SHANGHAI, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai Disneyland on Monday started construction of its Zootopia-themed land, which will bring characters from the popular animated film to the park, its operator said.

It is expected to be the first-ever Zootopia-themed land at any Disney park worldwide, and the eighth themed land at Shanghai Disneyland.

The development of the land follows the success of the animated movie on the Chinese mainland, where it became the top-grossing animated movie with 1.53 billion yuan (around 217 million U.S. dollars) in 2016, until being overtaken by Chinese animation "Ne Zha" in August this year.

The new land aims to provide an immersive animal metropolis featuring Nick and Judy and other characters from the movie and other Disney works, according to the resort.

The new land is the second major expansion of the resort following the opening of the first major expansion -- Disney.Pixar Toy Story Land.