Video gaming legend Hideo Kojima might be well-known in the industry for his multiple cameos, but the developer is now making a special appearance of his own in a rather unexpected way – lending his voice for a minor character in the Japanese dub version of Disney’s Zootopia 2.
As reported by Automaton, the Death Stranding creator voices Paul Molebrandt, a grouchy mole who heads the IT department of the Zootopia Police Department. In the western versions of the film, the character is voiced by Josh Gad (Frozen).
Interestingly, according to Mantanweb, Kojima received a direct offer to lend his voice to the film from Jared Bush, director of the Zootopia series and CCO of Walt Disney Animation Studios, a role which he took enthusiastically, as he was a huge fan of the original 2016 animated film.
“I have plenty of experience with cameo appearances in live-action films and games, but this was my first time dubbing an animated feature film,” he commented, “And it’s from Disney! And for the sequel to Zootopia, my favourite Disney movie! What’s more, because the offer came directly from director Jared Bush, I was incredibly honoured and accepted without hesitation.”
“I only participated in a few scenes, but even at the time of recording, the production was truly impressive,” he added, explaining how the experience of recording a dub was something new for him. “Already having the animation made the recording go smoothly. Since I’m usually on the directing side, actually performing myself was a great learning experience. I was reminded of how much attention voice actors pay to even basic details like turning pages and minimising noise.”
For his first run at voicing a character in an animated film, Kojima certainly chose an impressive one, as Zootopia 2 has seen massive success since its premiere on 27 November, opening to a staggering USS$556 million at the global box office and making it the biggest worldwide debut of all time for an animated film, even dethroning the previous record set by the 2019 Marvel epic Avengers: Endgame.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Natalie
