62 Fun Facts About Zootopia

What kind of animal is Judy Hopps?

Judy Hopps is a rabbit, full name Judith Laverne Hopps, and the first rabbit to join the Zootopia Police Department.

Nick Wilde is what species of animal?

His partner in crime Finnick is the fennec fox; Nick is a red fox who ends up as the city's first fox police officer.

Who provides the voice of Nick Wilde?

Jason Bateman voices Nick Wilde; the directors told him not to put on a character voice at all, just to talk in his own dry register.

Which actress voices Judy Hopps?

Ginnifer Goodwin voices Judy Hopps; Kristen Bell is also in the film, but only in a cameo as Priscilla, one of the sloths.

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?

Judy comes from Bunnyburrow, a farming town whose welcome sign shows a rabbit population ticking past 81 million.

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 returned for the 2025 sequel despite a schedule packed with live-action films such as Masters of the Universe.

In Zootopia, Chief Bogo gives Judy Hopps how long to solve the Otterton case before she must hand in her badge?

48 hours, and Bogo only agrees because Assistant Mayor Bellwether is standing right there when Judy volunteers.

Who is the true mastermind behind the predators going savage in the first film?

Dawn Bellwether, the meek assistant mayor, runs the plot: night howler serum is shot at predators to turn prey against them so she can seize power.

What are the 'Night Howlers' that everyone in the film keeps mentioning?

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

What did 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, the crime boss served by polar bears, is what tiny animal?

Mr. Big is an arctic shrew, a tiny Brando-style Vito Corleone homage who gets his own Zootopia+ short, 'The Godfather of the Bride'.

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

The Department of Mammal Vehicles, run entirely by sloths and based on the DMV, was the centrepiece of the second teaser trailer in November 2015.

Which pop star voices Gazelle and sings the film's song 'Try Everything'?

Shakira voices Gazelle, Zootopia's pop-star idol, and performs 'Try Everything', which plays over the film's closing concert.

Who wrote 'Try Everything'?

'Try Everything' was written by Sia and Stargate, the Norwegian production duo of Tor Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen, and performed by Shakira as Gazelle.

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?

Disney could not trademark the original name in several territories, partly because a Danish zoo had registered 'Zootopia' in 2010.

In Germany the film went out under which title?

In Germany the film was released as Zoomania, subtitled 'Ganz schön ausgefuchst!', a third title alongside Zootopia and the UK's Zootropolis.

Roughly how much did Zootopia gross worldwide?

Zootopia grossed about $1.03 billion worldwide, the fourth-highest total of 2016 and only the fourth animated film ever to pass a billion dollars.

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

Known locally as Crazy Animal City, it became the highest-grossing animated film ever released there at the time.

Which film won the 2017 BAFTA for animated film, a category that snubbed Zootopia?

Kubo and the Two Strings won the BAFTA over Finding Dory and Moana; Zootopia was not nominated, though it took the Oscar, Golden Globe and Annie that season.

Byron Howard's original pitch that evolved into Zootopia was a spy story about an arctic hare named what?

The spy was Jack Savage, hero of Howard's 'Savage Seas' pitch, a 1960s-flavoured Bond riff whose animal-city opening act is all that survived into the final film.

In early versions of the story, which character was the lead, with Judy as the sidekick?

Nick Wilde was the original lead; in November 2014 the filmmakers made Judy the protagonist, deciding an optimist discovering the city's flaws beat a cynic who already knew them.

Which classic Disney film did Byron Howard want Zootopia to resemble, with animals in human roles?

Byron Howard cited 1973's Robin Hood, with foxes and bears in medieval human roles, as the model; he also pitched an all-animal Three Musketeers and a 'bounty hunter pug in space'.

What was the name of the fur-grooming software Disney's engineers built for the film?

The tool was iGroom, built to shape and shade fur strand by strand; Judy and Nick each carry roughly 2.5 million hairs, and a background giraffe about nine million.

Where did the filmmakers go to study real animals' walk cycles and fur?

The research took the crew to Disney's Animal Kingdom, Kenya and San Diego: the Florida park, a safari, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park; they also put fur under a microscope at Los Angeles's natural history museum.

Zootopia was the second Disney film rendered with Hyperion. Which was the first?

A new fur system was bolted onto the renderer so the animals' dense coats would look right.

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 hidden lab beneath the city.

Which real Canadian news anchor voices the ZNN moose newsreader?

Peter Mansbridge, then CBC's chief anchor, voices Peter Moosebridge; in other markets the moose is swapped for a local animal, a koala in Australia, a jaguar in Brazil, a tanuki in Japan and a panda in China.

