Happily taking the chance to rewatch Zootopia, I was able to glean a little more into what I see as the underlying message of the setting.

Judy the Rabbit wants to be a police officer and becomes the valedictorian of her class, yet is delegated to doing parking duty (tickets and stuff). Why is she not made a police officer when she believes she is capable of it? It is because she is just a small little rabbit and they think she can’t handle it against a big bad predator.

With some predators having gone back feral, the city is at risk of chaos and the balance between predator and prey is threatened to break.

To not drag on the message too long, Judy gets assigned to this case and her partner in crime Nick tags along with her. It turns out that after a very fulfilling adventure/investigation (I really like procedural dramas), the whole scheme is exposed to be a plot to demonize predators as dangerous. This gets resolved and the savage predators are cured (them being imprisoned for being thought as dangerous is part of the message as well)

The message I gleaned from this was the idea of our prejudices and overcoming this. A lot of the issues in the United States stem from our prejudices that we assume to be true. Most of the time, these prejudices disappear with interaction with the other side, but starting these interactions is often difficult. The irrational fear of predators by the prey can be reshaped in many ways to fit current events. Zootopia illustrates a very nice social message that I think was constructive and properly distributed.

Zootopia is one of my favorite movies and when I saw that it was going to be shown as a Friday Film, I had to attend! Zootopia is a movie that has quite a bit of real-world relevance with the most relevant topic being discrimination, in my opinion. This movie is about a bunny named Judy that wants to be a police officer, an uncommon profession for an animal as small and unassuming as a bunny. The movie follows Judy’s journey in pursuing her dream job and solving a large scale crime with the help of someone that should be her natural enemy.

We were asked to look at different forces that were working against Judy during the movie and the thing that stuck out to me the most was the fact that at her workplace, once she became a cop, her workplace was not suitable for an animal her size. For example, her chair was too small and she couldn’t even see above the table. Additionally, once she received her first assignment, which was being a meter maid, she all of a sudden had accommodations that were appropriate (ex. correct size car, etc.). This, to me, was demonstrative of the institutionalized discrimination that we can see in our world which can be deterring to people trying to do more than those before them.

Zootopia presents the heartwarming story of an impassioned rabbit, trying to positively impact the diverse animal metropolis, Zootopia, as a police officer. While the animated film is full of impressive animation, witty dialogue, and entertaining characters, the storyline goes far beyond that which is often expected of children’s entertainment. The film addresses significant contemporary issues regarding discrimination, bias, drug use, and government corruption, while still maintaining the youthful entertainment value needed for a children’s movie. The main character, a small, female rabbit is just one of the many characters who face prejudice in a city that is supposedly a haven for species diversity and animal acceptance. Her species, size, and gender lead many to disregard her as incompetent, despite countless demonstrations of her ability, both mentally and physically. Reflecting a bias that exists for underrepresented groups in practically any field, this central character arc represents a powerful story for the film’s young target audience. It impresses the unequal expectations and penalties faced by those that fall outside of the majority and emphasizes the mutual strength that results from accepting and appreciating others for their oftentimes unique experience and qualifications. The film addresses similarly weighted issues through the storyline of city officials working to turn Zootopia against the minority group of historically predatory species. Using a highly potent drug to turn civilized animals into their savage equivalent, the city manipulates public opinion to ostracize these perfectly valid citizens. Reminiscent of countless examples, both historical and current, of marginalization of minority groups in society, the film effectively conveys the cruel, senseless reality of such bias. By relaying such experiences through a society of animals, the film expertly captures the sentiment of race, gender, and sexuality-based discrimination, while remaining apolitical and outwardly lightweight. Zootopia expertly balances the liveliness and fun of children’s entertainment with the social responsibility of being a widely-distributed, far-reaching film. The film masterfully uses its platform to introduce younger audiences to highly important social commentaries. It encourages audiences to confront bias, address societal injustice, and be self-motivated. In an age of seemingly endless amounts of content, much of it of little value or significance, the film serves as a model for effective and responsible children’s entertainment.

