90 Fun Facts About Zootopia

What kind of animal is Judy Hopps?

A rabbit, Judy Hopps is the first of her kind to join Zootopia's police, yet on her first day Chief Bogo underestimates her and assigns her to parking duty.

Nick Wilde is what species of animal?

Red fox Nick Wilde was bullied as a cub by the scout troop he hoped to join, which is why he resigned himself to playing the shifty fox others expected.

Who provides the voice of Nick Wilde?

Jason Bateman voices Nick Wilde, who was the film's lead character for years until a rewrite in November 2014 handed the story to Judy.

Which actress voices Judy Hopps?

Ginnifer Goodwin voices Judy Hopps, the rookie who blackmails Nick into helping her after her carrot pen catches him boasting of two decades of daily earnings, none of it on his tax forms.

In which year was the original Zootopia released in US cinemas?

Zootopia opened in US cinemas on March 4, 2016, and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature the following February.

What is the name of the rural town Judy comes from?

Bunnyburrow is the farm town Judy leaves behind: her parents urge her to stay and grow carrots with the family, and she boards the train to Zootopia anyway.

What kind of animal is Chief Bogo?

Chief Bogo is a Cape buffalo; his name comes from 'mbogo', the Swahili word for buffalo.

Which British actor voices Chief Bogo?

Idris Elba voices Chief Bogo, the gruff boss whom Clawhauser catches in his office secretly playing with a Gazelle dancing app.

In Zootopia, Judy stakes her badge on finding which missing mammal within 48 hours?

Emmitt Otterton is the missing otter; Bogo wants to fire Judy for volunteering, but the assistant mayor walks in and praises her, so he gives her 48 hours instead.

Who voices Dawn Bellwether, the meek assistant mayor unmasked as Zootopia's villain?

Jenny Slate voices Bellwether, who has predators darted with Night Howler serum so that frightened prey will keep her in power.

In Zootopia, what do the mysterious 'Night Howlers' turn out to be?

Night Howlers are flowers: the toxic blooms Judy's family grows, whose serum makes mammals go savage, not the wolves she first suspects.

In Zootopia, what do Judy and Nick swap into the dart gun in place of the savage serum?

They swap in blueberries from the Hopps farm, so the dart only stains Nick, who fakes going savage while Judy's carrot pen records Bellwether's confession.

Mr. Big, Zootopia's crime boss, is what tiny animal?

An arctic shrew, Mr. Big is about to have Judy and Nick dropped into freezing water when his daughter recognises Judy as the officer who saved her life.

In Zootopia, Flash the sloth works at which agonisingly slow government office?

The Department of Mammal Vehicles is staffed entirely by sloths; Nick brings Judy there to have a licence plate run, and it belongs to a limousine that leads them to Mr. Big.

Which pop star voices Gazelle in Zootopia and sings its anthem 'Try Everything'?

Shakira voices Gazelle, the pop idol who answers the city's panic over predators by holding a peace rally.

Who wrote Gazelle's anthem 'Try Everything' for Zootopia?

Sia and Stargate wrote 'Try Everything', which plays as Judy boards the train to Zootopia and returns for the concert that closes the film.

Which composer wrote the score for Zootopia?

Michael Giacchino, already a Pixar regular (The Incredibles, Up), scored Zootopia, his first feature for Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Under what title was Zootopia released in the United Kingdom?

Zootropolis was the title across the UK and much of Europe; the British press put the switch down to a Danish zoo that had already registered 'Zootopia' as a trademark.

Which childhood bully of Judy's grows up to become a pastry chef and apologises to her in Zootopia?

Gideon Grey, the fox who bullied young Judy, grows up to be a baker in business with her parents, and apologises to her for the way he behaved.

Which country was Zootopia's biggest market outside North America?

China was by far its biggest market abroad: the film ran so strongly there that regulators granted a rare two-week extension to its 30-day run in cinemas.

Which stop-motion film beat Zootopia to the 2017 BAFTA for Best Animated Film?

