Zootopia – Directors Byron Howard & Rich Moore Interview #ZootopiaEvent

Watching an animated film with my children is a wonderful experience because it’s something we can enjoy together. The beauty is finding an animated film that we will not only watch 100 times, but also that we truly love to its core because it has such great depth and entertainment and meaning.

Zootopia is that kind of movie for me. I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Zootopia press junket in Orlando last week and while there, I got to see the movie and interview the cast. There’s not many animation movies that make me cry, laugh and hold my breath. Zootopia did all that to me. It’s the perfect combination of kid enjoyment, adult wit, laugh out loud zingers, heartfelt moments and thought-provoking moments. It truly is a movie for anyone – of all ages – to enjoy.

I’ve never thought about what truly goes into the creation and making of an animated movie. For me, it’s pure Disney magic… but you need smart, creative and genius men and women creating that magic. I had the incredible opportunity to meet and interview Byron Howard and Rich Moore, the directors behind Zootopia. They are – for me – 2 incredible Disney magicians.

Zootopia Directors

It all starts with an idea and research, lots and lots of research. A movie just doesn’t happen and you make it – there’s so much more that goes into it. Byron and Rich explained to us that Animal Kingdom was “one of the first places that we came. After we pitched the idea of the movie, we start with research. And the fact that this company [Animal Kingdom] has this amazing animal preserve, which is — honestly, is the best in the world. Like if you look at the animals… they’re moving around these amazing environments that feel like a real African environments and Asian environments. And the fact that we could take that real knowledge and these great animal experts and incorporate that knowledge into the film, it was amazing for us And, so… we stopped here first.

I just can’t get over how incredible it is that they used Animal Kingdom as inspiration and research for Zootopia. I love how this amazing place, right here in Orlando was the first-stop for them in the creation process. It gave them passion and energy and the zest to go back to LA and discuss the full idea with Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, John Lasseter. John LOVED the idea (actually picked Byron off the ground about it!) and told them that the next step was to go to the real Africa to do additional research for the film so they could make it as authentic as possible.

As Byron told us, “And we took 14 of our leadership over there… Africa was a life changing experience for us all. I think all of us came back honestly changed. We’ve been a lot of [places] – we’re very fortunate with these jobs because they send us on terrific places all over Asia and Europe and South America. But Africa I — for me, I had never been any place that kinda changed you down to your core. Because you’re stepping into an environment that has been the same for 40,000 years. I’d only been to zoos where I’d seen like two zebra at a time. And then – you know, 30 feet away from us were 200 zebras. Or 50,000 wildebeest. And- and being as close to lions as- as we are to you guys in the front row. And just to see nature, like full on nature right there. It really made us feel like, okay, if we’re gonna do this movie, we’re gonna do it right. And we came home just full of all this information and this great passion, for what we’re gonna create with Zootopia. And I think that’s why the crew dug in so much. We geeked out on all this stuff. And it came across in the film because our crew cared so much.

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Hearing this for me made me truly appreciate Zootopia even more. To hear this passion. To feel their commitment. To see their love of this movie. It was so incredible and so extraordinary to hear from these guys. What really made me love Zootopia was that the movie is perfect for every age. It’s a smart film. It’s witty. It’s honest. It’s memorable. There’s truly every human emotion alive in this movie, and I love that about it. It makes you think. It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. It’s make you root for the good guy. It makes you believe in your dreams. It teaches you never to give up. But – truly – what got me the most was how Zootopia resonates with adults and kids of all ages.

Byron shared with us “that it was very important to us that this wasn’t just an adult movie. It was important to us that Judy’s journey and her as a character, a child could relate to her. That’s why we knew if this story was about discrimination and being put in a box, you know, by other people, then Judy has to have a moment where that happened to her. And that’s why we chose that at the hands of a bully when she was young. You know, as a little girl and a little bunny. Unfortunately, I think that adults and children can relate to those moments. You know, and I say, unfortunately, I think that all of us have had those moments. Some more than others. But it’s relatable. So, that’s – why we chose to have that happen to her as a child.

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It was great seeing Byron and Rich play off of each other, too. You can tell they’re good friends and I loved the dynamic of them together. One story they told was so funny! Someone asked – What character was the most difficult to create and metamorphosis? They both agreed on Judy’s landlord, the armadillo.

Byron laughed, “It was a question of how does that character get her clothes on? Over the shell?

To which Rich chimed in, still laughing, “Did it have to go over the shell? Does it go over the shell? Does she just kinda look like a strange hunchback?

We all were laughing because it was funny, but truly – how crazy that they actually had to dig that deep and think about these characters on such real, human levels. It’s just amazing to me.

One of my favorite scenes in Zootopia is the “DMV/Sloth” scene. You’ve probably seen it on previews for the movie, but to see it IN the movie was absolutely hilarious!

The best was hearing Byron and Rich share how this whole DMV/sloth scene came to be.

Byron laughed, “Our head of story, Jim Reardon just threw out this idea… ‘Well, how about sloths working for DMV?’ You know, that could be a funny scene. And it was kinda one of these things where everyone was quiet for a moment. And thought — this hasn’t this been done before? You know, it seems like such an obvious joke or situation.”

Rich chimed right in saying, “And we quickly went to the Internet and like, ‘sloth at the DMV.’And – No, no, no, no. Oh, my God. I think we found something that hasn’t been done yet!”

And again, as Byron explained, “And again, to keep it on a level that a child could it. That to them they’re watching Judy who’s in a hurry at the mercy of a sloth — who’s slow. But then for the adult, it’s like, oh, yeah — I know the DMV. That’s happened to me. And then also we wondered, well, is this universal around the world? Do they have the DMV? Do they have any thing? And I am happy to report the frustration with red tape and bureaucracy is well known everywhere.” Hearing this made the DMV/sloth scene EVEN funnier! The backstory of how it came to be and how they were just as excited to have it in the movie, too!

Byron shared a really cute story that really made us all smile about screening this movie around the world and just how many beautiful layers it does have and possess… “A real quick story because we’re talking about seeing that [DMV] scene around the world. We had a really nice experience in Belgium. When we were watching the Flemish audience watch the DMV scene… there was this father and this little boy. And the father was cracking up at the sloths and the DMV. And his little boy was watching his dad and he’s smiling at it — seeing his dad crack up.

I think Rich said it best about Zootopia as we were ending our interview… “Everything I’ve ever worked on in my career, I always try to kind of give service to everyone in the audience. Not just one group of people. So, that’s what we do.”

Byron and Rich were 2 of the nicest guys to interview. They were beyond sweet and really gave a fun and interesting interview. They were so appreciative that we loved their movie… which I was truly touched by because they were so very sincere. I hope Zootopia is a GIGANTIC success for them because their dedication, determination and devotion to this film is extraordinary.

Head to the theaters on March 4th for ZOOTOPIA!

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Disclosure: This was a Disney press trip. My travel was covered for this trip. All opinions are 100% my own.

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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