Jeremy Milton, ACE, returns to Disney Animation’s beloved franchise to shape the next step in Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde’s journey

by Carolyn Giardina

Nearly a decade after Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia earned an Academy Award for best animated feature, the beloved franchise’s sequel opened in late 2025 and audiences flocked to theaters to reunite with the characters of this imaginative anthropomorphic animal metropolis. At press time Zootopia 2 had topped $1.7 billion at the global box office, making it Disney Animation’s highest grossing movie ever and one of 2025’s biggest hits.

The heart of the franchise is the unlikely friendship between a determined bunny, Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, and former con artist Nick Wilde, a fox voiced by Jason Bateman, who at the conclusion of the first movie have embraced their differences and learned to cooperate, becoming partners in the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD).

“The thing that resonates so much in that first movie is the relationship between Judy and Nick because they’re such different characters,” says editor Jeremy Milton, ACE, who won an Eddie for editing 2016’s Zootopia alongside Fabienne Rawley, ACE. “[When you] approach things from different angles, you actually end up doing things better. I love that core idea.”

Where to Start?

The filmmakers wanted to continue to explore that theme in the new movie, but a key question was, where should the story begin? It was decided that it would effectively start where the last film left off, with Judy and Nick as rookies in the ZPD. “In earlier versions, a little more time had passed between the first movie and this movie, and what we found was, when there was that extra time, you started wondering what they were doing together during that extra time? Were they working really well together, and if so, then what is causing the conflict now? Or were they sort of butting heads all the time and not working well together – and who really wants to come in on a train wreck to start the movie?

“It took a while to figure out we really wanted to start this right after the first movie,” he continues, explaining that after Judy and Nick’s shared success in the first movie, the filmmakers wanted to explore their relationship and how they will actually work together. “[That meant] shaping the idea that this was the first time they really had to sustain a working dynamic and what is it going to be like with [the pair] trying to do things together, even though they’re so, some would say, mismatched. That’s the arc that we landed on for the movie, sort of the story of their relationship as kind of a main character.”

Their differences are apparent as the movie begins. Judy remains the pair’s moral compass, who won’t be deterred from her pursuit of justice. In contrast Nick, Milton admits, “knows the world’s a complicated place, and sometimes it’s best just to avoid conflict. They’re equally viable worldviews, but they definitely don’t work well together.”

That’s the dynamic as the pair find themselves on the run from the ZPD and in pursuit of a pit viper, Gary De’Snake (voiced by Ke Huy Quan), whose arrival in Zootopia sparks chaos but also seems to hold a key to a mystery. True to their opposing views, Judy is laser focused on solving the case while Nick wants to ensure their safety.

This leads to an exciting sequence that takes place in the Marsh Market, a new section of Zootopia frequented by semiaquatic animals. Here, Judy and Nick pursue Gary on a kinetic, action-packed chase through a series of water tubes that serve as the public transport system. “There was so much going on in that scene where her point of view and his point of view were sort of pulling (literally and figuratively) in separate directions, and it was all done without dialogue,” Milton relates. “You could just sort of feel the conflict with them very viscerally.”

They exit the water tubes and arrive at a house where they have a pivotal argument before the police arrive and they are separated. For Milton, the key to this disagreement was “crafting how deep that [divide] was between them beforehand, so that you could believe the conflict and their different points of view, but you didn’t feel that their relationship was completely broken. You want to make sure you’re still rooting for the relationship.”

He adds that this also required a delicate balance so that the audience doesn’t effectively choose a side. “It was easy for Nick to get too pouty or for Judy to get too mean and self righteous. They both have legitimate points of view,” Milton elaborates. “He wants to protect her, and he feels hurt when he feels like she’s not with him. And she has a legitimate point of view. She wants to do the right thing, she wants to help the world.”

Chaos ensues and Judy escapes with new characters Gary and Pawbert (Andy Samberg) as Nick is left behind. “She’s so important to him. I think that’s kind of the emotional discovery of the movie,” Milton says of Nick’s reaction.

“[When you] approach things from different angles, you actually end up doing things better. I love that core idea.”

Expanding the World

Zootopia 2’s rich world features a cast of 178 unique characters, including new ones such as Gary De’Snake; Nibbles Maplestick, an oddball beaver whose podcast explores mysteries about her home in Marsh Market, voiced by Fortune Feimster; Milton Lynxley, the patriarch of the powerful Lynxley family, voiced by David Strathairn; and Lynxley siblings including the youngest, aforementioned Pawbert.

“They all had their different trickiness,” Milton says, citing, for instance, Quan’s Gary. “Ke really defined who that character is. … There’s an earnest, wide eyed quality to him, a lot like Judy from the first movie, especially, and a good sense of humor,” he says. “The trick was figuring out how sweet he was and how much of him to have on screen, early on … when to really sort of get a sense of his backstory.”

Nibbles was tricky to land. Explains Milton, “I think in an early version, she was actually a good natured rookie cop, and then she became various versions of reporters, and then she finally became the conspiracy podcaster, which seemed to sort of fit best comedically- and storytelling-wise.”

Pawbert was also a challenge. “We had different versions of that character where it was really hard to believe that Judy would trust him,” Milton admits, adding that when they recorded Samberg’s voice acting “it really started to feel like it clicked, because he had a goofiness, which was plausible.”

The Team

Zootopia 2 was written by Disney Animation’s chief creative officer Jared Bush (a co-director and co-writer on Zootopia) who directed with Byron Howard (who also co-directed the original along with Rich Moore). “They’re awesome to work with. I worked with both of them on several movies now,” Milton says, noting that they allow room to explore and experiment. “They’re very trusting directors, which is one of the things that I love about Disney, how collaborative the place is.”

It was a tight two-year schedule for Milton, who came directly to the film after concluding work on Moana 2. The editor gives a shoutout to the editorial team, including associate editor Shane Glock, first assistant Mason Haynes, and second assistant Dylan Stayman. “It really takes a talented and dedicated crew,” Milton says. “I was very, very grateful to have them on there. Just a tremendous bunch of people, very collaborative and very good natured, and I couldn’t have done without them.”

Homage to The Shining

A fun aspect of Zootopia 2 is a series of references to other movies ranging from Pixar’s Ratatouille to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. “That one was on the chopping block for a while,” Milton admits of the horror classic, which is referenced in a chase sequence set in a maze of hedges.

“We went through a few different versions on that,” he says. “You sort of had to find that balance of doing the nod, which was really fun, but not have it feel self indulgent.” He relates that earlier cuts were longer than what appears in the film. “We had this long fight scene through the maze. Byron and Jared both really believed in having the scene in there. And Byron said, ‘Look, we don’t need to make a big deal of this. Why don’t we just have [Judy and Nick] get into a tractor and just plow through the maze, and then we can sort of have our moment and be through it quickly and then off to the next thing.’

“It’s such a satisfying moment, especially when you see [Pawbert] in the maze, dragging his feet and looking bedraggled and evil at the same time,” he continues. “And then, you sort of flip it with them just driving through the maze, and then you’re off to the final part of the movie.”

Photos (from top): Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin); Editor Jeremy Milton, ACE; (L-R): Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster), Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin); Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan). © 2025 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.