Jason Bateman is peripherally aware of your freaky Nick Wilde fanfics, ya filthy animals.
The Zootopia star, who voices the witty and charming fox in the film franchise, was recently asked about fans who thirst over his animated anthropomorphic character, and his response was a mix of concern and pride.
Chatting with entertainment website vt. during the Zootopia 2 press cycle, Bateman and co-star Ginnifer Goodwin participate in a true or false segment, during which Goodwin asked him about his character’s, um, sex appeal among certain fans.
“Nick Wilde has a Reddit thread full of people debating whether he’s hot or not,” Goodwin posed, to which Bateman confirmed, “This is true. My daughters told me this. It’s very weird. I guess it’s flattering.”
“Where did it come from though? I guess, are they saying the fox itself is handsome?” the actor continued.
When the interviewer clarified it’s a combination of “the attitude, the voice and the eyes,” Bateman smirked and agreed, as did Goodwin and fellow co-star Ke Huy Quan.
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In a separate interview with ScreenRant, both Bateman and Goodwin were asked about WildeHopps, a popular fan ship — which is when fans fantasize about two fictional characters being together romantically, even if they’re aren’t canonically a couple — between Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps.
There are entire fanfics, social media pages, Reddit threads and even fan-made webcomics (including a particularly controversial comic titled I Will Survive, infamously known among fans as the “Zootopia abortion comic” — I’m not kidding) dedicated to the pair’s unofficial relationship.
While Bateman wasn’t aware specifically of the whole WildeHopps phenomenon before, he sure is now.
Meanwhile, Goodwin isn’t “sure how I feel about” the ship or fans who are convinced Nick would be the “perfect boyfriend.” “It’s very confusing for me,” she joked.
While the concept may be confusing for its lead stars, Nick Wild and Judy Hopps are hardly the first anthropomorphic animated animal characters to spark the flames of obsession among some fans, and they certainly won’t be the last.
Some popular anthro characters often considered sexy or attractive among adult fans include fellow Disney fox Robin Hood, The Bad Guys’ Mr. Wolf, Lola Bunny from Space Jam (OK, valid) and Shadow the Hedgehog. (I guess it doesn’t hurt that the latter is voiced by Keanu Reeves in the third Sonic movie. They knew what they were doing there.)
Zootopia 2 is now playing in theaters nationwide.
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