Heading to Walt Disney Animation Studios is always a treat, no matter the film. This writer has had priceless journeys behind-the-scenes of Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen and a half dozen other Disney instant classics that will forever be engrained in our minds. But, there was something truly special and inspiring about our visit in late October to the Tujunga Campus where we met the filmmakers behind Zootopia and got an early look at a bevy of beautiful early footage from the eagerly anticipated film that lands in theaters March 4, 2016.
The footage was spellbinding. As was revealed in the Zootopia trailer, this is a city that imagines a world where there are no humans. Animals have evolved and populated this city and they work all kinds of jobs, maintaining their way of life for generations. The municipality of Zootopia is nothing like audiences have ever seen on film. It is glorious, breathtaking and that is just putting it mildly.
As for the story… well, let’s not give away too much other than the fact that Ginnifer Goodwin portrays Judy Hopps, a first for the Zootopia police department. See, she’s a rabbit and all of the other officers are rhinos or other enormous creatures. What she lacks in size, she makes up for in spirit and zest for the job. She’s far from her rabbit community home, Bunny Burrows, and is trying to make the most of her situation.
Instead of battling crime, she is unfortunately stuck dishing out parking tickets. But one day, fate strikes in the most unlikely of forms. She has to team up with Nick Wilde (a fox voiced by Jason Bateman, making his animation debut!), who is a con artist that may just hold the key to solving a kidnapping.
We marveled at the presentation and then met the various departments charged with crafting this wondrous world.
What did we find out? Well, here are 5 things that we learned from our Zootopia early press day.
- There are FOUR elements to every Disney movie.
Before even starting on a story or a frame of animation, Zootopia producer Clark Spencer told us that there are four integral parts to every single Disney movie.
They are:
- Must be timeless stories
- Must be entertaining for all ages, all over the world
- Must contain humor and emotions that run the spectrum
- Must line-up to the standard of Disney
- Directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore made an animal movie like no one has seen before.
Howard and Moore were charged and sought to craft a movie with animal characters that would be more visually stunning and realistic than anything audiences have ever witnessed.
From the footage we saw and the presentations from animators, they clearly have achieved that, and so much more. There were research trips for the team to the Savanah in Africa, as well as the Disney Animal Kingdom in Florida. Artists studied animals, not only their movement, hair, body types and mannerisms, but also how they interacted with each other and other species. Their research took 18 months!
What that produced is a movie in Zootopia that contains little things that even the most trained eyes will not notice. But, it firmly registers in the subconscious — such as how a rabbit moves when it’s scared. After seeing footage of a real life rabbit moving, it’s subtle, but in a scene where Judy Hopps has to dart off quickly, it is extraordinary how the subconscious tells the brain how real the scene is, simply from that added touch.
- Hair!
Disney-Pixar broke new ground when it comes to the science of animated follicles with their work on Brave The title character’s raven locks were unlike anything animators had ever produced and with Zootopia, they looked to push the envelope further.
Go back and watch that Zootopia trailer again and notice the hair. It is revolutionary.
Animators went microscopic levels to capture animal hair and fur. How does it blow in the wind? How does it look, react and move when it’s wet? These are just a few of the questions they asked themselves to ensure accuracy beyond what has ever been achieved. And that was just for one species. The artists did this for every single mammal that inhabits the title city! It is revolutionary to put it mildly.
That is just the beginning when it came to the animals of Zootopia and realism, which takes us to number four.
- Scale is everything!
In Zootopia, it immediately hit the filmmakers that size could be a problem. See, there are 90-plus mice that have to stand on top of each other to equal one giraffe.
Art Director of Environments Matthias Lechner and Environment Look Supervisor Lance Summers showed us how they never saw that as a hindrance, but merely an opportunity to further create a world that would blow audiences’ minds. It is a city that “had to be built for everyone,” said Lechner.
For example, subway trains have exits for big, medium and tiny creatures. Apartments and homes are built for various sizes, and provide another element of animated architecture that is just beautiful to see on the big screen. Scale was brought into every element of the story, including clothes and transportation, from bikes to cars and more!
- Zootopia’s Burrows
Zootopia is like many other cities, such as New York, where the community is broken down into different burrows. We learned what they are on our visit to Walt Disney Animation. Ready for the reveal?!
Sahara Square: A palatial desert oasis that reminded us of Las Vegas meets Dubai.
Tundra Town: It neighbors Sahara Square, which made an interesting animation issue for artists. Tundra Town is where all the artic creatures live.
More on how a desert and artic environment live side-by-side in future installments of our reveal from the Zootopia early press day.
Little Rodentia: Guess who lives here? Yup, it’s rodent central!
The Rainforest District: This area is just how it sounds and is eye candy and so much more.
Bunny Burrows: Our favorite officer hails from here and is the first of her kind to make it to the big city and join the police force. Can you guess what their number one export is in Bunny Burroughs? It’s orange…
According to Art Director of Environments, Matthias Lechner, the level of excellence was set pretty high by Disney Animation for cityscapes with Big Hero.
“Big Hero is a great city,” Lechner told us as he took us inside the different burrows of Zootopia. “We wanted to top that.”
This article also ran on ScreenPicks.com.