Gary De'Snake

Gary De'Snake is a blue pit viper and the tritagonist of Zootopia 2. He is the great-grandson of Agnes De'Snake, the true inventor of Zootopia's Weather Walls. Gary's quest to restore his family's legacy and reintegrate reptiles into Zootopia drives the central mystery of the film. In We Can Fix Pawbert, he becomes Pawbert's oldest friend and a recurring presence across the series.

"We shall succeed." — Gary's signature phrase

Background

Early Life

Gary grew up overseas, far from Zootopia, as part of the displaced reptile population that was forced out of the city a century earlier when Ebenezer Lynxley stole Agnes's invention and buried Reptile Ravine under snow. Gary's family maintained their connection to Agnes's legacy across generations, and Gary grew up knowing his great-grandmother had been wronged.

When Gary learned that the Lynxley Journal—the very journal Agnes had created—would be displayed at the Zootennial Gala, he sent a letter to the Lynxley family requesting to see it. Pawbert Lynxley, then the family's neglected youngest son, intercepted the letter and arranged for Gary to be smuggled into Zootopia via Antony Snootley.

Zootopia 2

Gary arrived in Zootopia after spending a week inside a shipping crate. At the Zootennial Gala, he was forced out of hiding and revealed himself as a pit viper—the first reptile seen in Zootopia in a century. He abducted Milton Lynxley and stole the journal, claiming to Judy Hopps that the Lynxleys were the true villains. During the chaos, he accidentally bit Chief Bogo, losing his left fang in the process.

Working alongside Pawbert and Judy, Gary used his heat-sensing pit viper abilities to read the secret encoded on the journal's metal cover, revealing that his great-grandmother Agnes was the true creator of the Weather Walls and co-founder of Zootopia. Ebenezer Lynxley had stolen her work, killed a tortoise maid who witnessed the theft, framed Agnes for murder, and used the Weather Walls to bury Reptile Ravine.

When Pawbert betrayed the group—stabbing Judy with snake venom and throwing Gary into the cold to freeze—Gary nearly died. As a cold-blooded reptile, exposure to Tundratown temperatures was potentially lethal. He survived by absorbing Judy's body heat, fought off ZPD officers who mistook him for an attacker, and called out to Nick Wilde about the Anti-Venom Pen. He saved Judy's life with the antivenom.

At the film's climax, Gary helped subdue Pawbert at Lynxley Manor and entered Reptile Ravine for the first time. He found the De'Snake family home and Agnes's original patent inside a music box, vindicating his family's legacy. The film ends with reptiles reintegrated into Zootopia and Gary's family finally coming home.

Personality

Gary is extraordinarily optimistic, even in desperate circumstances. He is talkative, warm, and quick to consider new acquaintances as friends. His childlike curiosity is balanced by a deep devotion to his family—he risked his life not for personal glory but so his relatives could return to Zootopia.

Key personality traits:

• Optimistic to the core — Maintains hope in the most dire situations; his signature phrase "We shall succeed" is spoken with genuine conviction
• Selfless — Willing to risk his life for family and friends without hesitation
• Physically affectionate — Always asks "Permission to hug?" before embracing someone; his hugs absorb body heat due to his cold-blooded nature
• Naive but earnest — Quick to trust others, which made Pawbert's betrayal especially painful
• Resourceful — Uses his unique pit viper abilities (heat-sensing, underwater breathing) creatively

Series History

Season 1

S01E08 "Clear Skies"

When the team dismantles the Mosaic blackmail network, surveillance photos referencing Gary's involvement surface among the Lynxley archives.

S01E16 "The Words"

Gary participates via video in a structured apology session facilitated by Dr. Fuzzby, where Pawbert formally apologizes to each of his victims. Gary forgives immediately: "Because holding onto it hurts ME more than letting it go!" He asks "Permission to hug?"---his signature phrase. This is one of Gary's most emotionally significant appearances in the entire series.

S01E19 "Green Candle"

Gary joins Pawbert's 25th birthday celebration via video call alongside Nibbles Maplestick, adding warmth to the impromptu party.

S01E23 "The Trial"

Gary testifies in person at the Lynxley RICO trial, delivering a victim impact statement. His testimony is devastating and compassionate in equal measure: "I'm proud of you, Pawbert. I really am." He publicly forgives Pawbert in the courtroom---one of the most emotionally powerful moments of the season.

