Zootopia 2 Sneak Peek Makes Waves Aboard DVC Member Cruise
Guests aboard the Disney Vacation Club Member Cruise were among the first to see advance footage from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 64th animated feature, Zootopia 2. Special guest Carrie Liao, who serves as Head of Story on the highly anticipated sequel, took the stage in the Disney Dream’s Walt Disney Theater for a behind-the-scenes look at what fans can expect when the film stampedes into theaters on November 26th.
Setting the scene, Carrie explained the history of storyboarding and even shared some of her own work from past animated features. From Encanto, we got to see her storyboards for the conflict between Mirabel and Abuela, as well as the unforgettable “Dos Orugitas" flashback sequence. She also celebrated the legacy of Disney Legend Burny Mattinson, talking about the pleasure of learning from Disney Animation’s longest employee.
As Head of Story, Carrie acts as a bridge between directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard and the talented team of story artists. Collaboration and partnership are central to her job, which coincidentally also happens to be the theme of Zootopia 2. And on that note, she took a moment to shout out her “partner in crime," Story Supervisor David VanTuyle.
Carrie spent two and a half years working on Zootopia 2, and another highlight was getting to study animals up close. Not only did the team make several trips to the Los Angeles Zoo during production, but they also got to visit with some animals to study their anatomy. This is another longstanding Disney Animation tradition, with famous photos of animators studying elephants for Dumbo, deer for Bambi, and lions for The Lion King, drawing a direct parallel to the effort that goes into bringing this animal metropolis to life. And Carrie also mentioned all of the other departments that complete the animation pipeline, emphasizing that while story is central to a Disney Animation film, a lot goes into bringing it to the screen.
Before animation gets going, voice actors record their dialogue. Carrie shared a fun anecdote about Ginnifer Goodwin, voice of Judy Hopps, who wore bunny ears to every recording session and also brought the crew carrot treats on her first day back in the booth. And referencing the recently released trailer, Carrie showed footage of directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush recording live-action reference for the Partners in Crisis fight between Joel (a deer) and Karen (a honey badger).
All of the footage shown matched what was previewed in June at Annecy. The first clip found Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde seeking help from Mr. Big and FruFru after they get in trouble for letting Gary DeSnake escape. The second followed their arrival in Marsh Market, where Nibbles Maplestick (voiced by Fortune Feimster) translated her conversation with a walrus named Bubba (voiced by Story Supervisor David VanTuyle) to help them find a reptile expert. And the last found Nick and Judy chasing after Gary, heading down the red line tube only meant for aquatic animals.
There was, however, one sequence that was exclusive to this DVC Member Cruise, a storyboard sequence (drawn by Melissa Sheng) that takes place before the Gary chase sequence. Carrie Liao walked the audience through the scene the same way she would present it at the studio, doing the voices for the characters. The reptile expert dwells on a rusty half-sunken ship, and inside, in a downward-slanted hallway, Nick and Judy have an argument when Nick Wilde reveals his own biases towards animals with scales. Carrie also filled in the gap between this sequence and the chase, sharing that the reptile expert (a lizard) shares that the secret contained within the book Gary stole is so big that someone has previously been murdered to keep it hidden.
The moment when Nick and Judy jump down the red line is a literal cliffhanger, presumably the end of Act 1, and it left DVC Members excited to find out what happens next. Zootopia 2 is just around the corner, coming exclusively to theaters on November 26th.