Zootopia is one of the few movies I’ve actually started before, but never got around to finishing. It’s a funny, inspiring tale about characters who are anthropomorphic animals, living in the city of Zootopia, known as the place where anyone could be anything. Judy Hopps, first bunny police officer, achieves her childhood dream and sets out to prove those who doubt her abilities wrong. In her journey to defeat the stereotypes about bunnies, the issues of racial profiling and stereotyping are perpetuated by different characters. While Judy, despite being the valedictorian of her class, suffers from stereotyping that affects her career, our hero has her own faults as well. During her first meeting with Nick Wilde, she immediately reaches for her “fox spray” when seeing his argument with the shop owner, having flashbacks to childhood experiences of bullying. Judy feels guilty for stereotyping Nick after she realizes he’s trying to get ice cream for his kid, but as soon as she finds out she was conned, she falls back on the old stereotyping of fox as criminals, thinking she “knew it all along”. A huge rift in their friendship is caused after she suggests the changes are caused by natural savage tendencies in predators, and Nick is deeply hurt after she instinctively reaches for “fox spray” when he growls at her.

As a “prey” police officer, Judy suffers from being stereotyped as weak and incapable, but also unconsciously imposes the same type of stereotypes on predators. Despite being the hero of the movie, she too is at fault, which shows that even the victims of stereotypes can become offenders as well. I appreciate that in this movie, there is a hero who saves the day, but said hero is a human (animal?) as well and is not perfect either. All of us have most likely been guilty of stereotyping others one way or another, and it’s important to have awareness about what judgement we make about other people without knowing anything.

I enjoyed watching the film Zootopia from Walt Disney Studios.  It is a hilarious 3-D computer animated comedy-adventure that takes places in the metropolis of Zootopia.  Officer Judy Hopps, the first bunny on Zootopia’s police force, dreamed since childhood to become a police officer.  However, she was assigned to parking duty on her first day at work because she was a rabbit. Desperate for a chance to crack her first case, she partnered with scam-artist fox Nick Wilde to solve a mystery: a conspiracy involving the disappearance of savage predator inhabitants in the metropolis. After many ups and downs, Judy manages to resolve the mystery, which was a clever conspiracy by prey-supremacists to frame predators as dangerous and savage to have them eliminated. With the cause of the epidemic identified, the savage animals were cured, and Judy rejoined the Zootopia Police Department. Nick graduates from the Zootopia Police Academy as the city’s first fox police officer and becomes Judy’s partner.  Overall, I recommend highly this film as it is rare to find these days films that are relaxing and entertaining. By the way, the Colombian singer Shakira was part of the cast (for the voice of Gazelle), with the theme song “Try everything” which encourages Judy and her partner not to “give up… try everything” and “Don’t bit yourself up until you reach the end.”  Good motivational message for all of us with the end of the semester: no matter how tired you feel, hang in there, get some sleep, eat, and work hard to succeed in your finals.  You can make it, if you try!!!  I am sharing also 6 ways to be more resilient: 1) stay connected; 2) take care of yourself; 3) be goal-oriented; 4) learn from experience; 5) take action: and 6) look at the bright side!!!

I think that my favorite part of Zootopia, other than the snarky attitude of both protagonists and the various jokes, is that the fact that none of the characters, well at least none of the main ones, are one-dimensional caricatures. Judy, despite being an overall heroic good character, has her faults and prejudices; even though she and Nick had been working together she instantly reaches for her fox spray as soon as he bares his teeth. This sort of wariness around foxes is brought about by her parents and the fact that she had been attacked by one when she was younger, but since she had been working with Nick you would think that she knew that he wasn’t like the ones she had been warned about by her loving but misguided parents. On the flipside, the villain, Bellwether, isn’t just a villain for the sake of being evil; being constantly bullied and nagged by her predator boss definitely played a role in her contempt and framing of the predator minority in Zootopia. Are her actions forgivable? No. But at least her relatable frustration gave her more dimensions than simply, “I was bad all along for absolutely no reason.”  Another interesting thing about Zootopia is how the majority (the prey) transitions from being the oppressed to the oppressors. All in all, this was a fun movie with character development and social commentary hiding just beneath the surface of the goofy character models and the irony of a slow sloth speeding in a fast car.

