Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia,” a comedy-adventure directed by Byron Howard (“Tangled,” “Bolt”) and Rich Moore (“Wreck-It Ralph,” “The Simpsons”) and co-directed by Jared Bush (“Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero”), opens in theaters on March 4, 2016.
The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other so it was interesting to sit down for a Q & A with Zootopia Directors Byron Howard & Rich Moore and Producer Clark Spencer about the artistry and the technology that’s gone into creating the film.
Backstory on how the Premise of the Movie Came About
And after finishing “Tangled” Byron (Howard), thinking about his next project kept coming back to all those great animal films like Bambi”, “Jungle Book”, “Dumbo” “Robin Hood” and “The Lion King”, movies that tell a great story but are also emotional. He kept drawing animals over and over again.
Progression Image ©2015 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
From there the idea of an animal city called “Zootopia” came about. Of course, all film ideas must be run by John Lasseter (chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and DisneyToon Studios) who loved the idea so much he hugged Byron for the idea. And why? Because John is also a huge fan of talking animal films. He then charged the team with coming up with a movie that had never been seen before.
It All Starts With Research
Research is the foundation for all of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ films, something John Lasseter believes is required to create a great story. The team did about 18 months of really solid research into animals from visiting Animal Kingdom, meeting with animal experts from all over the world. The team even traveled 9,000 miles to Kenya, Africa, for a two-week deep dive into animal personality and behavior. Their aim was that each species of animal needed to be real, to feel authentic and to be based on their real behavior.”
According to Howard, “We studied how they interact in the wild, how they socialize and how their individual communities are built in the natural world.”
But that wasn’t the end of the research, there was a discussion about studying fur, yes, fur or finding out that a Polar Bear’s fur is not actually white but it’s actually the light reflecting off clear strands that makes it white. So imagine that the film makers actually had to recreate these facts to ensure a realistic look in animation.
Zooptopia has 6 unique habitat neighborhoods in the movie
- Sahara Square is made up of sand dunes and buildings that are shaped like sand dunes.
- Tundratown, constructed mainly of snow and ice, features a cool color palette with blues and teals.
- The Rain Forest District is home to hundreds of giant, bright, jungle-green steamer trees—artificial trees that mechanically suck up water from a river to create the steamy atmosphere required by the locals.
- Bunnyburrow, Judy Hopps’ hometown, is inhabited mostly by carrot farmers like Judy’s parents. Vast, sprawling open space contrasts with the busy city streets of Zootopia.
- Savanna Central houses Zootopia Police Department (ZPD), City Hall and Central Station, the bustling train station where Judy Hopps lands when she first arrives in town. Modeled in part after Disneyland’s hub-and-spoke design—Savanna Central is Zootopia’s central hub.
- Little Rodentia is where Zootopia’s smallest mammals reside.
Voice Actors Real Life Personalities Influenced The Script
Idris Elba (BBC’s Luther) provides the voice of Chief Bogo, head of the Zootopia police department. Directors Rich Moore and Byron Howard both remarked that both considered Elba as this “dramatic and serious actor” but also remarked at how funny he is. So much so that his character went from being a one note stern boss to infusing Elba’s own sense of humor.
Shakira Rocks it as “Gazelle”
International superstar Shakira lends her Grammy winning voice to Gazelle, a socially conscious celebrity with equal parts talent and heart. As soon as they met Shakira, the directors knew they had Zootopia’s biggest pop star speaking about her true to life her charitable off screen efforts. They were lucky enough to spend time with Shakira and her family. The final version of the song was recorded in her studio on Barcelona. I
In the movie, Shakira performs the film’s all-new original song, “Try Everything” written by Sia and Stargate.
Zootopia Trailer
ZOOTOPIA opens in theatres everywhere on March 4th!
Visit the official ZOOTOPIA website here. Disney Animation Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Facebook
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom’s travel and accommodations to attend the Star Wars: The Force Awakens and ABC TV Event were covered by Disney. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
