In 2017 Black Enterprise named Vanessa Morrison, a veteran leader at Twentieth Century Fox Film’s animation arm, as one of the most powerful Women in Business in their annual Most Powerful Women In Business list. Most recently, Morrison was named president of Fox Family, a newly created division that will develop films geared toward children and their parents. Andrea Miloro and Robert Baird, the new co-presidents of Fox Animation, will succeed Morrison.
Fox Family will produce animations along with films with live action elements. As reported in Variety, Morrison’s role will be to head the studio’s family animated television business, which produces holiday television specials based on existing film properties. She also will oversee film features based on its small-screen efforts, such as the recently announced “Bob’s Burgers” movie.
Morrison’s journey began serving as the president of Fox Animation in 2007, where she oversaw the production of feature-length animated films, including the “Ice Age” franchise, the “Rio” films, “Peanuts”, and “Book of Life”. Altogether, the films that Morrison has overseen have grossed more than $3 billion at the box office.
Prior to that, she served in several other senior production roles at the studio, including senior vice president of Production, Twentieth Century Fox Age, where she was responsible for overseeing the development and production of novel and short stories into film. Other movies that she was has worked on include “Garfield”, “Cheaper By The Dozen”, “Dr. Doolittle 2”, and “Fat Albert”.
In a joint statement, chairman/ CEO, Stacey Snider, and vice chairman Emma Watts had this to say about Morrison’s appointment:
“Vanessa has, for many years, championed the studio’s efforts to take a more holistic approach to the family entertainment space, and this new role will empower her to execute on that goal. We are thrilled to have her leading this initiative, and as this segment in the marketplace continues to grow, the creation of this new division will strengthen our footprint as we look to create the best possible films for families across our entire company.”