One of my all-time favorite Disney movies is Mulan due to its portrayal of a fierce, tenacious female character. I am an ardent fan of Mulan for its resonating message that teaches young girls that they have the same competence and skill levels as males (and can even exceed those of males). After watching Zootopia for a second time, I realized that I have a fondness for this movie, for many of the same reasons that I am an admirer of the movie, Mulan. Judy Hopps, in many aspects, resembles Mulan, as she does not let her outer presence deter her from accomplishing her goals. Like Mulan, Zootopia teaches young minds (as well as adults!) that they can supersede any expectations society has predisposed upon them. As the title of this blog post goes, I claim that Zootopia is “One of the Good Ones” in that its deviates away from some of the more classic Disney princess movies where the female characters are usually “saved” by the male characters. Instead, Zootopia has a very influential and empowering message, embedded along with its humorous content, and, like Mulan, is definitely worth watching!

As shown very simply in Zootopia there are always people who try to hold you back and doubt you. The only people who can overcome those challenges are the ones who believe in their own abilities no matter what everyone else says. Such attitude and determination will sooner or later provide the individual with the opportunity he/she was looking for. Getting to this stage is the hard part, the rest is just taking full advantage of the situation. The short phrase that probably everyone keeps hearing is to never give up. Even though it may be exhausting to constantly hear those words, it is often true.

I recently watched Zootopia at the last Friday Films and really enjoyed it!  I had never seen the movie before and it was so much better than I was expecting.  I appreciated that it covered so many important topics under the premise of a kids’ movie about an animal world.  So many kids’ movies are very black and white, with one person being the terrible awful villain, and another person being the super great protagonist.  Real people (and in this movie, animals) are so much more complex than that.  It was interesting to see the progression of Officer Hopps and Nick working to find out who was behind the predators’ return to “savagery.”  I also loved the message the movie promoted that anybody can become anything.  Both Officer Hopps and Nick faced prejudice because of their species, but she was able to become a successful police officer and he was able to show the world that not all foxes are liars and cheats.  They both worked hard to solve the case and save Zootopia, and they were duly rewarded, regardless of the stereotypes about their species.

Through watching the film Zootopia, I kept thinking about how realistic what the main character Bunny Hops must go through in order to be a police officer because, in many job positions, it can be extremely challenging for women to make their impact in traditionally male-dominated fields, and making their mark can require more effort. However, even though coming to their realization is stressful, knowing that there are many people that are willing to support and encourage me is motivating me that I can make a difference even in STEM roles where there isn’t as much female representation. The discussion of preventing stereotypes with bunnies in the film is very relevant with HR rules of what can can’t be said about women in professional working environments. However, that being said, given that in the end Bunny Hops proves herself as just as capable- this resonated with me because it shows that in some regards while minorities may have to work even harder at disbanding stereotypes, once they do, they will be respected and treated equally hereafter. In a biological reference, women and other minority groups need that “activation energy” to get across the roadblocks at first doubting their capabilities in order to create an environment that fosters support and success for them during their professional careers. On a societal lens, I think that there needs to more even more education and support for women in these fields, so they don’t have to be overburdened by the amount of “Activation Energy” they would need to get across the hurdles of stereotypes that have been ingrained our society for too long. On a brighter note, many companies have been achieving this with regard to diversity initiatives and programs, however, there is still a long way to ago until true equality is completely fostered in working environments.

I saw the movie zootopia for the very first time in a very very long time. Many of the main motifs of this film parallel things I face in my own life. Like Judy, the rabbit police, I have had to overcome many obstacles and have been looked down upon on the basis of my physical characteristics. As a black girl, growing up I was always told I couldn’t do this or that. Regardless, I remained ambitious and sought out to do anything I put my heart to. This movie was very charming and reinforced the importance of kindness, teamwork, and grit. Never settle for less, and always reach for the stars!!! This movie was great and it made my heart swell, it reminded me of when I was younger, it was also very comedic. Judy, throughout the movie, was working her way up and ultimately cracked the ‘glass-ceiling’. She went beyond her limits and proved that she is a strong minded woman!

Zootopia is a film about a cute little bunny trying to get respect in her field. Along the way she befriends a fox (her natural enemy) and saves the town. But despite all the child like wonder of the film it is a metaphor for the war on drugs. Just like how the big animals were drugged and portrayed to be dangerous, Ronald Reagan did that to minorities in America. The government brought drugs into minority communities to ruin them. And then with the War on Drugs it tried to blame minorities for these drugs. The war was a tactic to lock minorities up to fill up jails while ruining the black family dynamic. The War on Drugs has a left a wound on minority families that some are still trying to heal.

