There are 64 species of animals in the movie. The team behind the film spent 18 months just researching animals. “We met with animal experts from all over the world, including Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. We traveled 9,000 miles to Kenya, Africa, for a two-week deep dive into animal personality and behavior. We wanted each species of animal to be real, to feel authentic and to be based on their real-world behavior,” says producer Clark Spencer.

I love some of the ways the characters hearken back to prior Disney films:

* Artists designing Assistant Mayor Bellwether were inspired by the lambs in the old Disney films “Make Mine Music” and “Melody Time.”

* Artists were inspired by Mufasa from Disney’s classic film “The Lion King” when creating the look of Mayor Lionheart.

Here are more fun facts about Zootopia:

Hairy Situation

While researching the variety of animals that would inhabit Zootopia, filmmakers learned that not all fur is the same. A strand of polar bear fur is clear—it’s the light reflecting off of it that makes it appear white—and a strand of fox fur is dark at the root, getting lighter till its red tip. Artists strived to replicate their findings to ensure that the animals in “Zootopia” were believable.

Tweeze Me

Speaking of hair, advances in technology allowed filmmakers to trim the fur that fell beneath clothing so that the garments hung correctly. Previously, hairs that intersected with an item of clothing—like Bolt’s collar—had to be plucked one by one, which would have been an impossible feat in a film like “Zootopia.”

Fancy Dresser

As for those outfits, artists crafted six unique outfits for Assistant Mayor Bellwether. The chosen fabric, naturally, was wool. Her outfits include a houndstooth dress, a blazer and a little bell in honor of her moniker. She also has an orange dress with a scissor pattern that represents shears.

Stiff Upper Lip

When artists realized that real rabbits actually have a split upper lip, they decided to forego authenticity in this case and kept Judy’s lip all together.

The Eyes Have It

Clawhauser may not share a real cheetah’s svelte shape, but he does sport the animal’s iconic tear marks—markings that run from the inside corners of his eyes down to the outside edges of his mouth.

Here Kitty, Kitty

Nathan Warner, director of cinematography-layout, got a pat on the back from a real-life cheetah during their research trip to Africa. The rescued animal that caretakers had introduced to the filmmakers seemingly took offense to the camera Warner carried and leapt up to let him know. Both filmmaker and cat were just fine following the event.

Roll in the Hay

In an effort to bolster the animal-feel, artists added bits of debris—hay, leaves, sticks—in the coats of animals like the big sheep and Yax the Yak.

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“Oh, you saw the trailer for Zootopia?” I asked.

“Is that the movie? It looks hilarious!” he said. And yes, it is the movie. The trailer ran before Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and you can see it here:

I love that Zootopia making all generations of viewers laugh, and I’m really excited to see it when it opens in theaters on March 4, 2016. To get you in the spirit ahead of time, though, the good folks at Walt Disney Animation Studios have created some really fun, free Zootopia printables for the holidays and winter, from snowflake cut outs to a New Year’s Eve party pack.

Check them out!

Holiday Gift Tags

New Year’s Even Party Pack

If you’re thinking about how to ring in 2016 with you kiddos, check out the New Year’s Eve Party Pack New Year’s Eve Zootopia Party Animal Pack that will turn your festivities into a Happy Zoo Year party. You can throw a really cool bash with all kinds of fun items, including invitations, banner, food tents, food picks, and cupcake liners.

ZooFlakes

You can put a fun twist on traditional snowflake cutouts with these templates for ZooFlakes featuring the following characters: Flash, Yak, Nick Wilde, and Judy Hopps. Sharp scisors work best, so take good care and supervise when necessary.

Like ZOOTOPIA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyZootopia
Follow Disney Animation on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DisneyAnimation
Follow Disney Animation on Instagram: https://instagram.com/disneyanimation/
Visit Disney Animation on Tumblr: http://disneyanimation.tumblr.com/
Visit the official ZOOTOPIA website here: http://movies.disney.com/zootopia
ZOOTOPIA opens in theatres everywhere on March 4th!

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