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For those of you going to D23 and were disappointed to see there wasn’t anything specifically Zootopia related… Disney pulled a fast one on us! According to the official D23 Expo 2017 App (which you can find on the app store or google play), there is now a new panel that apparently wasn’t scheduled last night. for some reason we didn’t learn about until just now.
Anim(al)ation: Animating Zootopia, is a one-hour panel hosted by the Head of Animation on Zootopia, Renato dos Anjos, and the main animation supervisor for Judy Hopps, Kira Lehtomaki.
The official description states:
“Zootopia” head of animation Renato dos Anjos and animation supervisor for the character Judy Hopps, Kira Lehtomaki, share behind-the-scenes content, animation tests, and research footage highlighting the work that went into bringing the characters of “Zootopia” to life.
Afterwards, they will be signing exclusive artwork, so be sure to stick around for that as well!
At this time, the app still has not confirmed a location, The panel will take place at the Walt Disney Animation Studios booth in Hall C, and it is scheduled from 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM pacific time. Talk about last second! If you’re at D23, you’d better get over there fast!
While it's all said and done, to me it just isn't enough. I'm hoping for, at the very least, a Zootopia area in the Disney Animal Kingdom, or a Zootopia TV show, or a resupply of Zootopia plush dolls.
Why is it that Disney is doing everything in its power to avoid Zootopia altogether just to focus more on Disney princesses, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars, despite the movie earning several awards such as a Golden Globe and Oscar, and earning $1 billion at the box office?
I think it's the pressure of the fandom. The more intense the fandom is, the less room they have to work with creatively, due to fan expectation. I'm sure they won't start talking sequel until the bulk of us have moved on to other things.
I think marketing plays a part too, they never expected to have a large, mature fan base, so they never planned how or what to market to us.
I tend to agree. Zootopia's popularity took everyone by surprise, and Disney now wants to do things really carefully. They have probably been analyzing the fandom, and trying to formulate the proper way to go forward.
And yes, the fact that Zootopia is popular across all age brackets is something they are probably not really familiar with.
Having heard much from a local friend Ruby, who cosplayed as Judy, she gained a lot of attention and appreciation from everyone at the event, including the Zootopia guests. Rich Moore was thoroughly impressed, as were the two animators present. Ruby extends her gratitude to Rick of ZNN for his own presence in representing the fan group here. 🙂
this is so cool!