I had the opportunity to watch Zootopia one Friday night and I can say that I really enjoyed it! Watching Zootopia was a great distraction before getting into reviewing for finals. It showed me how important it was to have little breaks within all this studying. The movie itself was amazing. I had watched it once before and had forgotten most of it. I love animation films because they always take me back to my childhood, when times were easier. The film was funny and heartwarming. It teaches you how to never give up on your dreams (very applicable to life right now) and to not fall for sterotypes which is something that we all tend to do at some point. This movie teaches some good lessons and I love every minute of it!

Last Friday, I watched Zootopia with my friends. It was a nice way to spend time away from studying for the finals and relieving stress. I always thought that this movie is children’s movie and watching this movie again brought back my childhood memories. However, I realized that there is a greater meaning to the movie Zootopia. This time, I learned that this movie is actually teaching me some lessons. I realized that sometimes it is necessary to question what our society is asking us to do. In addition, we might have to challenge the rules and norms set by society in order to achieve what we think is right.

It was my first time ever watching Zootopia and I expected it to be a cute animated film, but it made me reflect on society and its construct. I realized how similar their society was from ours in which we claim our society to allow for anyone to follow their dreams and “be whatever they want to be” as we had the American Dream. However, we were confined within the restrictions of social class divisions and the never-ending cycle of poverty. I was also amazed how they were able to insert the power dynamics and how media can play a huge role on stereotypes. The film was very relatable in ways I did not expect, and I enjoyed every aspect of the film, whether it be the plot, characters, or message.

Okay, first of all who would ever think that an animated movie could teach a person such an important life lesson! I thought Zootopia would be a random cartoon about animals in the jungle but I was very wrong Lol. This movie features a little female bunny who challenges the status quo and succeeds beyond expectation in a society where females and bunnies were considered weak, useless and at the bottom of the society. It incorporates the concepts of racism and prejudice in the most subtle way and teaches that anything is possible as long as one sets their mind to it. It was also hilarious as well and the theme song, I absolutely loved! Clearly, I really loved watching this movie and I’d recommend it to a lot of people.

Tolani

Last Friday, I attended Rose House’s showing of the movie Zootopia. This has been one of my favorite movies for awhile, and I was excited to be able to watch it again among friends. I’ve mentioned it before in my blog posts for Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and Lynn Tomlinson’s The Elephant Song, but I always find myself falling in love with animated movies because of their unique charm, and Zootopia is no exception.

This movie is especially interesting in that it tackles serious themes in a way that’s nuanced yet still accessible for people of all ages. And therein lies this film’s biggest strength (aside form the adorable animation, of course). I genuinely believe that this film sets the bar for all media meant to be consumed by children. My mother runs an at-home day care, so I spent the first eighteen years of my life being exposed to a lot more TV/films directed at children than I would have liked. More often than not, it feels like these media properties take advantage of the fact that their audience is younger and put significantly less time an energy into making whatever it is they are making. To me, films like Zootopia prove what is possible, and shows what all similar films should strive for.

Zootopia, although inherently a movie marketed towards children, has deeper meanings that only adults can fully comprehend. The predator/prey and different animal species issues in the movie are representative of the racial issues that are happening in our country. The sheep was trying to make the predators seem like the bad guys in order to make her own species superior. There is also the issue of all the predators in the police precinct being discriminatory towards Judy purely because she is not a predator. She had to work twice as hard in order to prove that she was worthy of being a police officer even though she had passed all the same tests and even became valedictorian. This is representative of the issues that minorities face in the US.

I attended the movie night and watched Zootopia for the first time. This movie is a kid friendly movie but also touches upon many of the issues our society faces currently. I related the storyline to how African Americans are treated in this country. They are viewed as dangerous and vicious just like the predator animals in the movie. In reality, they are nice wholesome people. It is good t5o teach kids at a young age how to not pass judgement on people just because of the way they look. This was by far my favorite animated film along with Ratatouille of course.

So many people I know have told me how great Zootopia is so when I saw that it was being shown as one of the Friday films, I knew I had to go. I am so glad I did because Zootopia is probably the best animated film I have ever seen.Each character’s story in the film is crafted in such a thoughtful way, from Assistant Mayor Bellwether’s kind demeanor and secret drive for power to Nick Wilde’s past as a victim of bullying and his newfound goal to create positive change as a detective. The message is so simple yet so relevant for our society. What really stood out to me is the film’s emphasis that you can have the best intentions yet still act in an ignorant way so we need to be more mindful of our behavior. The film made me draw parallels between the animals’ world and the politics of our world long after I finished watching it. Lastly, I also thought it was quite clever and humorous how the creators of the film balanced jokes for both kids and adults – such as by incorporating the sloths / DMV into the film.

