The Heartwarming Storylines In Disney Animated Series Keeps Zootopia+'s Bonnie Hunt Coming Back For More – Exclusive
Bonnie Hunt has a long history with Disney and Pixar animated projects, dating all the way back to 1998's "A Bug's Life," in which she voiced black widow spider Rosie. She then went on to help bring Lightning McQueen's love interest Sally Carrera to life in the "Cars" movies and joined the "Toy Story" franchise as a rag doll named Dolly who appeared in the third and fourth installments.
In 2016, Hunt starred in the blockbuster Disney film "Zootopia," in which she voices Bonnie Hopps, mother of the main protagonist Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), alongside her longtime friend and collaborative partner Don Lake, who plays Stu Hopps. The movie follows Judy, the first bunny on the titular city's police force, as she tries to crack her first case with the help of a con-artist fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman).
With "Zootopia" topping $1 billion at the worldwide box office, it was only a matter of time until there was a follow-up, which came in 2022 in the form of "Zootopia+," a six-part series of shorts that are now streaming exclusively on Disney+. The anthology peels back the layers of the mammal metropolis and zooms in on brief stories about the secondary characters who live in the anthropomorphic world, including Bonnie and Stu, who go on a parental superhero-like adventure in "Hopp on Board."
In all, Hunt has appeared in over a dozen Disney and Pixar projects, and, during an exclusive interview with Looper, the veteran actor explained exactly why.
Hunt likes being part of something that 'puts goodness in our hearts'
For Hunt, working on Disney fare like "Zootopia+" allows her opportunities that live-action films and TV can't always offer. She told Looper, "When I first started working with Pixar and Disney — I've done nine films with them — it was like this oasis that I so needed," says Hunt. "I felt protected and safe, and I was doing something that I knew I could be proud of that would last for generations, something that has heart and humor and intelligence."
Being part of the "Cars," "Toy Story," and "Zootopia" franchises were more than just another job to Hunt, they were conscious choices that stem from a heartwarming place.
"I always try to be selective, and those are the stories that I most want to be a part of — things that feel timeless and put some goodness in our hearts," she says. "My mom always used to say to me when I was writing something, 'Be mindful of the energy you're putting into the world. It has a ripple effect.' I think about that all the time now. I hope that she's in heaven proud of me that I can be a part of stories like this that stay with families."
"Zootopia+" is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.