‘Zootopia 2’ Creators Discuss the Film’s Global Success and After Credit Scene

March 5, 2026 Michael Lee

With Zootopia 2 now on Digital and Blu-ray, the BAFTA-winning sequel arrives with new bonus extras, including a peek inside Walt Disney Animation Studios, recording-booth behind-the-scenes, a Shakira music spotlight, and deleted scenes. In this interview, The Nerds of Color speaks with director Byron Howard and producer Yvette Merino about the film’s global impact, its emotionally resonant and timely themes, and that mysterious after-credits feather.

Animation, Movies, Reviews

‘Zootopia 2’ Twists the Buddy-Cop Formula Without Losing Social Commentary

November 25, 2025November 25, 2025 Michael Lee

To say that Disney’s Zootopia is just another animated feature with anthropomorphized animals would be completely reductive. It’s a buddy cop comedy full of laughs and pop culture references, threaded with themes of tolerance, bias, and who gets to feel safe in a city that prides itself on being for “anyone” and “anything.” Asking Zootopia 2 to match, let alone surpass, that mix of vibrant visuals, sharp humor, and pointed social commentary feels like a tall order, yet somehow the sequel rises to it and then some.

Animation, Movies

‘Zootopia 2’ Expands Disney’s Animal Metropolis with New Characters and Timely Themes

September 29, 2025September 29, 2025 Michael Lee

As Walt Disney Animation enters its second century, Chief Creative Officer Jared Bush says the studio is guided by three principles: joy, collaboration, and the courage to “swing for the fences.” That ethos is alive in Zootopia 2, which reunites Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) on a case involving a slithering new suspect, Gary DeSnake (Ke Huy Quan), challenging both their partnership and their cross-species friendship.

Animation, Interview, Movies

‘Zootopia 2’ Creators Break Down the Sequel’s Themes and Animation

September 29, 2025 Michael Lee

Zootopia 2 marks Walt Disney Animation Studios’ return to the bustling animal metropolis nearly a decade after the original. The Nerds of Color caught up with directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard, as well as the creative team behind the film, to discuss expanding the world, creating new characters, and bringing the film’s themes of empathy and connection to life.

Animation, Movies, Trailers

‘Zootopia 2’ Teaser Slithers in with Sneak Peeks and EDM Beats

May 20, 2025May 20, 2025 Michael Lee

Walt Disney Animation Studios has released a new music-driven trailer for Zootopia 2. The sequel, following in the footsteps of Disney hits like Frozen, Moana, and Wreck-It Ralph, returns to a world of anthropomorphic animals that mirrors our own.

Animation, Movies, Reviews

NOC Review: ‘Encanto’ is Mostly Enchanting

November 17, 2021January 12, 2022 Mike Manalo

First of all, score one for Walt Disney Animation for putting out two releases in one year that celebrate different stories from different cultures! With the terrific Raya and the Last Dragon earlier this year, and now the charming Encanto, it’s refreshing to see that the House of Mouse has been more proactive in telling stories that aren’t just rooted in Western European fairy tales. I think Moana really opened the door for this, and as far as our site is concerned, we couldn’t be happier.

Animation, Movies

‘Encanto’ Directors and Writers Find Magical Realism in Colombian Culture

November 5, 2021November 8, 2021 Michael Lee

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto is an animated musical that celebrates Lantine and Latinx culture, specifically everything Colombia offers. The film follows Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz), the only child not blessed with a magical gift. As she struggles to find her place within her multigenerational enchanted family, she finds out that the magic that has helped them and the town is in danger of disappearing. So she sets off on an adventure to prevent that from happening.

Animation, Interview, Movies

‘Encanto’ Directors Talk Representation and Working with Lin-Manuel Miranda

September 29, 2021November 5, 2021 Michael Lee

Walt Disney Animation Studios gave a group of selected journalists their first look at their upcoming musical, Encanto. The film centers on the Madrigals, a magical family who live in an enchanted casita in the mountains of Colombia. At the age of five, the home gifts a Madrigal child a unique magical power, who then uses it to help the family and neighboring town. Everyone except, Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). However, she when she discovers that the magic is in danger, she sets off on a journey to save it from being extinguished.

Animation, Interview, Movies

How Colombian Culture, Music, and Dance Tell a Magical Story in ‘Encanto’

September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 Michael Lee

Making an animated film at Walt Disney Animation Studios is a tremendous undertaking. It takes years of development, not to mention countless rewrites to perfect the script, numerous in-house screenings, and so much more. Encanto, Disney’s 60th animated feature, brings music and dance together to tell the story of Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz), a Colombian teenager facing the fact that she is the only one who doesn’t have any magical abilities in her family. But when she discovers that magic is in danger, she sets off on a journey to save it.

Animation, Movies

Get Excited for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ New Original Film ‘Encanto’

July 8, 2021July 8, 2021 Sophia Soto

Walt Disney Animation Studios has just released the teaser trailer, new posters, and cast for Encanto. The film will open in theaters on November 24 and tell “the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto.”