To the surprise of absolutely no one, Zootopia has won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Producer Clark Spencer, and co-directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore, whose film previously won a Golden Globe, accepted their respective trophies for the category during midway through the Oscars ceremonies. Taking their cues from presenter Gael García Bernal, whose comments regarding the proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border preceded their acceptance speeches, the trio recalled their initial desire to create a film with talking animals that was really about the differences between human beings — and their celebration.
“About five years ago,” Howard explained, “we got this crazy idea to talk about humanity with talking animals. In the hope that, when the film came out, it would make the world just a slightly better place.”
“We are so grateful to the audiences all over the world who embraced this film,” added Moore. “With this story of tolerance being more powerful that fear of the other.”
Spencer concluded the group’s collective speech with a general round of thanks to everyone else who was involved in Zootopia‘s production. That said, the real meat of their short time on stage presented itself in their remarks regarding the film’s many overtly positive themes of inclusion.
