfather had worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.[5] Several months after joining Disney, he had to personally pitch Zootopia to Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger.[4]

He went on to write the screenplays for the films Moana and its sequel Moana 2.[4]

Bush co-created the animated television series Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero.[6] In 2021, Bush directed Encanto about a Colombian magical family alongside Byron Howard with Charise Castro Smith as co-director.[7] Bush also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Castro Smith.

On September 19, 2024, Disney Animation announced that chief creative officer Jennifer Lee was stepping down from that position to direct and write Frozen 3 and to write and executive produce Frozen 4.[1] Bush was named as her successor.[1]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Other Voice Note
2000 What Lies Beneath No No No Yes Assistant: Mr. Rapke
2014 Big Hero 6 No No No Yes Creative Leadership
2016 Zootopia Co-Director Yes No Yes Pronk Oryx-Antlerson
Moana No Screenplay No Yes
2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet No No No Yes
2019 Frozen 2 No No No Yes
2021 Raya and the Last Dragon No No Yes Yes
Encanto Yes Yes No Yes
2022 Strange World No No No Yes
2023 Wish No No No Yes
2024 Moana 2[8] No Yes Yes Yes
2025 Zootopia 2[9] Yes Yes No Yes
2026 Moana No Screenplay No No Post-production

Television

Year Title Creator Producer Writer Story editor Composer
2000 DAG No No Assistant No No
2002 Baby Bob No Co-Producer Staff No No
2003 Totally Outrageous Behavior No No Yes No No
2003 Dumber and Dumber No No Yes No No
2003–04 Who Wants to Marry My Dad? No No Yes No No
2003–07 All of Us No Co-Producer Yes Executive No
2014–17 Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero Yes Executive Yes No Yes

Short films

Year Title Executive
Producer 		Other Voice Notes
2022 Zootopia+ Yes Yes Pronk Oryx-Antlerson Disney+ Original short films

Unrealized projects

Awards and nominations

Award Date of ceremony Category For Recipient(s) Result Ref.
BET Comedy Awards 2005 Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series All of Us Jared Bush, Arthur Harris, Stacy A. Littlejohn, Lori Lakin, Jewel Wormley, Josh Wolf, Demetrius Andre Bady, Byron Hord, Ray Lancon, John Simmons, Rob Rosell, Chad Drew, Betsy Borns Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Award 2017 Best Animated Feature Zootopia Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Rich Moore Won
Alliance of Women Film Journalists December 21, 2016 Best Animated Film Won [11]
Annie Awards February 4, 2017 Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production Jared Bush and Phil Johnston Won [12]
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America May 20, 2017 Ray Bradbury Award Nominated [13]
Annie Awards March 12, 2022 Best Feature Encanto Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith Nominated
British Academy Film Awards March 13, 2022 Best Animated Film Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer Won [14]
Academy Awards March 27, 2022 Best Animated Feature Won [15]
Hugo Awards September 4, 2022 Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush, and Byron Howard Nominated [16]
Imagen Awards October 2, 2022 Best Director – Feature Film Won [17]
Nebula Awards May 21, 2022 Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse, and Lin-Manuel Miranda Nominated [18]

References

  1. ^ a b c McClintock, Pamela (September 19, 2024). "Disney Animation Shake-Up: Jennifer Lee Exiting as Chief Creative Officer, Jared Bush Takes Over". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "D23 Expo: Disney Reveals Animated 'Zootopia' for 2016". Variety. August 9, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  3. ^ "Walt Disney Animation Studios Reveals New Zootopia Concept Art". comingsoon.net. March 3, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Grimes, Christopher (December 1, 2024). "Disney Animation's new CCO Jared Bush: 'The goal is to make a timeless film — that's the bar'". Financial Times.
  5. ^ Julius, Jessica (2016). The Art of Zootopia. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-4521-5405-3. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Siegel, Lucas (March 27, 2015). "Penn Zero: Become A Part-Time Hero with Sam Levine, Jared Bush, and Balls". ComicBook. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  7. ^ Evans, Greg (June 22, 2020). "Lin-Manuel Miranda Confirms New Disney Animated Movie Set In Colombia". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "Jared Bush Named Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios". TheWaltDisneyCompany.com. September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Dunn, Jack (August 9, 2024). "'Zootopia 2' Casts Ke Huy Quan, First Sequel Footage Introduces Reptiles and New Animals". Variety. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave (April 17, 2007). "New Line, Bush take a Mancation". Variety. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  11. ^ Merin, Jennifer (December 16, 2016). "2016 AWFJ EDA | Award Nominees". Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  12. ^ McCue, Michelle (December 16, 2016). "'Arrival', 'La La Land', 'Hell or High Water' Among The Nominees for the 2016 AWFJ EDA Awards". We Are Movie Geeks. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  13. ^ "Nebula Awards Nominees and Winners: Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation". Nebula Awards. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  14. ^ Hipes, Patrick (March 13, 2022). "BAFTA Film Awards: The Power of The Dog Named Best Film; Dune Leads with Five Wins and Dominates Crafts – Full Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  15. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (March 27, 2022). "Oscars: Full List of Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  16. ^ Codega, Linda (September 6, 2022). "The 2022 Hugo Award Winners Are Here". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on September 6, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  17. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (October 2, 2022). "Imagen Awards: Encanto, Love, Victor Top Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  18. ^ "2021 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. May 21, 2022. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2024.