Why Did We Have to Wait So Long for Zootopia 2? The Film's Producer and Italian Voice Actors Discuss the Long Production Process

Given the success of the first installment, one might wonder why it took so long to see Zootopia 2 in theaters: nine years have passed since Judy and Nick's debut, during which fans of the duo could only console themselves with a dedicated animated series.

The film's producer, Yvett Merino, shed light on the challenging behind-the-scenes of its sequel. She came to Rome to present the film alongside Michel Giraud, Max Angioni, Matteo Martari, and the other voices of the Italian dubbing cast. To meet expectations and deliver a feature film worthy of its predecessor, a platoon of animators was needed: over seven hundred professionals worked for a full four years, often on details that the audience barely notices, because they are hidden in the backgrounds, in the crowd of animals that populate the city, and in Zootopia's architecture.

Yvett, as a producer, can you explain why it took so long to make Zootopia 2?

Yvett Merino – It's simple: these films take about four or five years to reach the level expected of them. After the first Zootopia, directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush started Encanto, which took them five years to make. Immediately after, they started working on Zootopia again, which took another four years for this film. That explains the gap.

Yvett, the theme of family is central to the film. How did you approach it?

Yvett Merino – Family is always a very important part, both the one you're born into and the one you choose, as is the case for Judy and Nick. We wanted to focus on their relationship as colleagues and emotionally close people, on its evolution. This film begins immediately after the first, so we see them meet again, get to know each other better, and deepen their relationship. They discover that they don't see the world the same way, and this happens to us too: you can drift apart from someone and then come back together with a stronger bond.

Ilaria, this is the second time you've voiced the bunny in the film. Who is Judy Hopps to you, now that you've seen her grow?

Ilaria Latini – Judy for me is a hyperactive girl, as often happens with geniuses: a strong, determined personality. And then she's a woman, even if she's a bunny, so physically "frail": precisely for this reason she has to prove her strength. I believe this complex gives her enormous drive, along with the more operational side, to always succeed in what she wants.

Finding her again was like coming home. And then there was a wonderful atmosphere in the studio: Lavinia, Federica, Alessio organizing the work… a synergy was created very similar to the spirit of Zootopia, with respect for everyone's roles and differences. It was as if we had all gone to an animal therapist, in this case. For the third film, maybe we'll work on dubbing with our ears, which is my secret dream.

What does it mean for you to get into Judy's character?

Ilaria Latini – For me it was wonderful. Getting into the character was surprisingly easy: she and I empathized immediately. The hard part is getting out (laughs). It happened many years ago and now I don't know if I'll make it: it's really hard to let go of Judy Hopps.

Alessandro, how do you find Nick Wilde in this second film?

Alessandro Quarta – Nick is a cheerful rogue: if he can take advantage, he does. But deep down he has a big heart. In the end, his more opportunistic principles give way to authentic, true values, those with a capital V.

For us voice actors, the game is always to be on the border between getting into and out of the character: being with them and at the same time looking at them from the outside. For me, it was like meeting an old friend, someone dear. I had a lot of fun, like in the first film but even more, and I hope to have even more fun in the third.

Nick Wilde is a fantastic character, I like him very much. And yesterday, watching the film all together, an incredible complicity immediately formed between us: it's the same spirit with which a film like this is made. The message really works when even those who work on it become part of that deep meaning.

Max, what struck you about Gary De'Snake?

Max Angioni – What struck me was the fact that he lives with an enormous prejudice: for everyone in Zootopia, snakes are synonymous with absolute evil. He, on the other hand, takes on a positive, sweet, yet truly revolutionary role in wanting to change this perception. I grew up with a fear of snakes, by the way. But Gary is the first "hyper-good" snake that made me change my mind. He fights for Zootopia but also to change the perception of snakes in the world, in general. In short, he is a character who seems negative on the surface, but inside he is full of positivity: this fascinated me.

What was the most difficult challenge as a voice actor?

