Who Will Take Over for Lasseter at WDAS?

[Kyle]

If I produced a series of flops (or close to flops) I'd be wanting to step down too probably. Why would you stay in a position that doesn't seem to be as successful as your biggest breakout hit?

[UmbrellaFish]

I was sort of wondering what was taking so long for this to happen.

Most of the films under her tenure were mediocre, but I also think she took risks and that made her tenure more interesting to live through. I think someone here said it before but Frozen II does not feel like a sequel to a blockbuster film. And I cannot believe there was a gay main character in WDAS in a recent movie— I thought I’d be an old man before that happened. I think Encanto is a very strong film. I think Wish is pretty bad, but I get the sense there was some executive meddling there that contributed to the jumbled mess we got. Maybe her movies in general weren’t that great, but they were a refreshing change of pace from the samey Lasseter era— for better or worse, you were always surprised!

[Disney's Divinity]

Not really surprised, I don't think she enjoyed it very much. And this way she can still work at WDAS on her own projects without the vitriol being aimed at her. TBH, I'm not sure Pete Docter really enjoys running PIXAR either. I liked all of Frozen II, Raya, and Encanto. Strange World and Wish were just okay, but they both featured heavy meddling--the former was Chapek trying to fix his own problems and the latter was ironed out to the point of blandness.

[PatchofBlue]

Not really surprised, I don't think she enjoyed it very much. And this way she can still work at WDAS on her own projects without the vitriol being aimed at her. TBH, I'm not sure Pete Docter really enjoys running PIXAR either. I liked all of Frozen II, Raya, and Encanto. Strange World and Wish were just okay, but they both featured heavy meddling--the former was Chapek trying to fix his own problems and the latter was ironed out to the point of blandness.

Why do you say that?

Not saying you're wrong. I'm just curious.

Incidentally, I mostly line up with your assessments of the films that came out under Lee.

[Disney's Divinity]

IDK, she just came across unsatisfied being stretched thin across multiple projects. I mean, it was nice to have a name I knew and liked at the top, but I don't think creative types like them really enjoy taking on what is more of a manager type of role, they prefer to be fully involved on one project at a time. Of course, she could've followed Lasseter's mold of simply taking over every film and pushing out whoever the director is, but she just didn't have that type of personality. Then you're getting the negative criticism for everything even when it's not fully in your control, considering many of the bad things going on had to do more with Chapek, Iger, etc. falling down-wind in her and Docter's lap to deal with.

So I'm glad she's going back to working one film at a time. I just wonder who Bush is? Either way, Iger's the one making most of the decisions, whoever's in that role is just the rubber-stamp.

[Sotiris]

Don Hahn in a new interview revealed that after Disney acquired Pixar, Ed Catmull had asked him to run WDAS, but he declined. Had he accepted, the course of the studio could have been so different.

[PatrickvD]

Don Hahn in a new interview revealed that after Disney acquired Pixar, Ed Catmull had asked him to run WDAS, but he declined. Had he accepted, the course of the studio could have been so different.

I don’t think we could know that. Power corrupts.

And in this role if you’re not a strong leader with leverage over a large group of other senior leaders you essentially become a puppet for those leaders. He could have an easily become a puppet.

I’m sure Jennifer had great ideas for the studio before she became a doormat. And creatives are easy to walk all over for the board.

[The Disneynerd]

Im so happy she stepped out so she can fully give her energy to help crafting F3 &4, as we all know how the second turned out. I fully believe she will polish those movies up as she contributed so much for creating Frozens storyline and even made the key decision to change Elsas whole character

Don Hahn in a new interview revealed that after Disney acquired Pixar, Ed Catmull had asked him to run WDAS, but he declined. Had he accepted, the course of the studio could have been so different.

im not too familiar with Don Hahn , do u think he would have made things better or worse?

[Sotiris]

im not too familiar with Don Hahn , do u think he would have made things better or worse?

Better, for sure. Don Hahn is a producer from Disney's Renaissance era who's responsible for Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, among others.

