In the past, animated movies typically used professional voice actors. When famous Hollywood actors appeared in animated films, it was often just a publicity stunt. A good example is The Transformers: The Movie, which featured stars like Leonard Nimoy, Judd Nelson, and even Orson Welles. However, today, major animated films almost always cast well-known actors to do the voices. This is true even when the films are dubbed into other languages. For the Japanese release of Zootopia 2, the role Josh Gad played in the English version was voiced by none other than the famous video game creator Hideo Kojima – a surprisingly fitting choice!
Hideo Kojima, the creator of popular games like Metal Gear, Death Stranding, and the upcoming OD, voiced a character in the Japanese version of Zootopia 2. He played Paul Moledebrandt, a short-sighted police officer who, fittingly, resembles a mole. Interestingly, Josh Gad voiced the same character in the English dub. The character’s design even bears a resemblance to Gad, particularly due to his rectangular glasses. It raises the question: was simply wearing glasses enough to get Kojima the role? (By the way, Zootopia is known as Zootropolis in the UK, but that’s just a fun fact.)
Even before its release in Japan this Friday, December 5th, Zootopia 2 is proving to be a massive success worldwide. It earned an incredible $556 million in its first five days, with over $200 million coming from China – surpassing even the US box office of $156 million. This launch places the film as the fourth-highest-grossing global opening of all time, following only Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s a huge win for Disney.
As for Kojima, go to Japan, see the movie, and listen for his glasses to make an appearance.
Kyle Anderson is a Senior Editor at TopMob and the host of the “Laser Focus” podcast, where he takes a deep dive into pop culture. He also writes film and TV reviews, and you can find him on Letterboxd.
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2025-12-03 03:32