It’s an animation zoo out there in 2016
Animals are ruling the animation world from A to Z in 2016.
The year ahead will include everything from Angry Birds to the all-animal metropolis of Zootopia
— with a wandering polar bear, a Kung Fu panda and other adorable critters in between.
“Animal leads for animated features is a time-tested formula, but the great animal cartoon pileup of 2016 is an unprecedented event in animation history,” says Amid Amidi of CartoonBrew.com.
The appeal is simple: People will come to theaters to see animals. “And animation is an amazing medium to show something you could never see in life. It’s pure fantasy,” says Jennifer Yuh Nelson, director of Kung Fu Panda 3.
Here’s a herd featuring fish, feathered friends or furry animals: NORM OF THE NORTH IN THEATERS JAN. 15 Norm, a charming polar bear (voiced by Rob Schneider), loves life in the arctic with his seagull mentor Socrates (Bill Nighy). But Norm must head to New York with three lemming pals to save his home from an unscrupulous developer (Ken Jeong). KUNG FU PANDA 3 JAN. 29 Jack Black’s martial art- and dumpling-loving Po is back with his animal cohorts, including Tigress (Angelina Jolie), for the third installment of the franchise. DreamWorks has doubled down on adorable pandas, reuniting Po with his father (Bryan Cranston) and his missing panda tribe. ZOOTOPIA MARCH 4 The city in Disney’s tale is all animals, all the time, learning to live together without eating one another. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), the first bunny on the police force, enlists slick fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to help crack a missing-mammal case. The head of the Zootopia Police Department is a cape buffalo voiced by Idris Elba. THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE MAY 20 Based on the once insanely popular video game series, Jason Sudeikis (as Red), Josh Gad (Chuck) and Danny McBride (Bomb) star as three miffed birds living grumpily among birds of paradise — until they have to fend off Green Pigs. FINDING DORY JUNE 17 Pixar returns to its beloved 2003 film Finding Nemo, only this time it’s clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) helping highly forgetful Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) look for her lost fish parents (Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy). Expect even more new fishy friends such as Ty Burrell as Bailey, a beluga whale. THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS JULY 8 This exposé shows what really happens when we leave our pets at home, featuring an all-furry cast that includes Louis C.K. as a terrier named Max and Eric Stonestreet as the mongrel Duke who is brought home — much to Max’s misery. Kevin Hart voices a rabbit named Snowball. STORKS SEPT. 23 Andy Samberg voices Junior, a star stork working for his boss Hunter (Kelsey Grammer) and a giant Internet delivery company — until Junior accidentally activates a Baby Making Machine and has to find a home for an unauthorized baby girl. SING DEC. 21 Matthew McConaughey voices a koala bear who produces an all-animal singing competition to save his crumbling theater. Lead Contestants include a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlett Johansson), a frayed mother of 25 piglets (Reese Witherspoon) and a crooning mouse (Seth MacFarlane).