Fashion magazine ELLE has released the first shots of “honorary residents” for the City of Zootopia ahead of the opening of the theme land in Shanghai Disneyland. K-pop star Victoria Song, actor and comedian Qiao Shan, singer and actor Tan Jianci are among the first to receive the honour of becoming “residents” of the city.
The themed area is based on the 2016 box office hit Zootopia. The City of Zootopia in Shanghai Disneyland is the first Zootopia-themed land in the world, and is set to become the eighth themed land of the Shanghai theme park when it opens on the 20th of December. The land will provide immersive experiences of the city with interactive attractions, a merchandise store, a café, and of course, opportunities to meet the characters from the animated film.
On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, the topic “honorary residents of Zootopia” (#疯狂动物城荣誉居民#) gained an impressive 300 million views with 5.51 million engagements. The hashtag also reached number 43 on the culture and entertainment list. However, it should be noted that Tan Jianci’s star power contributed significantly to this, as Tan’s fans account for a huge number of engagements.
Apart from the 6 celebrities that ELLE had taken to the amusement park for the shoot, more celebrities were announced on Weibo as the latest honorary residents, building hype leading up to the opening. On the 28th of November, the City of Zootopia opened the application for resident IDs on the Disney app, where visitors can now join the celebrities in becoming residents of the city.
