I asked Disney’s head of animation why Zootopia 2 doesn’t have the pun-worthy title we all wanted – and the answer is infuriating

It's not too surprising that Zootopia – or Zootropolis, as it's known in the UK and Europe – has got a sequel. With a world that's as rich in location as it is in animals characters, the possibilities for the Disney IP feel endless.

Almost a decade after we were first introduced to them, unlikely cop duo Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick (Jason Bateman) are back to tackle the mystery of a snake seen in the city for the first time in years.

The underlying message is not to take people at first value but love them for who they are, and I love that Zootopia 2 is coming at a time when we need it most. However, I do have a problem.

Back when the sequel's first trailer dropped, I wrote a feature about how it should have been titled Twotopia, or Twotropolis for Europe, instead of Zootopia 2. As luck would have it, I was able to question Disney's head of animation Jared Bush about why (it took me all of 30 seconds to interrogate him about it).

Turns out that the punny name wasn't just a brilliant brainwave I had a work one day... and it's almost worse knowing that.

Twotopia was 'discussed' as an option for Zootopia 2, says Jared Bush

Zootopia 2 | Trailer - YouTube

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"Okay, I'm glad you asked this question, because we actually debated that," Bush tells me. "It was Twotropolis, it was Zoo2polis. We went through a number of different versions of how to say it. I think ultimately we wound up putting the '2' on the end because we couldn't agree on the right pun."

What I'm hearing here is that we almost had the punniest sequel name of the century, but didn't get to experience it. As I told Bush when I met him, my heart is broken by this news.

However, we both agree on something much more important: how much mileage Zootopia has as a Disney IP.

As producer Yvett Merino puts it: "We like to say we're a director-driven studio, because the stories and ideas come from our directors and it has to be a story they want to tell in terms of continued sequels and stories.

"In the world of Zootopia, there are so many possibility for stories to be told. It's a complete world of animals, and we've only really visited the city and the areas around it. If you think of it that way, there are so many possibilities of stories to tell.

"We love Judy and Nick, so looking at them and their relationship and seeing how their relationship evolves is one of the reasons why we wanted to go back in."

Zootopia 2 doesn't have a streaming release date yet, but stay ready with this US streaming deal:

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To subscribe to Disney+ and Hulu's ad-supported plans separately would normally cost just under $22 dollars a month for a bundle, but you can get them both for $12.99 a month, representing a saving of 40% on separate annual plans. Sadly, you'll have to watch commercials on both streaming services, but with a saving of over $100 on offer compared to if you bought both services separately, we suspect you'll think it's a price worth paying. This is the usual bundle saving to be clear.

View Deal

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