As the host of CBC's The National, Peter Mansbridge is arguably Canada's most prominent TV journalist. Soon, his fame will spread to kids all over the world, as he is voicing a cameo character in the upcoming Disney film Zootopia.
But wait, it gets even better: Mansbridge directly inspired the character, named Peter Moosebridge, who is a news anchor with the Zootopian channel ZTV. According to a press release, this is the first time that a Walt Disney Animation Studios film has featured a character written with Canada in mind and has a Canadian as the voice actor. As you can see from the image of the character above, the symbol on the character's mug looks a bit like a maple leaf.
"Some of my earliest television memories involve watching The Wonderful World of Disney on CBC," Mansbridge said in a statement. "Also, as a long-time fan of Disney's animated films, I was immediately intrigued when I received the proposal for this cameo role, of a newscaster no less. These films were part of my childhood and now I see my kids and grandkids watching them."
Disney exec Greg Mason said in a statement, "We are so excited to have a moose among the residents of Zootopia and couldn't be more thrilled that, in the ultimate casting coup, we were able to convince the preeminent voice in Canadian news to accept this assignment. Not surprisingly, Peter was a natural and we think audiences will delight in seeing Canada represented in Peter Moosebridge."
Zootopia will come to cinemas on March 4. It's about an animal metropolis that's filled with different species of creatures, and the plot centres on the struggles of a bunny who enters the police force. Voice actors include Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira, Idris Elba and more. The film is being directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore. Watch a trailer below.
But wait, it gets even better: Mansbridge directly inspired the character, named Peter Moosebridge, who is a news anchor with the Zootopian channel ZTV. According to a press release, this is the first time that a Walt Disney Animation Studios film has featured a character written with Canada in mind and has a Canadian as the voice actor. As you can see from the image of the character above, the symbol on the character's mug looks a bit like a maple leaf.
"Some of my earliest television memories involve watching The Wonderful World of Disney on CBC," Mansbridge said in a statement. "Also, as a long-time fan of Disney's animated films, I was immediately intrigued when I received the proposal for this cameo role, of a newscaster no less. These films were part of my childhood and now I see my kids and grandkids watching them."
Disney exec Greg Mason said in a statement, "We are so excited to have a moose among the residents of Zootopia and couldn't be more thrilled that, in the ultimate casting coup, we were able to convince the preeminent voice in Canadian news to accept this assignment. Not surprisingly, Peter was a natural and we think audiences will delight in seeing Canada represented in Peter Moosebridge."
Zootopia will come to cinemas on March 4. It's about an animal metropolis that's filled with different species of creatures, and the plot centres on the struggles of a bunny who enters the police force. Voice actors include Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira, Idris Elba and more. The film is being directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore. Watch a trailer below.
