Who would have thought a year ago that the highest grossing movie of 2025 domestically would be Disney Animation’s Zootopia 2. It’s not hard to understand why. The movie was excellent, living up to the incredible legacy of the first Zootopia.
Now that the film’s legendary box office run is coming to an end, audiences everywhere will be able to see it as it comes home to Disney+ on March 11th! To celebrate, Disney brought Geeks of Color out to chat with the stars and filmmakers of the Academy Award nominated sequel!
The world of Zootopia would not nearly be as hilarious, colorful, or lived-in if it weren’t for the incredible supporting characters populating the mammalian metropolis to give good old Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde a hand (or paw or hoof). Among the new faces introduced in the sequel is the city’s new mayor, Mayor Brian Winddancer – a former ’80s action star turned politician (why does that sound familiar?).
Bringing Winddancer to life, however, is the incomparable Patrick Warburton – a Disney icon, who previously voiced the roles of Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove, and even shortly took over the reigns of Buzz Lightyear from Tim Allen in the classic animated series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. However, as Winddancer, Warburton taps into his inner-Van Damme, saying “neigh” to all evildoers real or fake.
We were able to sit down with Warburton to discuss his legacy at Disney from his voice-over work to preparing us for flight on Soarin’, and, of course, his visit to Zootopia.
Here’s what he had to say:
You are a legend, sir! And I say that, not lightly, because I’ve followed your career for the longest time, and I love that you are still just as awesome as ever, you know? So thank you so much for being Mayor Winddancer.
Warburton: Well, thank you so much!…I just feel like I’m just a fortunate actor who’s managed to work and put four kids through college. And I’ve never gotten a big head. I’ve been married for 35 years to an incredibly mean woman-I’m just kidding. No, she’s quite wonderful. But you know, the family keeps you in check, but it’s just been a lot of fun.
For me, too. I grew up watching Seinfeld. I grew up riding Soarin’. You know, all of your voice acting roles as well: Joe Swanson, everything like that. It’s just so incredible.
Warburton: Well, thanks, Mike. Listen, I didn’t go into the biz to do voiceover work. It was never even a thought, really. I was an actor, you know? And it was my wife, actually. Boy, I just said she was mean…I might not be doing cartoons if it wasn’t for my wife, because she goes, ‘You should do cartoons, you know?’ And I go, well, ‘It’d be fun.’ Threw my hat in the ring, and that was it.
Like, that first year…I kind of went out, got a nice little start, because that’s when I did Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, for Disney, you know? And I knew, right off the bat, I was gonna be the poor man’s Buzz, because, you know, Tim Allen did it in the films. But I go, ‘I’ll do that,’ and then, that’s right around the time, Emperor’s New Groove came around, and Family Guy. So right out of the gates, it was a good, good start there.
If you had, Mayor Winddancer, Buzz, Joe, Kronk, and Ken from Bee Movie in the same room together, who would win in a battle royale?
Warburton: Ooh. Probably Buzz. Yeah. That’s his life, you know what I’m saying? Yeah. Well armed.
Yeah. I feel like they would all maybe just get along together and have this ‘I am Spartacus’ moment. One of the things that I love about Mayor Winddancer is that it’s so prominent what his arc is in this movie. You play it a little bit scared and timid at first, but of course, you’ve got the kind of the vainglorious side of him.
But then, I mean, he really takes a stand. And he actually stands up, despite the fact that he’s scared, to the idea of corruption, which, for Zootopia, is kind of new, you know. So, apropos that, what do you hope different politicians in real life could learn from Mayor Winddancer’s example?
Warburton: Well, doing the right thing, you know? Yes. Perhaps having a change of heart at times. You know, and just you know, being human. In this case, horsey.
Yeah. He is an example to follow, I think. And I hope he stays the mayor of Zootopia for as long as we get to see the franchise, you know?
Warburton: I do, too. That’s why I made him a hero at the end. I go, ‘If I make him a hero, then he’ll come back.’
In addition to being a hero, he is a well respected actor. As are you. So, if you can give Mayor Winddancer acting tips, what would you tell him, and what do you think he would also share with you?
Warburton: Hmm, well, I would tell Winddancer, ‘Listen, a little over the top there. If we could…You know what? Sometimes less is more.’ That’s what I would say as an actor. And then Winddancer – I don’t know what he’d hammer me about. He’d probably say, ‘You should be more horsey.’
I think both are good advice. I think yours might be a little stronger. But still good advice to follow for anyone.
When I think about this franchise in general, I love all the film parodies that come out of it. These filmmakers are just so good at making spoof movies sometimes, and one of those is absolutely The Neighsayer. And I really want to watch this movie.
In your head, when you were reading the script and saw all the details about it in there, did you make up what the story was for this or did they give you any context as to what this movie might be? And given that we’re going to be hitting the homes really soon, you think we might see more of The Neighsayer in bonus features or even a spinoff movie?
Warburton: Well, one can only hope. Right? So if anybody’s mumbled that about, I’m not privy to that, but I love the idea of his career as a martial arts film star. And you know, when you color, and you layer a character with some of that, it’s always a good thing. The more you give them, sometimes, it just opens it up a little bit wider about who this horse is. He’s a character, and he is now nothing but success, even though I I just would assume he’s a terrible actor. He’s just not really a great actor. But I’m not gonna list off the martial arts stars who aren’t great actors. But it’s endless.
Absolutely! Patrick, this has been incredible, and I can’t wait to see The Neighsayer someday, but more than that, I can’t wait for the folks to check out Zootopia 2, on Blu-ray, 4K, and digital. Thank you so much.
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