| Jared Bush | |
| Birth Date: | 12 June 1974 |
| Birth Place: | Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1998–present |
| Spouse(S): | Pamela McDonald |
| Employer: | Walt Disney Animation Studios (2014–present) |
| Awards: | Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Encanto (2021) |
Jared Bush (born June 12, 1974) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director, who served as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2024. 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 .[1] [2]
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.[3]
He also wrote the screenplay of Walt Disney Animation Studios' Moana.[4]
Bush co-created the animated television series .[5] In 2021, Bush directed Encanto about a Colombian magical family alongside Byron Howard with Charise Castro Smith as co-director.[6] 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.[7] Bush was named as her successor.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Other | Voice | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | What Lies Beneath | Assistant: Mr. Rapke | ||||||
| 2014 | Big Hero 6 | Creative Leadership | ||||||
| 2016 | Zootopia | Pronk Oryx-Antlerson | ||||||
| Moana | ||||||||
| 2018 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | |||||||
| 2019 | Frozen 2 | |||||||
| 2021 | Raya and the Last Dragon | |||||||
| Encanto | ||||||||
| 2022 | Strange World | |||||||
| 2023 | Wish | |||||||
| 2024 | Moana 2[8] | |||||||
| 2025 | Zootopia 2[9] | |||||||
| 2026 | Moana | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Creator | Producer | Writer | Story editor | Composer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | DAG | ||||||
| 2002 | Baby Bob | ||||||
| 2003 | Totally Outrageous Behavior | ||||||
| 2003 | Dumber and Dumber | ||||||
| 2003–04 | Who Wants to Marry My Dad? | ||||||
| 2003–07 | All of Us | ||||||
| 2014–17 |
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | For | Recipient(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Seattle Film Critics Award | 2017 | Best Animated Feature | Zootopia | Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Rich Moore | ||
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | December 21, 2016 | Best Animated Film | [11] | |||
| Annie Awards | February 4, 2017 | Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Jared Bush and Phil Johnston | [12] | ||
| Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America | May 20, 2017 | Ray Bradbury Award | [13] | |||
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Best Feature | Encanto | Jared Bush,, and | ||
| British Academy Film Awards | March 13, 2022 | Best Animated Film | Jared Bush,, and | [14] | ||
| Academy Awards | March 27, 2022 | Best Animated Feature | [15] | |||
| Hugo Awards | September 4, 2022 | Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form | , Jared Bush, and Byron Howard | [16] | ||
| Imagen Awards | October 2, 2022 | Best Director – Feature Film | [17] | |||
| Nebula Awards | May 21, 2022 | Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation | , Jared Bush,,,, and | [18] |