In case you missed the news bulletin, Disney’s Zootopia made a lot of money over the weekend. Like, a record-breaking amount of box-office dollars. Some might even say that Zootopia earned enough money to greenlight an eventual sequel, so we asked the cast what they’d like to see happen in Zootopia 2.
Now, we’re probably getting ahead of ourselves. Walt Disney Animation actually hasn’t made a sequel in a very long time (unlike Pixar, which cranks them out), and if a sequel were to happen, it might be Frozen 2 before Zootopia 2. But when I had the opportunity to interview Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman on behalf of Zootopia, I asked them each what they’d like to see happen in Zootopia 2, and they both had very different answers. Goodwin, who voices Officer Judy Hopps, wanted to see the script flipped just a bit, saying:
You and I know what happens at the end of the movie, and I would like them to along on this adventure in their new roles. But because they are playing new roles, I would also like to see Nick [Wilde] have to be the one to convince Judy [Hopps] that the world is worth fighting for.
In this initial adventure, Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) is the optimistic character who wants what’s best for her adopted city of Zootopia. In order to crack her first case, she must team with a sly fox (Jason Bateman) and show him that his cynical world view is counterproductive. It would be very interesting to see their dynamic reversed for Zootopia 2, mainly because I’d love to now the event that made Judy Hopps lose her faith.
Jason Bateman played it a little more straight. Spoiler Alert before you read his answer, because it pertains to the ending of Zootopia. You have been warned.
He said that now the Nick and Judy are partners on the force, he’d prefer to see this:
The two of us, kicking ass out there. Cleaning up the streets. We’re a couple of new cops out there. So, bad guys, be warned.
A sequel to Zootopia could go in multiple directions, now that this law-enforcing team has been established. As mentioned, though, Zootopia is just the latest in a recent string of Disney Animated Movies, so I wonder if the studio would look at a movie like Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph or Big Hero 6 before they developed another story like Zootopia 2?
What do you think? Which sequel should Disney pursue first? And what idea would you like to see on screen?