Kubo and the Two Strings beat fellow nominee Zootopia to the BAFTA, a rare miss in a season when Zootopia won the Oscar, Golden Globe and Annie.

An early pitch for the film that became Zootopia was a spy story starring which James Bond-style hero?

Jack Savage was the hero of 'Savage Seas'; the spy left the animal city after the first act, but the city proved the best part, so the spy plot was dropped.

In early drafts of Zootopia, what were all predators forced to wear to keep them 'tame'?

Shock collars, known as tame collars, zapped any predator who got too excited; the filmmakers decided that made the city too bleak to root for and scrapped them.

Which classic Disney film did director Byron Howard want Zootopia to resemble?

Robin Hood, the 1973 film with animals in human roles, was a favourite of Byron Howard's; he told John Lasseter he wanted to make that kind of film again, and Lasseter backed it.

Zootopia's fur software gave which animal about nine million individual hairs?

A giraffe carried about nine million hairs, against roughly 2.5 million each for Judy and Nick; Disney's engineers wrote new software, iGroom, because older tools couldn't cope.

Zootopia's animators studied animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom and on a research trip to which African country?

Kenya was the safari stop; the animators spent months turning four-legged walk cycles into upright ones and studied fur under a microscope to see how it caught the light.

Which film was the first rendered with Disney's Hyperion software, later used on Zootopia?

Big Hero 6 introduced Hyperion in 2014; for Zootopia, engineers added a new fur system so the renderer could follow light through the animals' dense coats.

Who voices Zootopia's pompous Mayor Leodore Lionheart?

J. K. Simmons voices Lionheart, the lion mayor who secretly locks up the savage predators to protect both the public and his own career.

Duke Weaselton's name is a nod to a character from which earlier Disney film?

Alan Tudyk voiced the Duke of Weselton in Frozen; in Zootopia he voices Duke Weaselton, who corrects Judy's 'Weselton' in a reversal of the old gag.

Doug the ram's two henchmen are named after the leads of which TV drama?

Woolter and Jesse are named for Walter White and Jesse Pinkman of Breaking Bad, a nod underlined by Doug cooking the serum in a lab hidden inside an old subway car.

In Zootopia, Canadian anchor Peter Mansbridge voices which animal newsreader?

A moose named Peter Moosebridge reads the ZNN news in North America; Disney swapped him for a koala in Australia, a jaguar in Brazil and a tanuki in Japan.

In Zootopia, the laid-back owner of a naturist club, voiced by Tommy Chong, is what kind of animal?

A yak named Yax runs the club, and he recalls every detail Judy needs while Nangi, the elephant beside him, remembers nothing.

The heat pumped out of Tundratown's giant cooling wall warms which neighbouring Zootopia district?

Sahara Square sits on the far side of Tundratown's weather wall, which works like a giant air conditioner: chilling one district dumps its heat into the desert next door.

Which gated Zootopia neighbourhood is built to the scale of its very smallest residents?

Little Rodentia is the gated mini-city where Judy chases Duke Weaselton and saves Fru Fru from a runaway donut sign.

What frozen treats do Nick and Finnick make from a melted Jumbo-pop and sell on the street in Zootopia?

Pawpsicles are the paw-shaped ice pops Nick and Finnick mould from one melted Jumbo-pop; they sell them to lemming bankers, then resell the sticks as lumber to mouse builders.

How many brothers and sisters does Judy Hopps have?

Judy has 275 brothers and sisters; her parents cite every one of them when urging her to stay home and help change the world 'one carrot at a time'.

In Zootopia+, a young Mr. Big delivers which Italian treat for the family bakery?

Cannoli: in 'The Godfather of the Bride', Mr. Big's wedding speech recalls his days as a bakery delivery boy, before he stood up to the gangsters preying on his neighbourhood and took it over himself.

Which Disney park opened the first Zootopia-themed land, with the ride Zootopia: Hot Pursuit?

