Tag: Disney

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Disney drops ‘Zootopia 2’ trailer

They’re about to make “hisssstory” in an adventure with the first snake ever seen in Zootopia… but remember… never pull a bunny’s ears! Disney just dropped the Official trailer to Zootopia 2, the highly anticipated sequel to its Oscar-winning 2016 animated comedy, Zootopia.

In the film, after cracking the biggest case in Zootopia’s history, rookie cops Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman) find their partnership isn’t as solid as they thought when Chief Bogo (voice of Idris Elba) orders them to join the Partners in Crisis counseling program. But it doesn’t take long for their partnership to be put to the ultimate test when they find themselves on the twisting trail of a mystery tied to the arrival of a venomous snake in the animal metropolis.

The film introduces Gary De’Snake (voice of Ke Huy Quan), Nibbles (voice of Fortune Feimster) and quokka therapist Dr. Fuzzby (voice of Quinta Brunson); it also welcomes back Idris Elba (voice of Chief Bogo); Bonnie Hunt (voice of Bonnie Hopps); Don Lake (voice of Stu Hopps); Nate Torrence (voice of Clawhauser); Jenny Slate (voice of Bellwether); Alan Tudyk (voice of Duke Weaselton); Maurice LaMarche (voice of Mr. Big); Leah Latham (voice of Fru Fru); Josh Dallas (voice of Frantic Pig); Tommy Chong (voice of Yax); Mark Rhino Smith (voice of Officer McHorn); Raymond Persi (voice of Flash); and Shakira (voice of Gazelle).

“It’s been an absolute joy to reteam with so many actors who made the first film so special, and so exciting to expand the world with our phenomenal new cast members,” said director/writer Jared Bush (chief creative officer for Walt Disney Animation Studios). “I can’t wait for audiences to see what other surprises we have in store in this brand-new adventure.”

From the Oscar-winning team of Bush and Byron Howard (directors) and Yvett Merino (producer).

In theaters November 26. (AWN)

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Marvel’s Thunderbolts* proves a hit at box office

Marvel and Disney’s newest release Thunderbolts* has proved a hit at the box office, after taking an estimated $162m (£122m) internationally.

The film, which both production houses hope will kickstart a new franchise, is based around lesser-known superheroes who have to take on human and superhuman threats whilst fighting their own personal battles.

It stars Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan in two of the main roles, alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Harbour.

Whilst not all critic reviews have been favourable, the movie has been a hit with superhero fans – drawing in an impressive 95 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

It means the film receives the third highest audience score for a Marvel title, tying with Spider-Man: Far From Home and behind Shangi-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Not all critics have not treated the film as favourably, with Empire’s John Nugent noting that the film is “missing a bit of colour – literally, in the washed-out palette and CG shadow-threat that dominates the latter half of the film — and figuratively, in its subject matter”.

He adds that the topics covered, including suicide, depression and domestic violence are “not always sensitively handled”.

Radheyan Simonpillai at The Guardian gives the film three stars, citing that although the film is “the best thing to come from the brand [Marvel] since WandaVision“, “Thunderbolts often irritates because the depression and trauma the movie supposedly grapples with so often lives on the surface”.

Simonpillai is full of praise for Pugh though, “who can wrestle sincerity out of a screenplay (and a franchise) that has so little”.

However, Clarisse Loughrey from The Independent looks on the film a little more favourably, giving it four stars and calling it “the best Marvel movie in years”.

“Thunderbolts does feel different to what’s come before.

“It’s the first of its kind to seem genuinely self-aware – Thunderbolts might actually then be the ultimate Marvel film for now,” she adds.

Audience fatigue when it comes to Marvel films is a genuine concern for the studio, which has been trying to pivot away from the characters from the main Marvel Cinematic Universe since the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019.

It is perhaps why Deadpool & Wolverine was a big hit for Marvel last summer, as it featured characters that have been less front and centre for them, with Thunderbolts* potentially following a similar path. (BBC)

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Disney faces US investigation over DEI practices

The US government agency that regulates television says it is opening an investigation into Disney’s diversity and inclusion practices, in the latest sign of pressure being applied to media firms.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr sent a letter to Disney on Friday notifying the firm, and its ABC News unit, of the plan.

He said the move had been prompted by concerns that the company was promoting diversity “in a manner that does not comply” with government regulation.

A spokesperson for Disney said the company is reviewing the letter.

“We look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.

The FCC’s investigation into Disney also comes amid a wider crackdown on DEI practices by the Trump administration, with impacts felt beyond the US.

French companies with US government contracts received a letter from the American embassy in France this week, asking them to sign on and comply with Trump’s executive order banning DEI programmes.

The order, the letter said, “applies to all suppliers and service providers of the US government, regardless of their nationality and the country in which they operate.”

In a letter addressed to Robert Iger, the chief executive of Disney, FCC chairman Carr said he wants to ensure that the media company “ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name”.

He added: “I want to determine whether Disney’s actions – whether ongoing or recently ended – complied at all times with applicable FCC regulations.”

Carr has been a member of the FCC since 2017 and was named to lead the agency by Trump in November.

Since being appointed to the post, he has ramped up scrutiny of media firms, launching probes of NPR and PBS and demanding information from Big Tech companies including Apple and Google, about their use of services that influence how news articles get ranked.

The FCC also announced investigations of Verizon and Comcast and its media unit, NBCUniversal over their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Disney, best known for its cartoon classics and theme parks, made changes to its DEI policies earlier this year.

“While I have seen reports that Disney recently walked back some of its DEI programs, significant concerns remain,” Carr wrote in the letter.

“I want to ensure that Disney and ABC have not been violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination,” he said. (BBC)