Disney Television Animation has amped up its crčme layer of hierarchy.
Eric Coleman has been promoted to SVP original programming and general manager, Disney Television Animation; Jonathan Schneider has been promoted to VP, strategy; Aaron Simpson has joined the company as VP, development; Shane Prigmore has been appointed VP, creative affairs; and Bonnie Lemon has joined the company as VP, production.
Disney Channels Worldwide’s president and chief creative officer, Gary Marsh made this positive announcement on Wednesday. Marsh also praised Eric’s selfless leadership and his firm grasp on every aspect of storytelling while she also spoke about Jonathan’s extraordinarily collaborative style, and Shane’s incredible artistic talent, the TV Animation team, Disney also welcomed Bonnie and Aaron to our Production and Development teams to expertly manage the complexity of TVA’s productions, both in development and on air, as we continue to expand our content slate.”
Eric Coleman will continue to lead Disney’s animated television development, casting and music for series seen on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Coleman has lead the development of the Emmy and Annie Award-winning “Mickey Mouse” cartoon shorts and “Gravity Falls” and new series “Star vs. The Forces of Evil,” which with its recent premiere became Disney XD’s most-watched animated series debut ever in Total Viewers. Like before, Coleman will continue to report to Marsh.
Schneider, who joined Disney Television Animation in 2010 as Director, Development and most recently served as Executive Director, Development, will now be looking after the developing and implementation of strategic direction and optimization of business operations across the television studio. He shall continue to report to Coleman.
The Mondo Media Head of Development and executive-producer of Fusion TV sketch series Like, Share, Die, Simpson also joins in Disney. He has also produced animation for Warner Brothers, Kids WB, Jib Jab and Sony, and is founder of popular animation websites Cold Hard Flash and Line Boil. In his new position, Simpson will look after all the development activity, both long and short form, manage the development team and work closely with current series in order to ensure a smooth transition of each property from pilot to production. Like Schneiider, He will also report to Coleman.
Prigmore, who joined Disney Television Animation in 2014 to develop and act as Co-Executive Producer and Creative Director on Tangled, the TV studio’s upcoming series based on Walt Disney Animation Studios’ feature film, will now provide creative input across multiple departments including development, current series and production to spearhead the TV animation studio’s efforts to further expand its roster of world-class artists. An Annie Award-winning character designer, Prigmore’s credits prior to Disney include The Lego Movie, How to Train Your Dragon, Coralineand the Croods. He will report to Coleman.
Lemon joins Disney from DreamWorks Animation where she most recently served as production executive on feature films including Kung Fu Panda 3, How to Train Your Dragon 3 and The Penguins of Madagascar. In her new role, Lemon will manage both in-house and outside productions across the Disney Junior slate, streamlining the process from development through post production. She will work closely with key executives, department heads and creative teams and will report to Lisa Salamone Smith, Senior Vice President, Production for Disney Television Animation.