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Zootopia sloth, foxes shoot to stardom

China Daily

China Daily

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(CHINADAILY) Hollywoodbuddy-copcomedyZootopiacontinueditsdominationattheChineseboxoffice,earningmorethan824millionyuan($126.3million)thisweek,andinsocialmedia,whereFlash,thethree-toedsloth,andapairoffoxeshavecapturedthepublic'simagination.

DepictedasaninefficientgovernmentworkerinDisney'slatestanimationhit,FlashshottostardominChina'sonlinecommunities.Netizensmimickedthesloth'sspeakingstyleanddubbedthecharacter'slinesintheirowndialects.

ClipsofFlashspeakingatleastninedifferentChinesedialectscanbefoundonline,andanimatedGIFs,knownas"stickers",featuringthecharacterhavebeensharedrepeatedlyacrosstheinstantmessagingappWeChat.

"FlashtheSlothhasstolenthespotlightfromthefilm'stwomaincharacters!"wroteauserbythenameLeleTiantianonthemicroblogSinaWeibo,Xinhuareported.

Theanimatedfilm,whichopenedonMarch4,alsohasturnedtwofeaturedfoxesintohotpets,drivingsearchesone-commerceplatformsfortheredfox,theconartistNickWildeinthefilm,andthefennecfox,thegrumblycharacterFinnick.

Pettradersarereportedlypeddlingthenocturnalfennecfoxesonsomeshoppingsites,withpricesrangingfrom25,000yuan($3,847)to40,000yuanforone.OneonlinetradersaidhesoldapairofthesmallNorthAfricandesertfoxesonTuesday,accordingtoaHuaxiMetropolisDailyreport.Thesellersaidhehadpermittosellthevaccinatedfoxesknownfortheirlargeearsandfluffycoats.Redfoxesareeasilyfoundontheshoppingsitesandfetchapriceofabout2,000yuan.

Someanimalprotectionistshaveexpressedconcernaboutthetrend.LiHui,anexpertattheChengduChangleWildlifeBreedingandRescueCenter,toldChinaDailythatmostoffoxesfoundonthepetmarketwerecapturedinthewildorwereraisedfortheirfuratthecountry'sfoxbreedingfarms,mainlyinNorthChina.

"Redfoxesandsilverfoxesareamongthemostimportantfurbearinganimalsharvestedbythefurtrade,"Lisaid."Theyarenotcommerciallydomesticated,oftennotvaccinatedandcanbedangerous."

AscenefromZootopia.[Photo/Mtime]

FennecfoxesareundertheState'slevel-twoprotectionandtherearecomplicatedprocessestogetapermittoimportandkeeptheseanimals,accordingtoareportontheBeijingNews."It'sextremelydifficulttogetandraisethefoxlegally,"Lisaid.

Themainobstacleforpetloverswhowanttoraisesuchexotichousepetsasfoxesisthatthecountryhasneitheranindustryofdomesticatingtheseexoticpets,noramanagementandsupervisionmode."You'dbetterbecarefulofyourpurchase,"hesaid.

Fansmightbebetteroffbuyingastuffed,plushtoyversioninstead.Theyalsoareeasytofindonthee-commercesites.