A place where anyone can be anything they want to be. Watching Zootopia makes me wish that I knew definitely what I wanted to be. I am a year from graduating and I still don’t know what I should be when I grow up. There are so many options and they are all great. I don’t know what I a working hard for if there is no goal. Judy Hopps knows what she wants and she goes and gets it. Zootopia is a fun movie, but it also has some deep themes.

Zootopia. This is a movie I had never watched until last Friday, and for which I expected something completely different.
When hearing about it, I initially imagined a movie with a “generic” story, so to say, and which focused on the cute and funny aspect of the interactions between animals in an extremely diverse environment. What I saw, however, was a very mature message in a light-hearted context, and an amazing movie which completely blew my expectations away.

The movie has a few flaws in my opinion (which I detail in the discussion below), but it’s baffling to me how it managed to talk about several different themes (mainly prejudice, non-binarity of good/bad, and overcoming obstacles/diversity) while creating and exploring an entirely new world, with mostly well-developed and likable characters, and still managing to be a funny family movie in the process!

Watching Zootopia ended up being not only a great study break, but also quite a lot of food for thought. And I don’t mean that only in terms of the messages of the movie, but also in terms of how the movie uses settings, characters, interactions, and etc to deliver this message. It did send me back to my Film Club days in high school, and I really enjoyed that! =)

Since I was very generic in these two paragraphs, I want to explain a bit better with what I mean about the movie having several different messages, and I’ll try to also talk about a few things I really liked about the way the movie portrays them. (Also, I preemptively apologize if the text ends up being a confusing mess. I tried my best, with the time I had, to organize my thoughts, and I ended up with this chunk of text below. It’s a lot, so some parts of it are probably confusing, sorry :/ )

Of course, before I start, HUGE SPOILER ALERT  FOR THE REST OF THIS POST for anyone who (like me until Friday) hasn’t watched the movie and doesn’t want to be spoiled.

As a summary for the main plot points (which will probably be useful for the discussion):
– Judy Hopps is born in a family of farmers, has a strong sense of justice and wants to become a police officer to help animals and make the world a better place. There is a message, from the beginning, that anyone can be anything in the big metropolis of Zootopia, where “predators and prey live together harmonically”, and she wants to go there despite her family’s fears. Due to her family’s preconceptions and Judy’s childhood bully Gideon Grey, our hero develops internal prejudice and fear with regards to foxes.
– Contrary to everyone’s beliefs, Judy is able to make it through and become a police officer. In her training, she didn’t succeed by her ability to do a task in the same way as bigger animals (climbing walls, boxing/fighting, etc), but rather using her own particularities in her favor (jumping between others’ heads to climb the wall, literally using the opponent’s strengths against them in boxing by making them hit themselves, etc). She travels to Zootopia evokes different reactions. She is highly praised by some (Mayor Lionheart), treated mostly indifferently by some (Clawhauser. There’s a very interesting moment with this character, but I’m not sure if I’ll talk about it here, since there are other more important things), and deemed inferior by some (Officer Bogo).
– Judy intercepts a crime committed by Duke Weaselton and catches him while other police officers took too long to respond and were unable to pursue him. Her size and speed were fundamental, in this segment, as she was the only police officer able to easily navigate through Little Rodentia to continue the pursuit and save rodents who would otherwise be dead by Weaselton (since he’d make some buildings fall).
– Judy naively helps the fox Nick, who used her to make a profit. He expresses disdain for her view that anyone can be anything and, in this sense, is skeptical of her ability as a police officer. Nick represents the antagonism of worldviews that characterize the Judy-Nick interaction.
– Despite Officer Bogo’s attempt to impede it, Judy starts investigating the case of finding the missing otter Mr. Otterton.
– She threatens to arrest Nick to get his help. Together, they discover that the most powerful mafia was involved with Mr. Otterton, and assume they were the ‘bad guys’. Their impressions are shattered, as they find out that Mr. Otterton supposedly went ‘savage’.
– Judy finds out about Nick’s past, who became a criminal due to discrimination suffered throughout his life (particularly in his childhood, where he was unable to fulfill his dream of becoming a Junior Ranger Scout solely due to discrimination). Judy also sees, first-hand, the ZPD’s distrust for foxes.
– Judy and Nick discover Mayor Lionheart’s scheme of imprisoning the enraged animals (until a cure was found) in an attempt to avoid wreaking havoc in the city and avoid creating discrimination against “predators”. Our protagonist arrests him without thinking twice.
– The Mayor is imprisoned, and Ms. Bellwether becomes the new mayor. Fear of “predators” generates discrimination against the minority. Nick leaves Judy’s side after seeing her openly partake in the idea that “predators” were becoming berserk because of biology.
– Judy gives everything up and goes home, where she realizes she changed her parents’ views on foxes and sees her childhood bully apologize to her. She also finds out the substance (flower) that was causing the “predators” to go berserk (and hears her her parents mentioning a bunny – a “prey” – go berserk), and goes back to town. Judy apologizes to Nick, interrogates the Weasel she had chased earlier in the movie and finds out the scheme.
– After attempting to take evidence back to the ZPD, Judy discovers Bellwether was the mastermind all along. Her backstory and motivation are unclear, but she essentially wanted to keep a position in power and have a “prey”-dominated city.
– Nick and Judy trick Bellwether and gather evidence to arrest her. Nick becomes Judy’s official partner, the cure for the animals’ berserking is found (as the origin was now known), and both Judy and Nick stop suffering prejudice in the ZPD.

