Disney’s Zootopia has added a slew of big-name stars to its cast, including Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, J.K. Simmons, Alan Tudyk and Octavia Spencer.
The new actors join Once Upon a Time‘s’ Ginnifer Goodwin, who’s playing first bunny officer Judy Hopps, and Jason Bateman, a.k.a. con-artist fox Nick Wilde.
Zootopia, or Zootropolis in the U.K., is putting together what is beginning to look like the most star-specked voice cast to date.
Idris Elba has been cast as Chief Bogo, head of the Zootopia Police Department. “A tough cape buffalo with 2,000 lbs of attitude, Bogo is reluctant to add Judy Hopps, Zootopia’s first bunny cop, to his squad of hardened rhinos, elephants and hippos,” the Disney press release reads.
J.K. Simmons is Mayor Leodore Lionheart, “the noble leader of Zootopia, who coined the city’s mantra that Judy Hopps lives by: In Zootopia, anyone can be anything.”
Octavia Spencer voices Mrs Otterton, a “desperate otter” who turns to Judy Hopps for help. Jenny Slate is Assistant Mayor Bellwether, Alan Tudyk is Duke Weaselton, and John DiMaggio is Jerry Jumbeaux Jr.
Also starring are voice actor veterans Nate Torrence, Tommy Chong, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Tommy “Tiny” Lister, Raymond Persi, Katie Lowes, and Jesse Corti.
Director Rich Moore says in the press release, “Everyone in this incredible cast is bringing something special, something unexpected to their characters, which really takes our story to a whole new level.”
Zootopia, the city which the movie is named after, is described as, “A modern mammal metropolis like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything.”
Our story follows rookie Officer Judy Hopps, who, “discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde, to solve the mystery.”