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Before you begin thinking that KPop Demon Hunters already saved feature animation, let me remind you that it only brought a lot of attention to feature animation. Until we see what it can do at the box office, it hasn't saved anything.

How has the animation industry been doing in 2024 and 2025?

Well, in 2023 the box office for feature animation was top-heavy but showing a positive trend in the right direction, and 2024 continued that trend. Whatever juice was flowing in 2023 and 2024 got drunk up because 2025 has nose-dived into a deep pit. Elio and Bad Guys 2 from legacy animation houses Pixar and DreamWorks were great films, but not many people went to see them or talked about them. Everyone this summer was too busy glazing Rumi, Mira, and Zoey.

Box office data gathered from Box Office Mojo.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Moana 2 was supposed to be a Disney+ series but then was turned into one of 2024’s blockbuster animation features. If Bob Iger hadn’t made the decision to change the series into a feature, 2024’s animation box office would have looked a lot bleaker. Unfortunately, the box office was great (remember, these numbers above are only domestic), but there were jobs that were lost.

Though I don't believe in a survival mindset but a thriving mindset where we all can eat, the state of animation is more than just the loss of jobs in the great state of California, but a deeper problem, as we’ll soon find out.

A great article at Cartoon Brew shares insights from an artist in animation. They list five reasons why the American animation industry is failing: streaming, layoffs, outsourcing, mergers, and generative artificial intelligence. Now, these reasons and explanations are all wonderful and good, but there’s one more area that I think needs to be examined.

Storytelling. Not a big guess if you’ve been reading The Musty Creative for awhile. In fact, we here at The Musty Creative are on a journey to better storytelling. Why? Because better storytelling leads to a better world, simply put. And can you ask yourself: when was the last time you were told an amazing story that was completely unforgettable through the medium of theatrical feature animation?

Now, as an animation film geek, I could rattle off several titles that would give a fantastic sensation in your mind, but I am not the majority, and I do believe the majority of our torrid nation has come to see feature animation as either a way to babysit their children or a complete waste of time, because the stories do not thrill them with the art of animation.

To put it succinctly, the art of movement—locomotion—is the art of animation and therefore is how animation can get back on track with its storytelling. The difference between KPop Demon Hunters and Lightyear is movement. There must be more physical movement, more character transformation, more transitions that only animated characters can give us. The difference between The Wild Robot and Ruby Gillman was an earned journey that vaulted us from scene to scene until we were begging for The Wild Robot to never end. So, by these moving pictures—hand-drawn or computer-animated—you must move people within their minds and their imaginations.

Finally, with a great story idea comes the question of pacing. Not pacing within the script, but the pacing of the minds of society—when to tell a story, when to share the truths hidden in the prose. Animation studios in the United States are more often than not forcing the pacing and not seeing their releases as part of an ongoing dance—an exchange of ideas between the artist and the patron. We, as artists, are not better than them, and they are not better than us. One cannot simply live without the other. Regardless of capital—for what is art if there are not ears, eyes, or hands to receive it?

Looking forward to Zootopia 2, what can we expect? Is this another chapter in a long-running series, or a defining moment in an overarching plot?

The first Zootopia was released in 2016, almost a decade ago! Zootopia had a domestic box office of $341,268,248. I remember going to the theatre to watch the film and was astounded by the story that unfolded. Zootopia was a clear indication that Walt Disney Animation and U.S.-based feature animation were vibrant once again. I know for certain the graphical fidelity is going to be out of this world, but will the story be? Will we drive home ready to tell our friends and family that they’ve got to go watch this movie? Zootopia had a timely and well-thought-out narrative that lingered for many years after its release. This Thanksgiving will be interesting to see if Walt Disney Animation has a moving story for us this year.

Missing on the IMDB page for Zootopia 2 is Jennifer Lee, who I give credit for coming up with the original story for Zootopia. Ms. Lee, according to IndieWire has “stepped down” as Chief Creative Officer, which led to her diminished role on projects such as Zootopia 2. Jared Bush, who co-wrote the screenplay for Zootopia is the solo writer now on Zootopia 2.

Mr. Bush mentioned to Korean reporters that the sequel’s story was meant to test the Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde partnership that was established in the first film. As I have not seen the film yet, I can only wonder if going more inward into relationships with established characters is the kind of pacing this potential animation franchise needs right now. Based on the current state of the world and what has worked in the past, I would hope that Zootopia 2 would expand the world-building of the first film and connect the lore to a darker timeline in the history of the world that could entertain us, but also give us introspection.

Even though Tangled, Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, and Zootopia are top-notch films, the kind of hit-hits that have defined The Revival Era—one glaring gap in this revival is a sequel that truly works on both fronts for Walt Disney Animation: a sequel that crushes at the box office and nails the storytelling. A hit-hit. Frozen 2 came closest, raking in over a billion dollars, but even that felt like it was reaching for something deeper it never quite grasped. The bar I'm holding Zootopia 2 to? Pixar's Toy Story 2, the gold standard that proved sequels could somehow be even better than the original.

Whatever the story may be for this sequel, I hope Mr. Bush is cognizant of the adventure they want to take all of us on.

I pray we see results in the box office and in the minds of society, because I want to continue to live in a world where I can go see moving pictures, hand-drawn or computer-animated, on the silver screen.

Final Words

Hug your loved ones during this holiday season, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Jesús