This being said, we can identify three main themes of the story:
1) Prejudice (both its causes and its effects)
2) The non-binarity of “Good” and “Bad”
3) Pursuing dreams and being what you want to be despite difficulties (this is somewhat related to the prejudice theme, but it’s still a topic worth discussing on its own. It’s also very much related to diversity)

Each of them is represented in different parts of the story, though some more than others. Let’s go through each of them:

1) Prejudice

This is arguably the most ubiquitous theme in the movie. It appears in two generic forms, which I’ll generically refer to as “prejudice is bad” and “absence of prejudice is good”. However, as we’ll see, prejudice itself is not portrayed generically: it is a real thing with a real cause and real consequences. In this sense, it’s portrayed in a rather mature way for a family movie, as prejudices are not exclusive to “blank villains”.

– “prejudice is bad”:

Until Mayor Lionheart is arrested, this is mostly discussed through Judy and Nick.

Although we know little of Nick’s backstory, we know that he gave up on his dreams and became a criminal. In this sense, prejudice “alone” has essentially changed his whole life for the worse.
This idea of prejudice changing lives become more and more prevalent after the population finds out about the berserk “predators”. Several scenes depict “prey” in fear of strangers and avoiding them because they are “predators”.

The discussion through Judy occurs mainly in her interactions with Officer Bogo, who distrusts her ability to be a “real” police officer and, thus, gives her parking patrol tasks. Moreover, he attempts to impede her from investigating Mr. Otterton’s disappearance.

After Lionheart is arrested, Officer Bogo’s position is maintained, while Clawhauser is changed positions so he’d not be the first animal someone would see when entering the ZPD.
This is particularly relevant because of their positions until this point. Clawhauser is presented as one of the most harmless and carefree characters of the story (he is also the first officer to acknowledge Judy when she enters Zootopia, which places him in a “positive light”, and is involved in a decent portion of the funny scenes of the movie, which also links him to a sense of innocence, clumsiness, and joy). Officer Bogo, besides his prejudice, is depicted as agressive and strict, and thus depicted in a very negative light while attempting to impede Judy.

With that considered, having Clawhauser negatively affected and Bogo unchanged with the surge in fear of “predators” is arguably one of the movie’s most powerful (and clever) ways of depicting prejudice and its consequences. After all, those aren’t just “random” animals in the city, but rather recurrent characters of the story and who have suffered consequences by no fault of their own. It’s also not something distant in the past (like Nick’s backstory), but rather something contemporary with real consequences, which makes it even more powerful.

