Hideo Kojima makes his animated debut with a cameo in Zootopia 2

Hideo Kojima often includes small appearances of himself in his games. His photos can be seen in Metal Gear Solid (1998), he can be recruited as a soldier in Peace Walker, and in Death Stranding series he shows up as a hologram or looks at your character when he takes a bath. Just the usual Kojima things. This time, though, he’s making a different kind of cameo, voicing one of the animals in Zootopia 2.

Hideo Kojima voices a character in Japanese Zootopia 2

Zootopia came out in 2016, and this year we finally get the sequel. The first movie still holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the new one seems to be living up to the hype. The movie features plenty of familiar voices: our detective duo is back with Ginnifer Goodwin (Julie & Julia, Once Upon a Time) and Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses, Air), while the “main villain,” Gary the snake, is voiced by Ke Huy Quan (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Everything Everywhere All at Once). Plus, there’s a whole cast of well-known actors bringing the other animal characters to life.

In the Japanese version of the film, the mole Paul Moldebrandt – who works as the Zootopia Police Department’s IT expert, handling all sorts of tech and computer-related tasks for the force – is voiced by Hideo Kojima.

Paul Moldebrandt doesn’t get a lot of screen time in the movie, but there’s a moment when certain events really tick him off. I would love to hear Mr. Kojima letting loose and shouting, it’s such a funny contrast since he usually comes across as calm and cheerful. Hopefully this won’t be the last time he takes on a voice role in an animated film.

• Hideo Kojima
• animated films