Shanghai Disneyland opened its Zootopia land in December 2023; the ride sends guests out as ZPD rookies after an escaped Bellwether, who has kidnapped Gazelle.

Zootopia: Better Zoogether! took over the Tree of Life theater at Disney's Animal Kingdom from which long-running show?

It's Tough to Be a Bug! opened with the park in April 1998, seven months before the Pixar film behind it, A Bug's Life, reached cinemas; it closed in March 2025 to make way for Zootopia.

In Zootopia 2, what kind of creature is Gary De'Snake?

Gary De'Snake is a pit viper; his arrival, the first snake seen in Zootopia in a century, sets Judy and Nick on the trail of the city's founding secret.

Fortune Feimster voices a conspiracy-theorist podcaster of what species in Zootopia 2?

A beaver named Nibbles Maplestick, she is written off by Nick as crazy, yet her knowledge of reptiles is what leads the fugitive pair to the reptiles' hideout.

Andy Samberg voices Pawbert, the youngest son of which powerful family in Zootopia 2?

The Lynxleys are credited with founding Zootopia, but the film reveals their ancestor stole the plans for the city's weather walls from a snake inventor.

Who co-wrote the Zootopia 2 song 'Zoo' with Gazelle's voice actress?

Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin co-wrote 'Zoo' with the star who voices Gazelle; Sheeran also turns up on screen as a sheep called Ed Shearin.

As of 2026, Zootopia 2 is the second-highest-grossing animated film ever, behind which movie?

Ne Zha 2 holds the top spot even though almost all of its $2 billion-plus came from cinemas in its home market, with only a sliver earned abroad.

Who directed Zootopia 2?

Jared Bush and Byron Howard directed Zootopia 2; Rich Moore, who co-directed the original with Howard, had left Disney for Sony Pictures Animation in 2019.

Finnick's lines in Zootopia 2 came from which source, since actor Tommy Lister had died in 2020?

Finnick's lines come from unused first-film recordings Tommy 'Tiny' Lister made before his death; Disney sought his family's blessing and dedicated the sequel to his memory.

Bellwether's prison scene in Zootopia 2 parodies which film?

The Silence of the Lambs: Nick, jailed himself, comes upon Bellwether in a Hannibal Lecter-style glass cell, where she has made her furniture out of her own wool.

In Zootopia, Finnick poses as Nick's toddler son by dressing up as which animal?

An elephant costume lets Finnick play a toddler who wants to be one when he grows up, all so Nick can talk an ice-cream parlour into selling him a giant Jumbo-pop.

Which Oscar-winning actor voices Gary De'Snake in Zootopia 2?

Ke Huy Quan voices Gary, a neat twist for the actor who played Short Round, sidekick to the famously snake-fearing Indiana Jones.

Nick Wilde makes a cameo in which later Disney film?

Ralph Breaks the Internet came from Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, Zootopia's co-director and co-writer, and Nick can be spotted among the Disney crowd on its Oh My Disney site.

Which character do Judy and Nick pull over for street racing in Zootopia's final scene?

Flash, a sloth who does everything else at a crawl, turns out to be the speed demon behind the wheel.

What does Zootopia's Chinese title translate to in English?

Crazy Animal City is the literal reading of 疯狂动物城; the Chinese release also redrew the film's ZNN news anchor as a giant panda.

How did the 2017 lawsuit claiming Disney copied Zootopia from a screenwriter's pitch end?

Dismissed: a judge found the shared ideas too general for copyright to protect, and in 2019 an appeals court agreed that Total Recall writer Gary Goldman had no case.

Gazelle's backup dancers in Zootopia are what kind of animal?

Tigers dance behind Gazelle, a pointed choice: the pop star keeps predators at her side while she rallies the city against fearing them.

Which animated film out-grossed Zootopia worldwide in 2016?

Finding Dory, Pixar's summer sequel, finished just ahead of Zootopia, so Disney ended 2016 with the year's two biggest animated films.

Zootopia opened second in Japan behind a film from which long-running anime franchise?

Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare held the top spot; Zootopia's roughly $4 million debut was nonetheless the third-biggest ever for a Walt Disney Animation Studios film in Japan, behind Frozen and Big Hero 6.

An ad agency hired by Disney marketed Zootopia specifically to which fan community?

Furry fandom meetup groups got emails from Disney's marketing agency offering posters and swag for posting fursuit photos with the film's hashtag.

Before Zootopia, Disney's last big fur-animation effort was on the title character of which film?

Bolt's fur tools, eight years old by then, could not handle Zootopia's realistic coats, so Disney's engineers wrote new software to shape every strand.

What is the name of the score featurette included on Zootopia's Blu-ray release?

'Scoretopia' is the Michael Giacchino featurette on the June 2016 Blu-ray, which also carried deleted scenes, an alternate opening and the 'Try Everything' music video.

What kind of animal is Benjamin Clawhauser, the ZPD's front-desk officer?

Benjamin Clawhauser is a cheetah, the donut-loving ZPD receptionist and Gazelle superfan who is moved to records when predators fall under suspicion.

On her first day with the Zootopia police, Chief Bogo assigns Judy Hopps to which lowly job?

Parking duty is where Chief Bogo sidelines his newest recruit because he underestimates her, and it is on that very shift that Nick Wilde hustles her.

Mr. Big, the tiny crime boss of Zootopia, is an homage to a character from which gangster film?

The Godfather gave Mr. Big his voice and manner, borrowed from Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone, and like the Don he receives Judy and Nick on his daughter's wedding day.

In Zootopia, the crime boss Mr. Big has his headquarters in which district of the city?

Tundratown is where Judy and Nick trace the missing otter's limousine, and where Mr. Big nearly has them put on ice before his daughter Fru Fru steps in.

Stu Hopps, the worried father of Judy Hopps in Zootopia, makes his living by farming which crop?

Carrots are the family trade Stu hoped Judy would take up, and he is openly relieved when her first police posting turns out to be a safe one.

In Zootopia, Judy Hopps blackmails Nick Wilde into helping her with proof of which crime?

Tax evasion is the hold Judy has over Nick: her carrot pen records him bragging about years of undeclared earnings, and she threatens to hand it over unless he helps find Emmitt Otterton.

In Zootopia, Judy Hopps catches staff at Jumbeaux's Café working without gloves on which body part?

Trunks without gloves count as a health-code violation, and Judy uses the threat to make the bad-tempered owner sell Nick Wilde a jumbo pop.

Zootopia teams Judy Hopps with Nick Wilde in an animated take on which film genre?

Buddy cop is where the film ended up, though it began life as a 1960s-set espionage story before the filmmakers rebuilt it around the all-animal city.

Gideon Grey, the childhood bully from Judy Hopps's home town in Zootopia, grows up to be what?

A baker is what Gideon Grey becomes, and Judy's parents even take him on as a business partner, a sign that they absorbed her ideals after all.

In Zootopia 2, Agnes De'Snake is revealed as the true inventor of which system that shapes the city?

The weather walls were Agnes De'Snake's engineering work, but her investor passed the patent off as his own and framed her for murder, which led to reptiles being driven out.

Michael J. Fox's cameo as a prison inmate in Zootopia 2 parodies a bully from which of his films?

Back to the Future's Biff Tannen is the model for Michael J., an aggressive inmate, so the actor who played Marty McFly ends up voicing a version of his own tormentor.

Which action star voices Zeke, a tiny dik-dik who gets stuck inside a tuba in Zootopia 2?

Dwayne Johnson lends his voice to one of the smallest animals on screen: Zeke is flung far into the air when the Jumbo Unit is called in to blow him out of the instrument.

In Zootopia's climax, Judy and Nick are cornered with the stolen dart gun inside which building?

The Natural History Museum is where the pair are intercepted on their way to police headquarters, and where the film's villain is caught confessing on tape.

