“Zootopia is one of three Walt Disney animated features this year, and, at a glance, it seemed to be the lowest profile of the trio. It’s not the big Pixar sequel (Finding Dory), and it’s not the Thanksgiving fairy tale princess epic (Moana). The quirky gem of a comedy, which sold itself as a zippy talking animal comedy but turned out to be a potent metaphor for race relations and fear-based social control, earned superb reviews and terrific word-of-mouth and sits alongside Deadpool as the ‘Holy crap!’ success story of the year.
And now it’s on the cusp of crossing the $1 billion mark worldwide. With $991 million worldwide, it’s the fourth-biggest animated film ever behind Toy Story 3 ($1.063b), Minions ($1.159b), and Frozen ($1.276b). It is the sixth-biggest ‘non-sequel/prequel’ of all time, behind Alice in Wonderland ($1.025b), Jurassic Park ($1.029b, including the 2013 3D reissue), Frozen ($1.27b), Titanic ($2.186b), and Avatar ($2. 787b). It is Walt Disney’s eleventh-biggest movie ever globally.
Oh, and it is the second-biggest ‘original’ movie ever released (not accounting for inflation) behind only James Cameron’s Avatar. Zootopia was not based on a television show, a comic book, a novel, or a stage play. It was not a sequel, prequel, or reboot from an existing franchise. It is not based on an actual historical event. It was an entirely original concoction.”
