--- name: "Jared Bush" canonical: "https://film.one/person/jared-bush" fi1m_id: "jared-bush" imdb_id: "nm1158544" tmdb_id: 1318201 wikidata_id: "Q20995253" roles: ["Writer","Director","Producer"] born: "12 June 1974" reviewed_on_fi1m: 6 average_fi1m_score: 62 average_as: "writer" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-10-21T04:26:43.139297+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Jared Bush ## Identity Jared Bush - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jared-bush - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** jared-bush - **IMDb ID:** nm1158544 - **TMDB ID:** 1318201 - **Wikidata ID:** Q20995253 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Bush, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20995253, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1158544/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1318201 Writer and director. Born 12 June 1974 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Writer, Director, Producer - **Born:** 12 June 1974, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA - **Active:** 2016–present - **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 3 directing, 3 writing - **Frequently works with:** [Yvett Merino](https://film.one/person/yvett-merino.md), [Byron Howard](https://film.one/person/byron-howard.md), [Dana Ledoux Miller](https://film.one/person/dana-ledoux-miller.md), [Dwayne Johnson](https://film.one/person/dwayne-johnson.md), [Auliʻi Cravalho](https://film.one/person/aulii-cravalho.md), [Clark Spencer](https://film.one/person/clark-spencer.md), [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://film.one/person/ginnifer-goodwin.md), [Jason Bateman](https://film.one/person/jason-bateman.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated) - **Average Fi1m score:** 62, as writer, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 82 (2), 2020s 64 (4) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 62 to 62 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 2 under 60 - **Genres:** Adventure 3, Comedy 3, Family 3, Animation 2, Fantasy 2 - **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $2,058m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Bush, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20995253, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1158544/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1318201 ## Coming up - *Lilo & Scratch* (2026-11-25), Executive Producer - *Hexed* (2026-11-25), Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/hexed.md) - *Frozen III* (2027-11-24), Executive Producer - *Clay* (2028-11-22), Executive Producer ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*Zootopia*](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md) (82), [*Moana*](https://film.one/film/moana.md) (82), [*Encanto*](https://film.one/film/encanto.md) (80), [*Zootopia 2*](https://film.one/film/zootopia-2.md) (70), [*Moana 2*](https://film.one/film/moana-2.md) (55) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Jared Bush > Jared Bush is good at writing companions who cannot agree, and we recommend his strongest films. His conversations are often more individual than his plots; the sequels make that weakness harder to overlook. In *Zootopia 2* (2025), Judy Hopps rushes at a problem and Nick Wilde hangs back, so the department sends them to Dr. Fuzzby to talk about their partnership. Jared Bush’s script sensibly leaves them with something to learn about each other. We enjoyed being back with them because Ginnifer Goodwin’s stubborn optimism and Jason Bateman’s weary timing still make that disagreement funny. Bush is at his surest when the characters have to put up with one another. His feature breakthrough was *Zootopia* (2016), made with directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore and fellow screenwriter Phil Johnston. It is a funny, thoughtful police comedy, set in a city worth exploring. The difficulty comes when the screenplay asks predators and prey to explain human prejudice: their biological differences complicate the comparison. Bush and Johnston are more persuasive when showing how readily someone’s appearance becomes an excuse to misjudge them. For *Moana* (2016), Bush gives the heroine lively exchanges with Maui, then asks her to follow a familiar route through the adventure. The father-daughter friction is predictable, and the question of whether Moana can become the person she wants to be seldom feels open. Some childish jokes are unnecessary once a scene has already earned its smile. Yet the voices, songs and affection between generations make this another easy family recommendation, despite the screenplay’s reliance on the expected. Family and generational concerns continue in *Encanto* (2021), which Bush co-wrote and co-directed, again working with Howard. The subsequent sequels expose a less dependable side of his writing. On *Moana 2* (2024), he shares the screenplay with Dana Ledoux Miller, and the film’s beginnings as a television series remain apparent in the thin adventure. It is kindly and well drawn, but danger is repeatedly announced without becoming convincing, and the return to the ocean gives us little reason to care. *Zootopia 2*, which Bush directs with Howard, is a better return, though its conspiracy plot is too crowded. Judy and Nick’s unfinished business gives their scenes a purpose, and their partnership remains the strongest reason to watch. Start with *Zootopia* and *Moana*; liking both need not commit an evening to each follow-up. ## Biography Jared Bush is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He has served as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2024. He was born on 12 June 1974 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and graduated from Harvard University. Bush co-wrote and co-directed *Zootopia* (2016) and directed and wrote *Zootopia 2* (2025). He wrote the screenplays for *Moana* (2016) and *Moana 2* (2024), and directed and co-wrote *Encanto* (2021), which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He co-created and executive produced the Disney XD series *Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero* (2014–2017). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, thewaltdisneycompany.com.* ## On Fi1m (6) ### Directed (3) - *Zootopia 2* (2025), Fi1m 70, as Jürgen Ziegenkäse / Pronk (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia-2.md) - *Encanto* (2021), Fi1m 80, Story, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/encanto.md) - *Zootopia* (2016), Fi1m 82, as Pronk Oryx-Antlerson (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md) ### Wrote (3) — the average rests on these - *Moana* (2026), Fi1m 50, Screenplay, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/moana-2026.md) - *Moana 2* (2024), Fi1m 55, Screenplay, Executive Producer, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/moana-2.md) - *Moana* (2016), Fi1m 82, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/moana.md) ## Complete filmography (16) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Clay* (2028), Executive Producer - *Frozen III* (2027), Executive Producer - *Lilo & Scratch* (2026), Executive Producer - *Hexed* (2026), Executive Producer — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/film/hexed.md) - *Moana* (2026), Original Film Writer, Screenplay — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/moana-2026.md) - *Zootopia 2* (2025), as Jürgen Ziegenkäse / Pronk (voice) · Director, Writer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia-2.md) - *Moana 2* (2024), Executive Producer, Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/moana-2.md) - *Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl* (2022), Executive Producer - *Zootopia+* (2022), series, as Pronk Oryx-Antlerson (voice) · Executive Producer - *Encanto* (2021), Story, Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/encanto.md) - *Raya and the Last Dragon* (2021), Executive Producer - *Moana* (2016), Screenplay — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/moana.md) - *Zootopia* (2016), as Pronk Oryx-Antlerson (voice) · Screenplay, Story, Co-Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md) - *Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero* (2014), series, Story, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator - *Zootopia 3*, Executive Producer - *Moana 3*, Writer ## Gallery - ![Jared Bush](https://film.one/media/person/7630/gallery-188e25116d62.jpg) Jared Bush — Boungawa, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Jared_Bush.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Jared Bush](https://film.one/media/person/7630/gallery-76abdafe29b5.jpg) Jared Bush — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated - 2026: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *Zootopia 2* - 2022: Best Animated Feature (won), for *Encanto* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jared-bush