Zootopia 2 at the box office
Disney’s latest animated adventure is a huge hit during the holiday season. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 proved to be very front-loaded on its opening weekend, paving the way for Disney’s Zootopia 2 to retake the top spot. It ended up with $26 million for a $258 million domestic haul. Notably, the movie has already crossed the $1 billion mark domestically, reaching that milestone faster than any other animated movie in history. Its domestic box office performance is excellent, but overseas is where this one is absolutely killing it.
Gary De’Snake’s popularity in China
Zootopia 2 is especially killing it in China and Gary De’Snake, who is played by Ke Huy Quan, is proving to be a character changing the image of venomous pit vipers. When Finding Nemo premiered back in 2003, there was a surge in purchases of Clown Fish, which was Nemo’s species. Now, with Gary De’Snake being such a big hit in China, CNN World is reporting that many young people are expressing interest in owning a real live serpent. Zootopia 2 would be released in the tail-end (pun intended) of the Year of the Snake. And according to CNN, “Since the movie’s release, major Chinese e-commerce platforms have seen a surge in searches and an uptick in prices for the Indonesian pit viper – commonly known as ‘island bamboo pit viper’ in China – with its costs ranging from a few hundred to several thousand yuan, Chinese state media outlet The Paper reported.”
Many physical stores that have tamed such an animal for exotic pets are selling the breed, but many are looking to mail orders as well. However, the transport of “various live animals” and “dangerous items like toxins” is prohibited, but it is not illegal to raise your own Indonesian pit viper. The growing interest in acquiring the pit vipers is raising a national concern. The Beijing News reported, “in the movie, the blue snake is imbued with endearing and brave human-like traits, but the real-life venomous snake, island bamboo pit viper, is far from being a harmless ‘trendy toy.’” They added, “If a venomous snake escapes or attacks, it endangers not only the owner and their family but can also escalate into a public safety incident.”
Just stick with the plush Gary toy, people!
How was Zootopia 2?
As big of a hit as it is, our Chris Bumbray found Zootopia 2 lacking the spark of the first. He says in his review, “In the end, Zootopia 2 is like a lot of product Disney’s been putting out lately — in that it’s not particularly bad, but it’s also assembly-line and generic. They’re playing it safe to appeal to as many people as they can, but they’re making watered-down product that will never be considered on par with the Disney classics they were producing a few years ago. This is fine for kids, and it won’t bore their parents, but it won’t spark joy in the wide audience the original appealed so strongly to.”
