Craziest Detail in Disney’s ‘Zootopia’ That Most Fans Missed Will Make You Salute the Filmmaker’s True Passion
- Zootopia’s filmmakers ensured realism by accurately reflecting the natural traits of animals, going to painstaking lengths for realism.
- The filmmakers’ dedication to authenticity and detail involved some surprising and fascinating behind-the-scenes efforts that fans might not expect.
- Zootopia 2 aims to surpass its predecessor’s success, with returning characters and new additions like Gary the Snake, reflecting Disney’s commitment to quality.
Byron Howard and Rich Moore, with an added co-direction from Jared Bush, directed one of Disney’s most successful animated movies with 2016’s Zootopia. Breathing life into anthropomorphic animal characters walking in a world devoid of humans, the movie earned massive acclaim for its appeal to all ages. However, assigning quirky traits to each life form was neither an easy task nor one that the filmmakers took lightly.
Rather, the movie left no stone unturned in ensuring realism while also balancing everyday stereotypes about the various animals depicted on screen. Subtle mannerisms and character designs that are hard to point out during a regular watch carry hidden stories of painstaking behind-the-scenes efforts. One such overlooked detail should help fans appreciate the film even more.
Zootopia character designs reflected their natural counterparts accurately
One would assume that for a film based on imagination, Zootopia had the liberty to animate without much research. Or perhaps it could be excused for errors or differences in its characters and their real-life counterparts. Yet, the filmmakers left nothing to chance and drew immense inspiration from nature, modeling their characters for realism. To highlight this, Idris Elba’s Chief Bogo should stand out.
As pointed out by Allen Tsai, the stern, no-nonsense chief of the Zootopia Police Department was a cape buffalo who wore glasses, primarily while reading documents. Remarkably, this is a hidden detail and directly nods to the fact that these large herbivorous mammals have poor eyesight. Thus, this minute addition made the character feel more authentic to the audience.
Another hidden detail in Zootopia included in-movie news anchors based on the film’s country of screening, such as a koala for Australia and a panda for China. Furthermore, the world-building alluded to clever thinking. A wolf disguising himself as a sheep during a covert mission, town names like Tundratown for polar animals and Sahara Square for desert species, and punny iPod song lists are prime examples.
Zootopia 2 adds teeth to climb beyond its predecessor’s success
Crafted on a $150 million budget, Zootopia grossed past $1 billion at the global box office. Additionally, its 98% critical approval stands as a testament to its Best Animated Feature Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA. Thus, Disney is leaving no corners untouched in ensuring that Zootopia 2 either matches or hopefully crosses ahead of its predecessor’s glory, a prime factor in its long development cycle.
As of now, the sequel is expected to bring back Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps and Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde alongside other characters like Flash the Sloth and Officer Clawhauser. At the D23 Expo Disney announced Loki Season 2 actor, Ke Huy Quan, joining the cast as Gary the Snake, who may well be central to the plot, which has received teases of focusing on reptiles.
Zootopia is available to stream on Disney+.
