At the #ZootopiaEvent I had the chance to be a part of a roundtable interview with the film’s Co-Director Jared Bush, Producer Clark Spencer, and Screenplay Writer Phil Johnston to get a glimpse into the process of creating the story of Zootopia.
Inevitably the discussion of Zootopia Easter Eggs came up, and having just seen a preview of the movie I was really excited to get the stories behind some of their favorite details.
An Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in an interactive work such as a computer program, video game or DVD menu screen. The name has been said to evoke the idea of a traditional Easter egg hunt.
None of the Zootopia Easter Eggs I’m sharing are ‘story spoilers’, they are just really fun touches to the world of Zootopia!
8 Zootopia Easter Eggs
1. The Corner of Tujunga & Vine
“If you look at when they,they arrive at the Rain Forest district, the sign says Vine and Tujunga, and Tujunga is the crappy warehouse that we had working in for the last two years. They moved us – they’re renovating our main Disney animation building, and they put us in a warehouse with a leaky roof…But it was such a, sort of a family building environment because you really kinda, okay, we’re all stuck next to the planes, and the trains, and the weird junkyard, and who knows what else.
So that’s my favorite because it’s one of those very specific things that people that worked in that building, it’s really something for them, that they all – and when we got to the premiere, everyone really liked that, that didn’t see it before.” – Jared Bush, Co-Director – Zootopia
I wanted to mention this Easter Egg first, because it really showed how much heart the cast and crew of Zootopia worked with on this project. How awesome is it that they have this memory to share with the world!
2. Who knew an Arctic Shrew could be a kingpin?
This one walks the line between obvious and Easter Egg…but I’m counting it! You don’t want to mess with Mr. Big, because this Arctic Shrew might ice YOU!
3. Double the Weaselton
“And we’re like, and we have a weasel. Oh, well, we should call him, uh, Weasel. His last name is Weaselton, and then Jim Reardon’s like, it should be Duke Weaselton. It’s gonna be Duke Weaselton. And then we’d always been looking for what role could Alan play, and there was like, I think this- these things are all coming together. Let’s make that happen. And so it was kind of perfect.” – Jared Bush, Co-Director, Zootopia
Alan Tudyk is the voice of Duke of Weselton in Frozen, and I adore how he is back to voice Duke Weaselton to really drive the connection between the two characters similarity home!
4. Elephant Princesses
“In the background, you’ll see little animation in the background characters or signage that is- we still discover that, and it’s entertaining as we’re going through it. So there’s even new stuff for us going through it, having seen it in different forms a thousand times.” – Jared Bush, Co-Director – Zootopia
Now while I cannot take credit for finding this Easter Egg, it is such a wonderful example of how much thought goes into creating the background of Zootopia!
5. Chief Bogo thinks you should Let it Go
Do you think that this is some cartoon musical where your insipid dreams come true?
Well, Let it Go.
“Phil was working with us on Wreck-It Ralph and said, hey, Jennifer [Lee], do you wanna come out to LA and work on this project? So he kinda brought her out, so then to have Phil write a line that is back in there, that’s the true kind of inside – the audience is gonna enjoy it for the reference to Frozen, obviously, or hopefully they will.” Clark Spencer, Producer – Zootopia
There are quite a few Frozen zingers in Zootopia…and every single one of them made me laugh!
6. Sloth dreams do come true
This is also one of my favorite Zootopia Easter Eggs!
Kristen Bell is a sloth fanatic, and her dreams came true as she plays Priscilla the Sloth at the DMV…Department of Mammal Vehicles.
7. Bootleg ‘Disney’ Movie Hustle
Seems like Duke Weaselton has QUITE the Bootleg Movie Hustle going on in Zootopia! He’s got the latest blockbuster movies available! Pig Hero 2, Wrangled, Wreck-It Rhino, Floaten 2, Giraffic, and Mewana…he’s got them all!!!
8. Is it a Jug-Band Christmas in Zootopia?
If you haven’t seen Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, well then you are missing one of the saddest and most beautiful Christmas Specials ever created. It is one of my absolute favorites, so you can imagine my excitement when a character named EMMET OTTER was introduced!!!
When Zootopia opens in theaters on March 4th, I can’t wait for you to experience these Easter Eggs and to find some that aren’t included because they were spoiler-ish.
I can’t wait to see Zootopia again to find even more!
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