The most difficult part, for me, paradoxically were the "normal" lines, those where Gary explains what's happening. The sounds, the explosions, the "boom!" came naturally to me: I've been doing them since I was five, I'm an only child and I used to play alone making voices for puppets. Putting all this into a character was an extra step.

Michela, how challenging was it to voice Nibbles Maplestick?

Michela Giraud – When they called me for a Disney character, I thought I would be dubbing Shakira's Gazelle, because the resemblance between us is evident and undeniable (laughs). Then I saw Nibbles with those fantastic big teeth and thought: "That's me at five years old." She resembles me, I really was like that as a child. I sent the photo to my friends and everyone told me I really look like her.

From a physical point of view, dubbing was exhausting: I came out of it destroyed, like a CrossFit session. Moreover, her American interpreter, Fortune Feimster, is a comedian with a powerful voice, and keeping up with her really requires a lot of energy. We worked a lot thanks to Massimiliano Manfredi. I want to thank the entire team that supported me: Federica Funaro, Alessio Panimolle, Sara Sorrentino, Lorenzo Cialantini.

You have a distinctly Roman accent… how did you manage to soften it?

Michela Giraud – For me, the biggest challenge was keeping my Roman accent in check. I come from stand-up, I use my body, my accent, my energy, and at first in the studio all the "cecìo," "famiglia," "mi fijio," "te porto a cena al Troppìo" came out… little by little, very gently, they made me understand that everything needed to be cleaned up.

To tackle this job, I took voice lessons and every morning I read in diction, with the little bottle and the rubber tube: I arrived in the studio like Carmelo Bene. I entered full of fears (I'll lose my voice, I'll say terrible things) but these small rituals helped me.

The most difficult part was the embrace moment, when I had to be tender. I had trained for years to be an aggressive character, so when Massimiliano asked me: "Here you have to be sweet, have you ever loved anyone?" I would freeze. Using only the voice, without the body, is like being naked. However, with Massimiliano, Lavinia, and everyone else, it became simpler. Sometimes they would turn off the English audio and I would act "in a vacuum," just following the rhythm: that's how I managed to unblock myself.

In the end, it was a wonderful experience: I discovered I could face a great fear of mine, that of using only my voice. It's like having acquired a superpower. I would like to study more and repeat an experience like this.

What do you like about your character?

**Michela Giraud –**I love Nibbles because she is a communicative bridge: she wants to be herself and nothing else, without worrying about the judgment of others. She uses irony to connect the characters and at a certain point "patches things up" when Nick and Judy drift apart. She makes it clear that just talking to each other is enough to fix things. She is a key character who blends everything together and reminds the protagonists and us that loving each other matters more than any misunderstanding.

Matteo, what was the experience of voicing Mayor Brian Winddancer like?

Matteo Martari – For me, it was a dream come true. Not only working with Disney, but actually becoming a horse. It has always been a small dream of mine, and here I realized it, so thank you for this opportunity.

It was an incredible job. We were guided step by step, because you have to get used to the register of dubbing, which is different from acting on stage and is extremely fascinating. I join Michela in thanking all the people who worked behind the scenes. For me, it was an extraordinary experience.

The most difficult thing for me was the sync. They tell you: "You have to be in sync," and you understand that you have to say the lines exactly at the time the character says them, in your own way, while you can still hear the English voice underneath. You have to read very fast, understand what you're saying, interpret it correctly, and stay perfectly in time. It was challenging, but also very fascinating.

Yvett, the film tells the story of a persecuted and marginalized minority. How much did the contemporary political and social climate influence you?

Yvett Merino – The first film already talked about discrimination and prejudice, so we wanted to continue Judy and Nick's story along that line. Today the theme is very current, but in reality it was also twenty years ago, and probably will be in another twenty years. Unfortunately, these are issues that society cyclically faces.

Our hope is that this film helps people talk about differences, how we see the world differently, and how, by truly trying to understand each other, we can find common ground and come closer instead of drifting apart.

