That first teaser made it evident that Disney is focusing hard on conveying the premise that the society of ZOOTOPIA is near-identical to ours, just with, you know, animals. This poster emphasizes that notion by focusing not on the two lead characters (who have their backs to the camera), but on a city block that looks like a toned-down version of New York’s Times Square.
It’s almost like because they didn’t have a pre-existing property to sell, they’re using the audience’s associations with the brand names they’re spoofing (“Bearberry,” “Preyda,” etc.) to grab your attention. Sure, they’re puns, but they’re also recognizable cultural entities, and that’s evidently more of a selling point than any of the actual characters/plot elements from the film itself. Maybe the idea is to trick people into thinking these are actual ads at first glance to get their attention and lull them in closer? Very weird, freaky thought.
Anyway, the teaser for this was much more sparse and charming, and hopefully the film will follow suit, and will take it easy with the “like us, but with animals” jokes.
Enter ZOOTOPIA on March 4th, 2016.
