Annenberg Media was lucky enough interview "Zootopia" directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore, and co-director Jared Bush. It was an honor to sit down with the imaginative minds behind the extremely entertaining and emotionally intelligent film. Here's what the trio had to say over the course of two interviews:
Annenberg Media: Can you speak a little about your process and inspiration behind "Zootopia?"
Byron Howard: When we started, the question at its simplest form was how can we make this different from other talking animal films? For example, animals kill and eat one another so how did this work out in these other movies and books? We needed to create a world that explained how that happened.
Rich Moore: Our inspiration came anywhere from children's books like "Busy Busy World" by Richard Scary to films like "LA Confidential" and a lot of the character design was inspired by classic Disney films like "The Jungle Book" and "Robin Hood."
AM: "Zootopia" is extremely visually sophisticated. How did you look to past Disney films for inspiration?
BH: No matter how technically advanced we get, we have affection for our legacy. "Robin Hood" may not be the best Disney film but it stuck with me—the character of Nick was inspired by the film. Mufasa was inspiration for the mayor of Zootopia. There are 64 different species in Zootopia and we didn't want to lose any of the animal's characteristics. Animators working at Disney in the '60s and '70s were such masters of their craft and could do anything with micro expression of characters. We wanted to main certain nuisances and control even when not working by hand.
AM: "Zootopia" is sure to be another hit for Disney Animation Studios who has been extremely successful in recent years with films like "Wreck it Ralph" and "Frozen." How are you able to tell such powerful stories?
BH: We wants our films to live on beyond us. We have a story trust where Pixar CEO Ed Catcall and other directors give us extended critique and this helps the story development improve tremendously. For example, our first five versions of "Zootopia" featured Nick as the main character. The feedback we ended getting was that it was too dark and even dated. This led us to put Judy as the central character is much more contemporary. Ultimately we have to tell a great story for the right reason.
RM: We wanted as many people to relate to "Zootopia" as possible. We didn't want any specific race or nationality aligned with animals. We had a great story team made up of not just a room of white guys. We never want our films to feel cliched, insulting or insensitive.
AM: Byron, I know you and a few other members of the production team traveled to Kenya to do research for the film. Why is it important to do extensive research like these trips? Why does this make a difference?
BH: The more research we do the more authority we have to tell a story, and the audience likes authority. Without research, stories will seem cliched and honestly it's difficult to tell a story with out actual research. "Zootopia" is an emotional response to seeing animals in the wild.
Jared Bush: Research helps the director inform the mood of the film. And not just the director, but the head of animation and head of lighting, they can see first hand how animals move or how the sun sets on the savanna. When we don't know how research will impact story when we do it. If making the film is a journey, research is us packing a suitcase. You don't know how what you pack will come into play, but you're prepared.
Reach Staff Reporter Sarah Kassel here.
Annenberg Media