Hideo Kojima Gets Surprise Cameo in Zootopia 2 Japanese Dub

Hideo Kojima lends his voice to Paul Moldebrandt — the mole cop — in the Japanese dub of Zootopia 2. It’s his first animated film voice role, personally requested by the film’s director.

From games to Disney: Kojima voices a mole in Zootopia 2 (JP dub)

It’s not every day that a legendary game auteur swaps consoles for a recording booth. But that’s exactly what Hideo Kojima did. He’s lending his voice to a minor but fun role in the Japanese dub of Zootopia 2. The director personally asked him. It’s the first time Kojima has done voice work in animation — and it feels like a bridging moment between gaming culture and big-budget Hollywood animation.

Hideo Kojima will voice "Paul Moldebrandt" - a mole cop - in the Japanese dub of Zootopia 2
This marks Kojima's first voice-acting role in an animated feature
The call came straight from Zootopia 2's director Jared Bush. Kojima accepted immediately

The cameo — who Kojima voices

He’ll be the voice of Paul Moldebrandt, a mole in the Zootopia Police Department.

In the English dub, the same character is voiced by Josh Gad (famous for voicing Olaf in Frozen).
For Japanese audiences, though — it’ll be Kojima doing the job. A small role, but a standout for fans.

That means when Zootopia 2 hits Japanese cinemas on 5 December 2025, people might raise an eyebrow hearing that familiar name in the credits.

Why this matters — Kojima’s first animated-film role

Kojima said this is his first time dubbing for an animated movie.

He’s done cameos in movies and games before, but never in a Disney animation.
He admitted the recording session was a learning curve — noting how voice acting demands care for detail, even when doing simple tasks like flipping pages quietly.

For someone who spends most of his time behind a director’s chair or coding a game engine — this is a fresh experience. And it shows a different side of Kojima: not the cinematic game-maker, but the voice actor.

How this came together — from invitation to acceptance

The idea reportedly came directly from Zootopia 2’s director, Jared Bush.

Bush reached out and made the offer personally. Kojima didn’t hesitate — he accepted on the spot.
Kojima said he’s a big fan of the original Zootopia — he watched it with his kid when it first came out. He called it one of Disney’s best works.
That fandom obviously helped: he seemed genuinely honoured to be part of the sequel’s Japanese version.

This isn’t just a smart marketing move. It feels like recognition — Disney tapping a global pop-culture figure to bring extra flavour to a region-specific release.