First Look: Zootopia Concept Art

With a year until the film is released, Walt Disney Animation Studios has released a new look at concept art for their next feature, Zootopia, which is due for release on March 4th, 2016! With this new look we were also treated to an updated synopsis and directorial addition! Check out the beautiful concept art, film synopsis, and more for Disney's Zootopia after the break!

Official Synopsis:
The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together — a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when optimistic Officer Judy Hopps arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde, to solve the mystery. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia, a comedy-adventure directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore and co-directed by Jared Bush, opens in theaters on March 4, 2016.

The whole concept that Zootopia is based upon has intrigued me from the beginning, but this new concept art   excites me like I never would have expected for this film. The actually city of Zootopia seems to be a very unique combination of a modern metropolis and organic habitat. I love this new world-building trend that is happening over at WDAS- it is very telling of the new creative leadership that has steamrolled the next generation of modern classics over at the historic studio. Also, if this concept is any indicator, Zootopia *hopefully* will inspire great new expansions to Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The film's concept seems perfectly at home at the park, and although I haven't visited, I get the sense that the park could use an added draw. For all of those who may be wondering, Disney is in fact in the process of opening up a whole new section to the Animal Kingdom based off of the mega-blockbuster film, Avatar, which is due to open in 2016. The Avatar land will inherently bring in millions of fans and park goers to the Animal Kingdom, so hopefully that excitement could manifest itself in further expansions, like the one that I hope Zootopia will hopefully bring!

Two other notable elements of this news that I wanted to point out are the seemingly significant protagonist change and the added co-direction by Wreck-it Ralph director Rich Moore. First off, when Zootopia was first announced, the main character seemed to be Nick Wilde, the fast-talking, scam-artist fox featured in the concept art directly above. However, this new synopsis suggests that Judy Hopps will be the main protagonist, which could potentially be a significant change not only to the film but also the direction of the studio. If Hopps is in fact the new protagonist, she will be the first non-princess female character leading a Disney Animation film since Home on the Range. That prospect is very exciting since it shows that the creative heads at WDAS acknowledge the need for more strong female figures in their non-princess films. Secondly, the newly promoted co-director Rich Moore, which did an absolutely brilliant job on Wreck-it Ralph, was thought to be working on a sequel to Ralph. Although he may not be actively working on the sequel at the moment, his additional creative involvement and direction to Zootopia is very exciting and reassuring as I'm sure that he and Bryon Howard will both do an absolutely brilliant job bringing the vibrant world of Zootopia to life!