November 9th, 2022 
Jackson Murphy 
Starting today you can check out six all-new shorts on Disney+ celebrating the feisty, fun and heartwarming characters from one of Disney Animation’s most popular recent films, the Oscar-winning Zootopia. Josie Trinidad and Trent Correy are the directors of Zootopia+. Nathan Curtis serves as the producer. All three spoke with me for this Animation Scoop Q&A about the six distinct, entertaining episodes. Trinidad also shares how being part of the story team on the “Zootopia” movie was life-changing. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: Josie, how have you seen the impact of Flash the sloth firsthand over the past six years? It’s been incredible, right?!
Josie Trinidad: Yes, I feel like it was amazing to work on and to watch comedic genius happen before my eyes. And it was a challenge, Jackson, to try to emulate that. The “Dinner Rush” episode was one of our most difficult and challenging ones. We started to explore different genres and were really trying to find it. I credit Trent, Nathan, Raymond Persi (who came back to voice Flash) and Kristen Bell, and our story crew, to really help us push and to make sure it could live-up to the DMV scene.
JM: Fans will not be disappointed by what you do. And Trent, what kinds of “Real Housewives” research did you do? Everything you do with the cameras — spot on!
Trent Correy: I didn’t watch Reality TV when I pitched this episode, so if I had known I was setting myself up for hours upon hours of research and viewing… Luckily, research is a big part at Disney, so we got paid to watch Reality TV, Jackson. It was part of the research. I got into a whole bunch, but I gotta give credit to the team because this [kind of] Reality TV episode is new for our studio. Everyone from the cinematography leads and lighting to layout pitched different lenses and how the camera moves… what the confessionals would look like. Then the animators added [characters] looking at the camera and all the great acting. The boom mic and out of focus cameras. It was a labor of love for everybody. And it’s all those little details that make it feel like it’s actually Reality TV.
JM: You’re so right. You got to watch all the fights — all the table fights!
TC: Oh yeah!
JT: (laughs)
Josie Trinidad, Trent Correy, Nathan Curtis and Jackson Murphy
JM: That’s great. And Nathan, “The Godfather” is one of the most iconic movies of all-time. You give Mr. Big such a layered, emotional, funny story. I really enjoyed it.
Nathan Curtis: Thank you. We wanted to show where he came from. What is it like to be in Zootopia as someone who’s just coming in [as] an immigrant. Mr. Big is such a great catalyst for showing the audience what his world and his background story could be.
JM: It’s very good. Josie, a friend of mine was in Ibiza, Spain not that long ago where Idris Elba DJs. He seems like one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, and I’m so glad he came back for his episode of this.
JT: Absolutely! We were thrilled that Idris was Chief Bogo. I was very excited, as Trent knows. I may have been a bit of a fangirl. I held it together, Jackson, for about a couple hours, and then I… blurted at the end, “I love you so much!”
TC: (laughs)
JT: I was like, “You know what? I’m never gonna see him again.” (laughs) He has to know how wonderful he is and how we all love him to bits! That was a dream come true. But how amazing is it that we got ALL our cast back?
JM: Yes!
JT: Honestly, we’re pinching ourselves.
TC: I couldn’t believe it. And it goes to show how much the original movie impacted the world. These actors really, truly loved revisiting these characters. What a joy to see them come back.
JM: Not only did the movie win an Academy Award and have all this merchandise… but it was so layered and deep and had such an impact on everyone of all ages. Trent, I want to ask you about Bonnie Hunt because between “A Bug’s Life”, “Monsters, Inc.”, “Cars”, “Toy Story” and “Zootopia”, she’s one of the secret weapons of Disney voice acting!
TC: Oh my gosh, she’s legendary! One of my favorite recording sessions was Don Lake and Bonnie Hunt. They are comedic geniuses. There’s no other way to say it. They have this shorthand. They’ve worked together for more than 30 years. You can see that in their relationship. It comes through in the short. It comes through in the movie… because it’s real. They really are that way. What a joy recording them. They are so smart, and their ad-libs are so spot on, that I felt like we gave them a script and then said, “Play. Go do your thing.” They’re that good. What a joy. Bonnie Hunt is so incredible.
JM: Love it. And Nathan, I wanna ask you about Duke Weaselton. His episode is a musical. Have you always been a fan of movie musicals — and getting a chance to make this episode happen?
NC: My background is in music. I grew-up playing music. I went to college to be a composer.
JM: Wow.
NC: This is a dream come true, especially with Alan Tudyk. Alan has done some Broadway. Being able to watch him perform as Duke, and then sing a musical about his character, was something I never thought I’d see. It was great.
JM: Nice. Josie, when I saw “Zootopia” when it came out, I walked out of the theater and thought, “This is a live-action, relationship crime drama disguised as a talking animal animated Disney movie.” When did you fully know that you were writing something that was going to have that kind of instant effect on people?
JT: Honestly Jackson, only when it came out. (laughs) It was a challenge to make. I remember we were sort of in the middle of the storm and just hoping and praying that it would make sense. (laughs) It was the whole team — so brilliant, and we really pushed ourselves to make it smart and modern and resonate with all of us — and make it speak to themes and issues that were challenging, about prejudice and bias. It was amazing. I thought it was honestly a miracle that we pulled it off. I think of the long nights and all the different screenings we had. It only continued to get better and better and we continued to push ourselves to really be honest with ourselves as filmmakers that we were doing the best that we could. That it was the funniest and smartest that it could be. In the middle of a storm, you don’t know if you’re gonna make it, but really, pleasantly surprised and overjoyed that the world reacted the way they did.
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