‘Zootopia 2’ Director Jared Bush Annecy Interview

Walt Disney Animation Studios brought some serious star power to the Annecy Animation Festival this week, as chief creative officer, director and screenwriter Jared Bush offered the studio’s most comprehensive look yet at its hotly anticipated “Zootopia 2,” coming to theaters on Nov. 26.

Following his presentation, Bush sat down with Variety to discuss the upcoming sequel, his goals for WDAS and the importance of finding and supporting the creators of the future.

Variety: Disney has a strong track record of creating films that represent all sorts of people and cultures, but that don’t feel like they’re just checking boxes. Two films you worked on, “Moana” and “Encanto,” are prime examples. How do you ensure the studio’s stories embrace these other groups but stay approachable to everyone, from children to adult viewers, all around the world?

Jared Bush: I think maybe more than anything, as we’re making the movies, we have to love and enjoy them ourselves. We have to be fans and challenged by what we’re doing. There’s a common misconception that entertainment and bringing people into unfamiliar parts of the world are mutually exclusive, but they’re not. It’s just difficult to marry those things sometimes.

We’re always looking to tell stories that are immersive, and the best way to do that is with help. Collaboration is real, it’s not lip service. Spending time with people from different backgrounds and parts of the world is one of the great joys of what we get to do. It’s incredibly interesting and educational.

Disney films have to appeal to everyone, everywhere, and at all ages. That’s the hallmark. So we constantly examine the story and ask, “How does this feel to us as adults?” Many of us have kids, and their feedback is real; they’re like our free audience survey. That mix of perspectives creates an exciting challenge that keeps us on our toes. Easy would be boring.

How has the pipeline or creative process changed between the first “Zootopia” and this one?

A great example is Presto, our new animation system. It’s changed our whole pipeline and is being used on the next “Zootopia” movie. We’re halfway into that system; some scenes use it, others don’t, depending on the characters.

Sequels are tricky. Audiences want familiarity but also expect growth. The key is making sure any evolution feels organic and integral to the story. You can’t just change a character’s design for the sake of change. People can sense when it’s unearned.

A good example is a character who aged up, like Moana did for the second film. Viewers noticed, and it worked because it supported the character’s arc. It wasn’t a redesign just for marketing.

In “Zootopia,” we’re also introducing reptiles. They move and behave differently than mammals. Telling their story required a different approach. For instance, animating a snake, essentially a big rope, and everyone knows about the difficulty in animating ropes, is a big challenge. It’s something we haven’t done in CG before, even though Disney has this rich history of animated snakes.

There’s been a trend toward more stylistic shifts in animated features, such as changes in visual aesthetic within a single film. Could that be a direction Disney explores more?

Yes, but only if it’s earned. That’s key. We have the luxury and responsibility of being a 100-year-old studio. Our characters exist not just in their films but alongside all the other heroes from the Disney canon. We have to think about design in that broader context.

A movie like “Spider-Verse” pulled off a radical aesthetic because it was baked into the DNA of the story; it made sense with comic books. If we do something bold, it has to have a deep narrative reason. We’re definitely interested in those possibilities, especially with fresh voices coming into the studio. They’re excited to push boundaries, and that’s important.

Speaking of fresh voices, how important is it for Disney to maintain a balance between legacy creators and new generations of storytellers?

It’s vital. When I joined 14 years ago, the studio was trying new things, and I benefited from that environment. But there’s real value in institutional knowledge. People like Ron [Clements – who is returning to the studio in an advisory role] have done this so many times. They know that every movie hits a wall, and they don’t panic when it does.

Experienced creators have a shorthand. They know why something works or doesn’t. At the same time, you absolutely need new ideas, fresh perspectives and people who will challenge the status quo. Whether it’s story, character, setting or even production process, innovation often comes from people asking, “Why not try this?”

So it’s really about blending all those perspectives. That’s part of what excites me about my role moving forward.

Music has always been a hallmark of Disney films. As someone with a musical background, how do you approach storytelling through song?

It’s a dream come true for me. I was going to double major in English and music in college. I chose English, but music has always been a huge part of who I am.

Coming to Disney and working on musicals is amazing. You get to collaborate with world-class songwriters and sit in on recordings with an orchestra. But it’s also a ton of work. Making songs feel effortless takes years of deep character work.

Great songs are rooted in character psychology. Think of “You’re Welcome” from “Moana,” it tells you everything you need to know about Maui. That kind of character specificity doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from knowing the story and the character inside and out. That’s the really fun part for me, geeking out over music while grounding it in emotional storytelling.

After working on a film for so long, do you ever wish you could experience it fresh like the audience does?

Absolutely. We actually work hard to find fresh eyes throughout the process. You can get stuck in your head, especially with comedy; you’ve heard the same joke 80 times and think, “This isn’t funny anymore.”

We have a great relationship with Pixar where we screen each other’s films and offer feedback. We also use audience previews for perspective.

But as a storyteller, you have to love every iteration of your film. Over five or six years, you might go through hundreds of versions. I try to love each one, even if it’s not perfect, because that keeps it exciting.

The core of the story has to stay true, but many of the ideas come from other people. Some are better than what you could have come up with on your own. You just have to trust that collaboration will make the film better.