Creators of highly anticipated Zootopia 2: We always knew we wanted to return to that world'

"At Disney Studios in Burbank, just a few miles from Hollywood, the references to Zootopia are so numerous they've turned the whole thing on its head: it's not just that there are drawings of the animal characters on hallways and doors (and even the bathroom doors): there are even real rabbits. The studio's animators have brought them in to try to explain how they draw them, to showcase their refined technique, and perhaps to demonstrate to the tenacious journalists who struggle to follow their lines with paper and pencil that, despite all the computer programs and artificial intelligence, animation remains a craft done by hand, with care and time."

"But the question, as is often the case lately, is: was it really necessary? Disney's latest films (including those made in collaboration with Pixar, owned by Disney for the last two decades) have ranged from original albeit with very limited success (Soul, Raya and the Last Dragon, Luca, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Red, Wish, and Elio; the exception being Encanto), to stretching out popular titles with sequels and third installments while losing originality, such as the sequels to Frozen and Toy Story, the sequels to Moana and Inside Out, both in 2024, and now, presumably, the new installment of the adventures of Nick the fox and police officer Judy in Zootopia 2."

Disney Studios in Burbank displays abundant Zootopia imagery and animators brought real rabbits to demonstrate refined drawing techniques. Animators emphasize that, despite computer programs and artificial intelligence, animation remains a hand-crafted process requiring care and time. Zootopia 2 arrives ten years after a successful, funny, and heartwarming original. Recent Disney output mixes original titles with limited success and numerous sequels that sometimes dilute originality. Jared Bush wrote and co-directed Zootopia 2 with Byron Howard. The directors considered the Zootopia world vast and believe many story elements could not fit into the first film.

Read at english.elpais.com