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

A yak named Yax, and he turns out to have a better memory for detail than his yoga instructor Nangi.

Which of these is NOT one of Zootopia's climate-controlled districts?

Glacier Gulch is invented; the real districts include Tundratown, Sahara Square, the Rainforest District and Savanna Central, kept apart by giant climate-control 'weather walls'.

Which enclosed neighbourhood is built to the scale of mice and other tiny rodents?

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

After Fru Fru is saved from the runaway donut sign, what does she name her daughter?

Fru Fru names the baby Judy after her rescuer, and Mr. Big, who was about to have Judy and Nick 'iced', becomes an ally instead.

How many brothers and sisters does Judy Hopps have?

Judy has 275 brothers and sisters, all raised on the Hopps family carrot farm.

The Disney+ anthology series Zootopia+ was released in 2022 with how many shorts?

Zootopia+ has six shorts, each revisiting the first film from a side character's angle, including 'Duke the Musical' for Weaselton and a Godfather spoof for Mr. Big.

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

Shanghai Disneyland's Zootopia land opened on December 20, 2023, the first themed land for the film anywhere, anchored by the trackless ride Zootopia: Hot Pursuit.

Which long-running Disney's Animal Kingdom show did Zootopia: Better Zoogether! replace in 2025?

It's Tough to Be a Bug! closed in 2025 after 27 years; Zootopia: Better Zoogether! took over its theater inside the Tree of Life, opening on November 7, 2025.

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?

Nibbles Maplestick is a beaver, buck teeth and paddle tail included, voiced by comedian Fortune Feimster as the podcaster who helps Judy and Nick in Zootopia 2.

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

Pawbert is the runt of the Lynxleys, the wealthy family credited with founding Zootopia; his father Milton Lynxley is voiced by David Strathairn.

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

Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin co-wrote 'Zoo' with Shakira, who performs it in character as Gazelle, returning as the city's pop star.

Zootopia 2 became the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time behind which movie?

Only Ne Zha 2, China's 2025 blockbuster that grossed more than $2 billion, finished ahead of it; Zootopia 2 passed Inside Out 2 to take second place.

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.

Judy's prison visit to Bellwether in Zootopia 2 parodies which thriller?

The Silence of the Lambs: Bellwether, behind glass in a prison cell, plays Hannibal Lecter to Judy's Clarice Starling when the heroes come seeking her help.

What was Zootopia's US and Canada opening weekend gross (in millions), then a studio record?

Zootopia opened to $75.1M over March 4-6, 2016, beating Frozen's $67.4M three-day studio record and The Lorax's $70.2M March animated record.

Which car designer did the filmmakers consult to create vehicles for animals of wildly different sizes?

Former Ford design chief J Mays advised on vehicles scaled to everything from mice to giraffes; the crew also consulted Americans with Disabilities Act specialists and HVAC engineers.

Nick Wilde makes a cameo in which later Disney animated film?

Nick Wilde turns up in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), mingling with other Disney characters on the OhMyDisney fan site; he and Judy also appear in the 2023 short Once Upon a Studio.

Zootopia had its world premiere in February 2016 at an animation festival in which city?

Zootopia premiered at the Anima animation festival in Brussels on February 13, 2016; the US release followed on March 4, including IMAX 3D screenings.

What was Zootopia's production budget?

Zootopia cost about $150 million to make and returned more than a billion dollars, $341 million of it domestic and $682 million from the rest of the world.

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

The Chinese title 疯狂动物城 translates as Crazy Animal City; the film's run there made it the highest-grossing animated film ever released in China at the time.

Gary L. Goldman, who sued Disney over Zootopia in 2017, co-wrote which sci-fi film?

Gary L. Goldman co-wrote 1990's Total Recall; his suit claimed he had twice pitched Disney a project called Looney, about an animator who creates a cartoon named Zootopia.

What was the subtitle of the 2018 Dark Horse graphic novel Disney Zootopia?

Disney Zootopia: Friends to the Rescue, written by Jimmy Gownley with art by Leandro Ricardo da Silva, was published by Dark Horse in 2018; a second volume, Family Night, followed.

Which animated film out-grossed Zootopia worldwide in 2016?

Only Captain America: Civil War, Rogue One and Finding Dory earned more that year.

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?

Disney's agency pitched the film directly to the furry fandom, whose members dress as and draw anthropomorphic animals, making Zootopia's cast a natural fit.

Disney's previous big fur-animation effort was on the title character of which 2008 film?

That older software could not handle Zootopia's realistic animals, so engineers built the new iGroom tool.

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.