Disney Animation Has Hired Four New Directors to Create Exciting Original Content

Disney Animation Studios has hired four directors, two new and two returning, to create some new original content for the company. Returning are Josie Trinidad, who has previously worked on the art and stories for The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and its sequel, and Zootopia; and Marc Smith, who did animation for Hercules, Tarzan, Fantasia 2000, The Emperor’s New Groove, Chicken Little, Tangled, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia.

The new directors are Carlos Lopez Estrada (Blindspotting), and Suzi Yoonessi (Unlovable, The Dead Girls Detective Agency). Variety reports that Walt Disney Animation’s chief creative officer Jennifer Lee, who wrote the Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen films, is looking to continue to tell original stories while continuing to diversify the types of films they make.

Here’s what Lee had to say about the upcoming projects and new directors on board:

“We aim to have Walt Disney Animation Studios serve as the premiere home for filmmakers interested in telling engaging stories within the limitless animation medium. Carlos and Suzi are two incredible, inventive filmmakers who have both received acclaim for their work. Josie and Marc, master, lead story artists, have been instrumental in shaping such films as ‘Zootopia’ and ‘Frozen 2.’ We are so thrilled to have these four talented artists join our 96-year-old studio as directors and help us build the stories of our future — adventures in completely original worlds, stories from around the globe, and the next generation of musicals.”

This sounds like an exciting step forward during a time when remakes, sequels, and reboots are abundant. I’ll be excited to see what they all bring to the table in the coming years for Disney.