Season 2

S02E21 "Found Family"

Gary's first in-person meeting with Pawbert since S01E23 ("The Trial") occurs on Pawbert's birthday. Invited by Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps as a surprise, Gary arrives at the safehouse and thanks Pawbert for refusing to activate the weather wall override during the Clawrence crisis---protecting Agnes's legacy. His words cut to the heart of their shared history: "You tried to burn her patent... And you said no." Pawbert and Gary exchange the phrase that defines their bond: "Found family." Gary asks "Permission to hug?"---his signature gesture of respectful affection. The visit represents one of the series' most powerful moments of reconciliation, closing the circle on the betrayal that began in Zootopia 2.

Season 3

S03E06 "Dead or Alive"

When Leodore Lionheart broadcasts his citywide manifesto from Dead End Station---attacking Mayor Winddancer and turning xenophobic against the returned reptile community---Gary watches with his family in Reptile Ravine. His sister asks: "Are we going to have to leave?" Gary's response: "It's lies. They know it's lies." The scene underscores the fragility of the reptile community's reintegration into Zootopia.

Season 4

S04E24 "Loud and Determined"

Gary attends Pawbert's 28th birthday celebration, his first in-person appearance in two years. He arrives vibrating with barely contained joy, asking "Permission to hug?" before enveloping Pawbert in coils. Gary thanks Pawbert for fighting for reptiles during the Lionheart crisis—for standing up when it could have made things worse for him. He acknowledges knowing what Pawbert did before and what he was part of, but also says he knows who Pawbert is now: a mammal worth celebrating. He gifts Pawbert a childhood drawing of the two of them, drawn after they first met and kept all this time. Gary's characteristic phrase finds its fulfillment: "We shall succeed, Pawbert. You already have." The visit underscores how far both of them have come from their fractured relationship in Zootopia 2.

Season 5: The Icener Crisis

Gary's role expands significantly during the Icener crisis:

• S05E18 ("The Godfather"): Pawbert visits Reptile Ravine and works with Gary to search Agnes's journals and documents for a failsafe clue. Together they discover the cryptic note: "The failsafe lives within our mission."
• S05E19 ("Tundratown Requiem"): When Icener's forces attack Reptile Ravine searching for Agnes's documentation, Gary watches his rebuilt community be torn apart—the gecko family, the old tortoise, the pit vipers who mount a venomous defense, all destroyed. As Roskova's forces breach the De'Snake home, Gary orders his family to coil around Pawbert for escape, and Pawbert smashes through a back window carrying all five snakes. Gary navigates through Agnes's maintenance tunnels from Pawbert's arm while other survivors follow. He and Pawbert take down a snow leopard operative together—Gary binding her legs, Pawbert striking her. After surfacing outside the perimeter, Gary watches the Ravine burn in devastated silence. His survivor's guilt is devastating: he led the restoration, invited the families back, and now they are dying for it. Pawbert counsels him by drawing on his own experience with loss, and their exchange—"We shall succeed?" / "We shall succeed."—begins the process of rebuilding hope. The escape directly inverts the betrayal from Zootopia 2: Pawbert once threw Gary into the freezing cold, and now carries the entire De'Snake family to safety.
• S05E24 ("Always"): Gary attends the double wedding of Luther and Pawbert alongside Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. His final exchange with Pawbert captures their entire journey: "We shall succeed, Pawbert Lynxley." / "We already have."

Key Relationships

Pawbert Pawthorne

Gary is Pawbert's oldest friend and the mammal Pawbert most wronged during Zootopia 2. Pawbert arranged Gary's smuggling into Zootopia, worked alongside him to uncover the truth, and then betrayed him by throwing him into the freezing cold—potentially lethal for a cold-blooded reptile. Gary's forgiveness over the course of the series is not instant or unconditional; it is earned through Pawbert's genuine transformation. By the series' end, their friendship has become one of mutual respect and deep affection.

Agnes De'Snake

Gary's great-grandmother and the driving force behind his quest. Agnes's legacy—her stolen patent, her buried home, her dream of a city where all animals could coexist—is what brought Gary to Zootopia. In Season 5, Agnes's failsafe code (FOR_ALL, derived from the phrase "Built by two, for all") ultimately saves the city during the Icener crisis.

Judy Hopps

Gary's primary bond in Zootopia 2. Judy was the first mammal to believe him when he claimed the Lynxleys were the real villains. He saved her life with antivenom after Pawbert's betrayal, and she helped save his life by providing body heat when he was thrown into the cold.

Key Phrases

Trivia

• Gary is the first reptile and snake to appear in the Zootopia franchise.
• He is approximately 33 feet long, far larger than any real venomous snake.
• His cerulean blue coloration results from an extremely rare recessive gene.
• He sometimes wears a bright orange fanny pack, a reference to his voice actor's other roles.
• His family members' names all rhyme with Gary: Barry, Mary, Larry, Carrie, Cherry, Teri, and Sari.