Jennifer Lee’s Plan for Walt Disney Animation

[NateD1226]

The Hollywood Reporter released an article all about Jennifer Lee and Disney Animation. It has plenty of news and some interesting tidbits about her and the studio. Instead of creating a new thread for each new project she says, I thought I'd just compile them here. Then, later in time when more information is announced, it can get its own thread.

• Iwaju has been delayed to 2023
• She discusses the straight-to-Disney+ release
  • “We do not separate Disney+ or theatrical as one is better than the other,” she notes. “We give the artists the same resources, the same support, the same commitment. COVID has prepared us for unpredictability. The opportunity you get with either Disney+ or theatrical, because it’s Disney, is that your film or your series can reach the world.”
• Stella Meghie (The Photograph) is writing and directing the Tiana series.
  • She originally pitched a live-action PATF, but that never went anywhere
• Even though they do not mention his supposed 2023 movie, Carlos López Estrada was described a "crucial hire"
• Suzi Yoonessi (Daphne & Velma) is making an original feature at the studio
• David G. Derrick (storyboard artist for Disney) is directing the upcoming Moana Disney+ series
• Marc Smith (animator/story head for movies like Hercules, Frozen 2, and Zootopia) is creating his debut feature
• Josie Trinidad (story credit on Zootopia and director of Zootopia+) is creating her debut feature

There is plenty more in the article (did anyone know she was married to Doc Ock?!), but those are just the pieces that stood out to me.

Full article here:

The Magic Maker: Jennifer Lee’s Plan for Walt Disney Animation — and Finding the Next ‘Frozen’

When her first film made more than $1 billion, Lee proved she had the golden touch. Now that she's taken the helm of the studio, she's under pressure to keep the hits coming — and she’s betting heavily on new blood.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Fox&Hound]

I read this article. Really interesting. I really didn't enjoy Frozen 2 and place some of the blame of the poor story direction to Lee but it is cool to see her as a woman at the head of the animation division. I hope she has a long career!

 

[Ghost93]

Stella Meghie (The Photograph) is writing and directing the Tiana series.

• She originally pitched a live-action PATF, but that never went anywhere

I'm glad Disney is having a Black woman lead the Tiana series. One issue with the original movie was that white men were largely behind the direction and music. While Clemmens and Musker and Randy Newman are all talented, I think some mistakes were made with the Princess and the Frog from a representation standpoint. There was A LOT of skepticism about the project from the Black community before the film was even released. As a result, it felt like the creatives were all walking on eggshells to avoid offending anybody. They still did to an extent — by setting the movie during the Jim Crow Era and stupidly turning Disney's first Black princess into a frog for most of the movie. Still, PatF wasn't the debacle some had feared.

But with a Black woman in charge of the creative process for the spinoff show, I think the story will be more authentic, more bold, and more interesting! Meghie will probably have more leeway to experiment with the storytelling because audiences will be more likely to give the project the benefit of the doubt under her leadership.