The success behind Zootopia

Walt Disney Co. has been making animated movies for a century now, but one of their recent work has made stunning headlines around the globe. Zootopia, the animated film involving animals living in peace together broke previous records of Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph. It made a whopping $75.1 million in its opening weekend.

It makes an astonishing competition for Pixar, which has always been able to outperform Disney. Moreover, Zootopia received the biggest opening for an animated film ever. What makes it interesting is the fact that Zootopia is not based on any book; neither had it had any big voices to work with. We can also work around a few of the critical points that show why Zootopia topped the charts. First is the timing of the film. It came a month after Kung Fu Panda 3 by DreamWorks Animation was released. Disney also had a great marketing strategy to work with. Disney used Judy Hopps, the hare from Bunny Burrow in a masterclass Super Bowl advert, making it an instant hit. It also had a brilliant message attached to it. Unlike many Oscar disappointments, it relied on the need to address prejudice and equality as a two-way street, while showing a plausible course of action for both. Overseas, Zootopia has topped more than $160 million in sales, while giving the message that both prey and predators can live together.

Much of the success can be attributed to Pixar. Toy Story, The Incredibles and Pixels have made names and hence it gave Disney a real push after it bought Pixar in 2008 for $7.4 billion. Disney has almost recovered most of the cost it invested in Pixar, with Up, Toy Story 3 and others making around $6 billion with animation success and Academy Awards. Zootopia has an immersive animation for all ages, it relies on the same Disney animation principles we are accustomed too, but it features a new wave of technological advancements. No wonder it has become the fourth consecutive hit for Disney after the purchase of Pixar.