Not only is Jared Bush the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, but he is also co-director and co-writer of Zootopia and Zootopia 2. He talks about the success of the film and the future of Disney animation.
Success of Zootopia 2
Zootopia 2 has become the second biggest Thanksgiving opening ever. The film also smashed a record previously set by Avengers: Endgame.
Bush says the success of Zootopia and Zootopia 2 is largely dependent on the fact that there’s something about animals that people can relate to.
No matter who you are or where you are in the world, you can see your story onscreen.
When asked what inspired inspired Disney to expand the story even further onscreen in Zootopia 2, Bush said:
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.
When asked why Zootopia 2 is a must-see in theaters, Bush replied by saying it’s the most ambitious film Disney Animation has created in the last 100 years.
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.
Lastly, Bush was asked what he’s 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.
You can read the entire interview here.
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