Disney Accused of Stealing Furry Fan Art For New Zootopia Land

One of the things that Disney prides itself on is the extreme talent of the people it employs. The incredible people who design and bring Disney parks to life are called Imagineers. When creating a new ride or attraction, there is no detail that is overlooked by the amazing Imagineers. They are the reason that Disney parks and resorts are a step above and so memorable.

Sometimes, one has to wonder how Disney and its Imagineers keep the ideas flowing. Disney recently opened a new Zootopia-themed land at its Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Guests could not get enough of the incredible attention to detail, life-like animatronics, fun new rides, and one-of-a-kind food and merchandise.

However, one of the promotional videos used to advertise the new land is making waves, but not for the right reasons.

Related: Zootopia 2 Reportedly Has Best Disney Animation Test Screening EVER!

In one of the videos, shared by the X (formerly Twitter) account, Shanghai Daily, viewers get an up-close look at Nick’s new desk at the Zootopia Police Department. On the desk is a picture of Nick and his best friend — fellow Zootopia PD member, Judy Hopps. Next to that is a picture of Nick’s mom, holding a Zootopia Junior Rangers hat that presumable belonged to Nick.

#Zootopia is finally set to open in December at #ShanghaiDisneyResort!

Everything in the new land, from the #food and drinks to the #entertainment, merchandise, and more, is crafted to fully immerse you in the vibe of this metropolis. https://t.co/KVMpBohtu7 pic.twitter.com/SB42srsXQV

— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) November 30, 2023

As the video started to circulate, someone noticed something interesting. There is a picture of Nick’s mom that has a prominent spot on his desk. However, his mom does not appear to be created by Disney. It was reportedly created by an artist who shared it on a site for people who are interested in “furry culture.”

The person who noticed the allegedly stolen art posted that Disney had taken the fan art without permission. The original artist then shared the post, claiming that Disney did indeed steal their art.

Just found out Shanghai Disneyland using one of my fan art pieces *without* permission.

Just found out Shanghai Disneyland using one of my fan art pieces *without* permission. https://t.co/lOYQGQqOrw

— ur wolf girl 🍑 (@einshelm) December 1, 2023

If you are unfamiliar, “furries” are fans, artists, gamers, writers, etc., who create anthropomorphized animal characters. Those are animals with human-like characteristics. They love to dress up and role-play and even attend conventions created specifically for “furries.”

The new Zootopia land will open on December 20, so it’s possible that the image shown in the video was only used to make the video and will not be a part of the land. Disney has not commented on the claim.

Not the First Time Disney Has Been Accused

Sadly, even though Disney is full of talent, this is not the first time that they have been accused of stealing art created by a Disney fan.

In February 2022, artist Andrew Martin accused Disney of stealing a design he made of one of the tiki drummers from the Enchanted Tiki Room. Martin showed his design — which he created in 2018 — next to the one being sold by Disney. They appeared to be identical. Martin admitted that he got the original design look from Disney, but added his own original touches to make it different and unique.

@monstercaesarstudios

Disney Stole and is selling my work @disneyparks #stolenart #artistontiktok #disney

♬ original sound – Andrew Martin – Sculptor/VA

Some said that Disney used its own designs to create something that looked like Martin’s. However, Martin showed closeups of both pieces and noted a mistake that he made in his original that he was too lazy to fix. That same flaw was located in Disney’s design as well.

Martin called out the designer to whom Disney gave credit, Costa Alavezos — who is the Product Design Manager for The Walt Disney Company. Not long after Andrew’s video started going viral, Alaveszos made his Instagram account private.

Do you think that sometimes Disney designers steal other artist’s designs? Let us know in the comments.