Walt Disney Animation Studios, in a significant leadership shift, on Thursday named Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jared Bush as its new chief creative officer, effective immediately. Bush, the creative force behind movie hits such as "Encanto,

Director-writer Jared Bush is replacing Jennifer Lee as chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Animation Studios as Lee returns to filmmaking full time at the company and stewards the Frozen franchise, Disney announced Thursday. He’ll report to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman, effective immediately.

Lee is stepping down as Disney's animation chief and will return exclusively to filmmaking.