When Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia was released in 2016, the comedy-adventure welcomed audiences to a modern mammal metropolis where an optimistic bunny and a sly fox proved that with perseverance and teamwork, anyone can be anything. The film went on to become a box office phenomenon, grossing over $1 billion worldwide and winning the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature, in addition to other industry accolades.
Zootopia 2, which opened this past weekend to record box office numbers, builds upon the hopeful and relatable message of its predecessor. The sequel picks up directly after the conclusion of the first film, with rookie cops Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) willing to “try everything” to make their new partnership work.
Jared Bush — the co-director/co-writer of Zootopia — returns for the sequel as both its screenwriter and director (directing alongside Byron Howard). He has been with Disney Animation since 2011, receiving the Academy Award® in 2022 for Encanto, for which he was both director and a writer, in the same year in which he was executive producer for the Oscar-nominated Raya and the Last Dragon. Bush was also wrote Moana (2016) and Moana 2 (2024), the latter of which he also executive produced, and won an Emmy® for Zootopia+.
In the Q&A below, Bush — who was named the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in September 2024 — reflects on the Zootopia franchise’s global appeal, sets up Judy and Nick’s journey in the sequel, and teases what’s next for the studio.
After Zootopia was released in 2016, it earned more than $1 billion at the global box office. Why do you think this particular franchise has such a strong, universal appeal?
There’s something about animals that people can relate to. That’s one of the really fun things about Zootopia: you can identify with an animal. That’s you, that’s your friend, that’s your teacher, that’s a guy you saw at the DMV. There’s something very universal about that.
I also think that the themes we talk about [across the entire Zootopia franchise] are real human themes: “How do we get along with one another?” “Are our differences too much?”
No matter who you are or where you are in the world, you can see your story onscreen.
The world fell in love with Judy and Nick in the first film, and their adventures continued over the years through Disney’s theme parks, cruise ships, and consumer products. What inspired you to expand their story even further onscreen in Zootopia 2?
I know Judy and Nick as characters; I know them really well. And in the first film, they only really got to hang out for about 48 hours. Stepping into the next story, the big question was: “What happens to them next?” As a storyteller, that’s really exciting to think about.
We spent a lot of time looking into Judy and Nick’s pasts and [imagined] what they would do moving forward: Will they actually make a good team, or are they a one-hit wonder? Judy and Nick are always our true north. More than anything else, with all of Zootopia’s bells and whistles, what you really care about is this duo and what’s going to happen next.
What makes Zootopia 2 a must-see in theaters?
In 100 years, it’s our most ambitious film that we’ve ever created at Disney Animation. And it is the most immersive environment you can imagine; the cinematography takes you to places we have never put onscreen before. But, more than that, it is filled with absolute joy.
It’s been 14 months since you were named Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation. From Hexed to the Frozen sequels, what are you most excited for in the coming years?
It takes about five years to make one of our films, so we have to have ideas that we are so passionate about — ideas that we want to stick with as they’re going through all of their different iterations. I know what the next 10 years of Disney Animation looks like, and it’s really exciting. The variety is honestly spectacular, and it all comes from filmmaker passion.