“All creatures great and small, welcome”: Animating accessible world design

Abstract

Using four animated texts about anthropomorphic animals—Zootopia (2016), Sing (2016), Sing 2 (2021), and Zootopia+ (2022)—this article explores two related questions: How can animated films featuring cities for anthropomorphic animals rethink accessibility? How is accessibility sustained and/or adapted through continuations as seen in franchises and transmedia storytelling? I argue that the two series I analyze offer two different approaches to accessibility and the maintenance of it, one which works better than the other. This comparison suggests that accessibility needs to be an integral part of world design from the very beginning in order to stay stable over time.