A trailer and teaser poster for "Zootopia 2" (to be released in Japan in winter 2025), the sequel to Disney Animation Studios' animated feature film "Zootopia" (2016), were released on May 21st.
"Zootopia" was released in 2016 and won the Best Animated Feature Film award at the 89th Academy Awards and the Best Animated Film award at the 74th Golden Globe Awards. It was the first Disney animation film since "Frozen" to gross over $1 billion worldwide, making it a huge hit. It also recorded a box office hit of over 7.6 billion yen in Japan. Set in Zootopia, a metropolis where animals live like humans, the film follows the adventures of Judy, a rabbit police officer who is always positive and never gives up on her dreams, and Nick, a cool fox con artist who can be a bit sarcastic.
The sequel will be directed by Jared Bush, who co-directed and wrote the first film and is now Disney Animation Studios' new Chief Creative Officer, and Byron Howard. It will be released in the US on November 26th.
In the sequel, Nick, who has successfully graduated from the police academy and become a police officer, and Judy team up again to tackle new mysteries in Zootopia. A new character, Gary the snake, is poisonous but cheerful and talkative. He is a wanted criminal pursued by Judy and Nick, and will become an important character who will lead to new mysteries hidden in Zootopia. A new town inhabited by reptiles like Gary will also be introduced, and their dark past in Zootopia will be key to the story.
The released footage begins with Zootopia's best techno group, LEMEEENS, made up of lemmings, playing their original song "ZUTU" on an electronic piano. Judy and Nick then appear, followed by a new character, Gary the snake, who pulls them into a frenzy and takes them on a run. It appears Gary is being chased by the police, and the footage shows the three of them fleeing through various parts of Zootopia. The footage takes in locations not seen in the previous film, including swamps, vast deserts, cliffs, and frigid regions with blowing snow, creating a sense of an even larger-scale adventure.
Furthermore, characters from the previous film are shown one after another, and at the end, a mysterious black shadow wearing a cloak appears in front of Judy, Nick, and Gary... The first film was a hot topic for its unexpected plot twists, and the footage is building expectations for a big surprise in the sequel.
The teaser visual released at the same time shows Judy and Nick with the snake Gary wrapped around them, with Gary's body shaped like the number 2.
