Gary De Snake, a breakout character from Zootopia 2, has become an unexpected hit in China—not only for his upbeat personality in the Disney animated sequel but also for his striking, vibrant blue colour.
Gary’s popularity has reportedly sparked a surge in people buying real-life blue pit vipers as pets.
CNN interviewed one such owner, Qi Weihao, who shared his experience with his newly acquired Indonesian pit viper.
According to the outlet, the 21-year-old from China’s Jiangxi province purchased the blue pit viper for 1,850 yuan (Sh33,516), just two days after Zootopia 2 was released on November 26.
Qi said he had long wanted a blue snake and finally decided to act after seeing the lovable and optimistic portrayal of Gary De Snake in the movie.
Inspired by the highly venomous pit vipers, the character is voiced by Ke Huy Quan.
“Zootopia 2 helps give reptile pets a better image; they’re not oddballs, and Gary is the most representative character among them. I love his enthusiastic attitude and his sense of responsibility,” Qi said.
The movie was released toward the end of the Chinese Year of the Snake and has already made history.
Globally, Zootopia 2 has been a massive box-office success, earning more than Sh128.9 billion ($1 billion), according to IMDb.
However, the character’s popularity has also raised safety concerns.
Reports from CNN and Chinese media indicate a sharp increase in online searches and purchases of bright blue venomous pit vipers since the film’s release.
As a result, online platforms have come under pressure to remove listings and issue warnings about the dangers of owning poisonous snakes.
Social media users have expressed mixed reactions to the trend.
On Instagram, Lily Efflorescence warned that “abandoned snakes will become a problem in no time, judging from what happened with the Dalmatian craze after people watched 101 Dalmatians.”
Another user, ElyanaBlu, commented, “Zootopia was fun but not ‘let me bring danger into my house.’”
Brian, also on Instagram, questioned the phenomenon, asking, “How can a movie be so good that it makes people impulse buy snakes?”