[Sotiris]

Q: Any news for the project of 2026?

Jared Bush: It is an original film and I can’t wait to share more…

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867967515122700657

Q: Are there any plans to release an original film that is not a sequel?

Jared Bush: I definitely believe originals are crucial and should be a big part of our future.

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867985046864593101

Q: Will you bring back real serious villains to the level of Maleficent, Jafar, Facilier etc?

Jared Bush: Oh yes.

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867988457941020760

Q: Will Disney make a new original movie based on an existing tale/fairytale?

Jared Bush: I would love it.

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867973781035319654

Q: I was wondering if you consider doing an animated musical with a male lead? Something like Aladdin or Hercules…might be awesome to think!

Jared Bush: Absolutely.

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867978417410633960

[Kyle]

Not a single non cooperate answer, every one is exactly what anyone would expect.

[UmbrellaFish]

Yes, he did a good job of saying pretty much nothing.

Well, did we know 2026 is an original film? That might be news, I’m not sure.

[Farerb]

Yes, they announced it at D23.

[UmbrellaFish]

Ahh, thank you. Figures.

[Mardenborough]

Q: Will you bring back real serious villains to the level of Maleficent, Jafar, Facilier etc?

Jared Bush: Oh yes.

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867988457941020760

Meanwhile, the villains he wrote until now are the sheep from Zootopia, the grandma from Encanto, and the bat lady.
All of these are pretty mid and unconventional.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867988457941020760

Meanwhile, the villains he wrote until now are the sheep from Zootopia, the grandma from Encanto, and the bat lady.
All of these are pretty mid and unconventional.

And Tamatoa too. Don’t forget him.

[Sotiris]

Q: In the last few years, I've been really impressed with the animation being produced in Hollywood. I think the audience clearly showed their love for Spider-Verse. I saw the footage today of Gatto. How have you, as an animation fan, seen what's being done in the evolution of storytelling and said, “Disney Animation needs to do insert this?”

Jared Bush: I get asked that question a lot. I think, across the board, people are really trying to push what animation can do and the style. To me, more than anything, continuing to evolve that style is important, but it always has to be tied organically to the story. So, Spider-Verse is a great example of that. It works so well and it's groundbreaking, but it's also deeply tied to comic books, and so that style makes a lot of sense to push that way, because it is so deeply tied to what the story is and what the genre is. So, as we're moving forward, I think we have to keep surprising our audience. I’d say the one distinction that Disney Animation has is we have this 100-year history, so there are people that watch our movies that are 20, 30, 50, 60 years old, right next to the movies that are coming out now, and there is an audience expectation that they feel of the same world. So, trying to figure out where we can break the mold, which is important to do, and sort of push forward, and at the same time, we're not just dropping a legacy just to do it, because we feel it's necessary. So, more than anything, I think it is making sure that any project that's going to push some of those boundaries, there's a reason to do it, and that reason is tied to the story itself.

Q: I've spoken to Kevin Feige many times, and he's always talked about how they have their five-year or their 10-year plan, and then that plan changes all the time. So, at the office, how far ahead is Disney Animation on the board? Do you have the next eight years figured out?

Jared Bush: I do. For me, stepping into this role, I am a planner. I like charts and graphs, and I like knowing where something is, always with the idea that if we need to make an adjustment, if we need to be flexible, we have to do that. We have a really fun puzzle of a schedule because we have to balance originals to a continuation of stories, but we also have musicals to non-musicals, which is another aspect that’s kind of unique to us. So, looking and saying, “How do all these fit together?” Then, obviously, we have Pixar that we work in concert with and that are great friends of ours, so making sure that our schedules are also aligned or we're supporting each other in the same way is a really fun balance. Our movies also take five to six years; it makes you really have to be thinking that far down the field and have a plan set up. Everyone at Disney Animation loves to be excited and inspired by the next thing out, so that's also for us, too. It's not just for the audience. It’s saying, what's going to keep people excited in the studio and push boundaries and give them challenges?

Source: https://collider.com/zootopia-2-directo ... animation/