Michela Giraud – It's a very important thing. During the dubbing, we realized we were participating in something huge: the first Zootopia had an incredible echo and this sequel is no less. It's fundamental that a film like this — an animated film, but very transversal, which adults almost like more than children — contains such strong messages.

The themes are dramatically current. It talks about marginalization, hatred towards others, but also psychotherapy, relationships, couple relationships, friendship. It almost seems that, to truly talk about "adult" themes, animals must be made to speak. And it works: the film is comical, entertaining, then at a certain point a scene arrives that makes you reflect. It's tremendous and powerful, and the fact that Disney takes on this message, in this way, is fundamental.

The film is, to all intents and purposes, a buddy cop movie. Were you inspired by the great titles of the genre?

Yvett Merino – We've seen and loved many buddy cop films, the classic ones. One thing we noticed is that they often don't have many sequels: at the end of the film, the two protagonists have resolved the conflict, they're good together, and the tension eases. With Judy and Nick, however, we really wanted to focus on their relationship: in the first film they've known each other for two days, here the story continues and we follow them as they face new challenges together.

For the settings, particularly the rodent and "discarded" neighborhood, were you inspired by real places?

Yvett Merino – Actually, we weren't inspired by specific locations. Instead, we asked ourselves what the city would look like from the animals' perspective. Our design team, led by Cory Loftis, worked by starting with the question: "How do these animals really live?"

We thought about how semi-aquatic animals that live both above and below water might move, and we built their worlds accordingly. It wasn't so much a search for real places, as it was a work on how they might live in a city designed by them and for them. In the film, psychotherapy plays a surprisingly central role, with Dr. Fizzby. Why this choice?

Yvett Merino – I think we all need therapy. For Judy and Nick, it was the right time to really question their relationship. If you listen carefully to the sessions with Dr. Fizzby, and what she brings out in each of them, you understand that she is anticipating the issues that we will see develop throughout the film. For us, as writers, talking about these conflicts in a story every day was a bit therapeutic in itself.

Artificial intelligence theme: what role does it play in a film like this and, more generally, in the Disney universe?

Yvett Merino – This film was made by about 700 human beings, who meticulously crafted every single frame. One of the joys of my job is seeing an idea born from a discussion in the writers' room, becoming a sketch on paper, then a constructed environment, then an animated character, all the way to a scene that comes alive on screen.

In an era where attention spans seem to be shrinking more and more, how complex is it to make a film so long, dense, and capable of keeping the audience glued to the screen?

Yvett Merino – It's very difficult. There's a lot of work behind it. All of us love cinema, and we knew that, returning to Judy and Nick's world, we would have to at least live up to the first film, if not go beyond. This is the most ambitious film we have ever made at Walt Disney Animation Studios: it required the contribution of practically every person in the studio.

How many easter eggs are there in the film? Have you ever counted them?

Yvett Merino – We don't know! There are some big easter eggs intended by the directors and many others inserted by the artists during production, independently. Little winks that we're not even aware of. Every time we rewatch the film, we discover something new. We give artists the freedom to have fun and put their personal touch. It's impossible to really count them: some I haven't even discovered myself yet. Also, there's a team that deals with crowds, background characters, creating real micro-stories that unfold behind Judy and Nick. They dedicated four years to this: that's why it's truly impossible to count the easter eggs in Zootopia 2.

Last question: which Zootopia character would be most needed in our real world?

Yvett Merino – I've always been a big fan of Judy Hopps. She's the only one who has a dream and pursues it at all costs. But what I love most about her is that she's imperfect: she makes mistakes, she questions herself, she doubts herself. I've always identified with her a lot.

If we're talking about the characters we'd need most in the real world, I'd say a bit of Gary, a lot of Dr. Fizzby (we'd all need a lot of her), and also a lot of Nibbles Maplestick: that confidence, that ability to be yourself without fear.