Beijing
—
Qi Weihao recently welcomed a beautiful, highly venomous blue snake into her family.
A 21-year-old man from central Jiangxi province bought the Indonesian pit viper for 1,850 yuan ($260) two days after Disney’s hit animated series “Zootopia 2” was released on Nov. 26.
Chee’s favorite character is also the latest in the series, Gary de Snake, who is thought to be inspired by Southeast Asian snakes.
As a reptile lover, Qi had wanted a blue snake for a long time and finally took the plunge and got one after seeing the positive and endearing portrayal of the snake character voiced by Ke Huy Quan.
“Zootopia 2 helps give a positive image to reptilian pets. They are not weirdos. Gary is the most representative character among them,” Chee told CNN. “I love his enthusiastic attitude and sense of responsibility.”
The film, released towards the end of the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Snake, is the highest-grossing Chinese foreign animation in history, with box office receipts to date of more than 3.55 billion yuan ($503 million). This record was previously held by the first Zootopia movie, released in 2016.
“Zootopia 2” has grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo, an IMDb-owned website that tracks box office data.
In the film, Gary attempts to clear the reputation of his family, and all reptiles, with the help of the original film’s protagonists, the bunny and fox duo Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.
Qi added that reptile owners like him have long faced prejudice in China and are often thought to have “a bizarre taste for ‘creepy’ creatures”. He hopes Gary Desnake can help improve their image.
He’s not the only one who loves the blue snake in this movie and wants to make a live-action version of it, despite its venomous nature.
Since the film’s release, searches for the Indonesian pit viper, commonly known in China as the bamboo viper, have skyrocketed on major Chinese e-commerce platforms, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of yuan, Chinese state media outlet The Paper reported.
Reptiles have increasingly captured the hearts of young Chinese people in recent years. More than 17 million people in the country will own exotic pets by the end of 2024, with the market size approaching 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), according to data cited by China’s state news agency Xinhua. According to the data, more than 60% of them were Gen Z.
A 2025 report on China’s pet industry noted that snakes account for more than 50% of all reptiles kept as pets.
Chinese state media reports that most of these reptiles are bred and tamed by humans before being sold in brick-and-mortar stores, but some are available through online merchants who typically ship directly to buyers.
Chinese laws prohibit the mailing of “various live animals” and “hazardous materials such as toxins,” but keeping Indonesian pit vipers is not illegal.
There is growing interest in buying highly venomous snakes online, and authorities are concerned. Chi, a veteran pet reptile owner who drove 40 minutes to pick up the snake in person, agrees this is not a decision to be taken lightly.
“If you don’t have extensive experience and safe equipment to keep snakes, don’t rush to keep venomous snakes on a whim,” Qi warned.
Beijing News, a Chinese state media outlet, commented, “In the movie, the blue snake is imbued with endearing and brave human-like characteristics, but the real-life venomous snake viper is far from a harmless ‘trendy toy.”
The paper added, “If a venomous snake escapes or attacks, it not only puts the owner and his family at risk, but also could lead to a public safety incident.”
CNN found on Friday that the blue viper is no longer on sale on major Chinese e-commerce platforms, including ByteDance’s Douyin, Instagram-like Xiaohgshu and Alibaba’s second-hand goods market Xianyu. However, JD, China’s largest online retailer, still had many items listed as “shipping included.”
CNN notified JD and the product was immediately removed. A JD spokesperson said: “The sale of poisonous animals on our platform is strictly prohibited and products will be immediately removed if identified.” CNN also reached out to Alibaba, ByteDance, and Xiaohonshu for the reasons behind related deletions.
Other Gary fans in China are choosing to spend their money on safer snake-themed merchandise.
On Taobao, a blind box featuring a blue snake character, in which buyers don’t know exactly what’s inside before they open the box, was in Friday’s top 10 weekly bestsellers, while character-based stuffed animals are also very popular in offline stores.
“Currently, the Gary plush toy is out of stock and may not be available soon,” a Shanghai Disneyland employee told Chinese state news agency Yikai about a week after the release of Zootopia 2.
According to YiCai statistics, the Zootopia franchise has co-branded with more than 70 Chinese brands, especially in the trendy collectibles market, including PopMart, where the Love Bu dolls gained global popularity earlier this year.