Which actress voices Priscilla Tripletoe, the sloth who works alongside Flash in Zootopia?

Kristen Bell's Priscilla came back in the Zootopia+ short Dinner Rush, in which Flash asks her to marry him at a restaurant and she accepts.

Which actress voices Mrs. Otterton, whose husband's disappearance Judy investigates in Zootopia?

Octavia Spencer plays the otter who pleads with Chief Bogo to find her husband Emmitt, which prompts Judy to volunteer before anyone gives her permission.

Judy's mother in Zootopia shares her first name with the actress who voices her; who is she?

Bonnie Hunt voices Bonnie Hopps, and she returned for a Zootopia+ short in which the Hopps parents chase a train to fetch their youngest daughter home.

Which actor voices Duke Weaselton, the small-time crook who sells bootleg DVDs in Zootopia?

Alan Tudyk came back for Zootopia 2 with a second part as well, voicing Molt Kohl, an iguana waiter at the Reptile Hangout.

Which actor voices Brian Winddancer, the former action star elected mayor in Zootopia 2?

Patrick Warburton's mayor begins as a puppet of the city's most powerful family, then finds the nerve to stand up to its patriarch and knock him out.

In Zootopia 2, Nibbles Maplestick leads Judy and Nick to which secluded area where reptiles hide?

Marsh Market became the reptiles' refuge because their original district was buried when the city's icy quarter was built, a secret the sequel's heroes dig up.

Which superhero film ended Zootopia's run at number one in North America in its fourth weekend?

Batman v Superman took the top spot after three weekends, yet Zootopia barely dipped and went on to spend 13 straight weeks in the top ten.

Zootopia was made in a North Hollywood warehouse alongside which other Disney animated film?

Moana shared the makeshift quarters because Disney Animation's Burbank headquarters was being renovated while both films were in production.

To design a city for animals of every size, Zootopia's filmmakers consulted experts in which US law?

Americans with Disabilities Act specialists advised on making one city usable by its tiniest and tallest residents, alongside heating and ventilation engineers for its rival climates.

Chief Bogo of Zootopia takes his name from the word for his own species in which African language?

Swahili supplies the name: the word is 'mbogo', just one letter longer than the name of the gruff police chief who runs the 1st Precinct.

One Zootopia screenwriter relished its spy-film origins because his father worked for which agency?

The CIA employed two generations of his family, so being hired onto an international espionage caper with an animal secret agent felt like home turf.

After Judy's press conference in Zootopia, Clawhauser is moved from the front desk to which unit?

Records is where the friendly receptionist is hidden away purely for being a predator; once the plot is exposed, colleagues welcome him back with a box of donuts.

Mayor Lionheart secretly holds the missing predators of Zootopia in which remote facility?

Cliffside Asylum is where the mayor locks them away while a doctor searches for the cause, a cover-up meant to head off panic and protect his career.

At the gala in Zootopia 2, Gary De'Snake opens a locked glass case to take which item?

An old journal is his prize because it holds evidence that could clear his family's name, which is exactly why the party's hosts demand that it be burned.

In Zootopia, Judy Hopps first assumes the Night Howlers are which animals, seen on traffic cameras?

Wolves look like the obvious culprits because the footage shows a pack of them abducting Mr. Big's chauffeur, and tailing them leads Judy and Nick to the missing predators.

In the Australian release of Zootopia, the moose who reads the ZNN news is replaced by which animal?

A koala newsreader takes the anchor's chair down under, voiced by the singer David Campbell, and several other countries got a local animal of their own.

Nick Wilde sold Zootopia's Mr. Big a rug, later buried with his grandmother, of which animal's fur?

A skunk rug lies behind Mr. Big's grudge against Nick: the crime boss says he buried his beloved Gram-mama with it.

Renato Manchas, the chauffeur who turns feral in Zootopia's Rainforest District, is which big cat?

A jaguar with black fur, Manchas drives for the city's biggest limousine firm and is hit by a sniper's dart moments before he can explain what he saw.