As Disney’s tentpole animated film, Zootopia 2 isn’t holding back on the star power. The long-awaited sequel has announced the casting for additional voice roles, featuring familiar names who have brought various iconic animated characters to life over the years.
The update comes as ticket sales kick off ahead of the movie’s premiere on 26 November, with Dwayne Johnson, Auliʻi Cravalho, Rachel House, and David Fane from Moana and Moana 2, Josh Gad from the Frozen duology, Anika Noni Rose from The Princess and the Frog, and Stephanie Beatriz, Wilmer Valderrama, and John Leguizamo from Encanto joining in on the chaos.
Here’s a look at their character introductions:
- Johnson as Zeke, an “accident-prone dik-dik who meets with a musical mishap as a result of Judy and Nick’s high-speed pursuit gone awry.”
- Cravalho as Anti-Venom Pen, the cute “antidote for pit viper Gary De’Snake’s venom.”
- Gad as Paul Moledebrandt, “ornery mole and ZPD’s IT expert [who] rules his domain with a tiny iron paw”.
- Beatriz and Valderrama as Bloats and Higgins, “Hippo ZPD cop partners [who] can be easily distracted in their pursuit of new fugitives Judy and Nick.”
- House as Gramma Taller, who’s “currently behind bars at the ZPD” and makes “Nick’s visit to the jail even more unpleasant”.
- Fane as Truffler, “Captain Hoggbottom’s meathead razorback partner.”
- Rose as Squeal of Fortune Mouse, the “adorable mouse [who] is the lucky winner of an almost-new car on Zootopia’s favourite game show, Squeal of Fortune.”
- Leguizamo as Antony, a “smarmy anteater smuggler who bolts at the first sign of trouble”.
“From the beginning, Easter eggs and winks to our favourite films and characters have been a hallmark of the world of Zootopia,” said Jared Bush, the head of Disney Animation and writer-director of Zootopia 2. “We are ecstatic that Zootopia 2 expands our Zootopia family to include even more members of our extended Disney family, filled with dear friends and true Disney Legends.”
Coming in nearly 10 years after the original, the follow-up will put Judy and Nick’s teamwork to the “ultimate test when they find themselves on the twisting trail of a mystery tied to the arrival of a venomous snake in the animal metropolis,” per Disney’s synopsis. Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) and Jason Bateman (Ozark) are set to reprise their roles as Judy and Nick, respectively.
Notable newcomers include Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) as a quokka psychologist, Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) as a mysterious snake named Gary, and Fortune Feimster (The Mindy Project) as Nibbles the Beaver. The first film opened in 2016 to critical and commercial success, having earned over US$1 billion at the global box office since.
Zootopia 2 slithers into theatres on 26 November, just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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