– “absence of prejudice is good”

Since the beginning of the movie, Zootopia’s diversity is heavily praised. Be it through the students’ presentation, through Judy’s “awe” feeling when first going to Zootopia as a police officer, through the presentation of the extremely different biomes harmonically co-existing in the city, or even through the inclusive measures utilized in the city (for example, buses are divided in parts with different sizes so that all different animals can use them). Diversity is a reason for celebration, a reason for joy.
Another point in which diversity is celebrated is through humor in interactions between very different species. Probably my favorite part, in this sense, is the interaction with sloths in the bank. As a very comical and light-hearted passage, it associates sloths’ supposed slowness (which could otherwise be criticized, due to making bank lines larger) with joy and fun. In this sense, it celebrates the differences between animals.

The “absence of prejudice is good” idea is also depicted through the Judy-Bogo interaction. Despite Officer Bogo’s prejudices against her, Judy’s superation of those prejudices is what allows the finding of the missing animals and the uncovering of Ms. Bellwether’s scheme. In this sense, prejudice is seen as a barrier, and its absence is, by contrast, seen as a way for progress.

As we can see, prejudice is very much present in the movie. However, it is not naively depicted as “bad people have prejudices”, since the the movie shows the generation of prejudice through fear. Moreover, it also delves into the consequences of those prejudices, both instantaneous (through Clawhauser and Officer Bogo) and long-term (through Nick).

2) The non-binarity of “Good” and “Bad”

This is arguably the least important point of the three (and it does have one exception), but one I like very much.

Think about Nick. Technically a criminal (tax evasion), as soon as he starts helping Judy, he starts being seen as a “good guy”. From his interactions and backstory, we see that his crime and his current “job” doesn’t represent who he is, or what he believes. As the story progresses, his representation is shifted from that of a criminal to that of an oppressed individual, thus putting into question notions of “Good” and “Bad”.
Now think about Mr. Big. Originally the frightening mafia leader, he is a character who becomes friendly very quickly. Although it is true that he only befriends Judy after discovering she saved his daughter’s life, he shatters notions of good and bad by demonstrating that the mafia (here represented by him) is not the one causing the animals to go missing. This is quite a shock to a more streamlined notion of justice (such as that of the beginning-of-movie-Judy), as a criminal becomes a friendly ally.
Such a contradiction is also portrayed through his physical appearance. Mr. Big’s name indicates power, but he is the smallest character in the room. In other words, he is not who he appears to be.

(we could also mention Mayor Lionheart another example, as he is a ‘good character who did something bad but had good intentions’. However, I’m not discussing it in length because this is much more explicit and much more common in movies – something which Lionheart himself acknowledges publicly: “Did I falsely imprison those animals? Well, yes. Yes, I did. It was a classic ‘doing the wrong thing for the right reason’ kind of a deal!”)

Probably the only exception to this rule (at least in terms of the main characters of the story) is Ms. Bellwether. We have no knowledge of the motivation behind her actions and no knowledge of her personality (why does she want to have a city dominated by “prey” if “prey” already represent 90% of the population? Why does she hate “predators” so much? Why does she want to become the mayor so desperately? How did she find out about the Night Howlers’ effect? etc). In this sense, she fulfills a role of a “blank villain” which, in my opinion, is very much detrimental to this message of the movie.
NOTE: Although the movie suggests it and the wiki states she “apparently endured a life of neglect” and that had “years of discrimination and lack of consideration from her predator coworkers”, this is never explored in the movie besides a single interaction between her and Mayor Lionheart. In this sense, I still think she is a “blank villain” since her motivation is never explored and the specifics of her backstory are largely irrelevant.

3) Pursuing dreams and being what you want to be despite difficulties / Diversity

In general, this would be very much related to the topic of prejudice through Judy, as she has to overcome it to be accepted in the ZPD, and to Nick, as the prejudices against foxes begin to diminish and he becomes a police officer in the end.

But that is not the point I want to make here. I want to look at the part of this that is not directly correlated to prejudice. Such part is mostly represented by Judy’s training in the police academy.

I really like these scenes because they don’t represent what we usually see in movies: struggle –> dedication –> success. Rather, Zootopia represents a much more mature view on it.

As mentioned earlier, Judy didn’t succeed at doing the same tasks as bigger animals, such as climbing walls and boxing/fighting, but her dedication wasn’t towards doing those tasks. Rather, she dedicated herself learned her own particularities and used them in her favor: she jumped between others’ heads to climb the wall, and redirected an opponent’s fist to use his strength against him. In this sense, Judy’s narrative doesn’t fall under the usual “struggle –> dedication –> success”, as she is not learning to do particular tasks. Instead, she is learning more about herself and her own capabilities.

This reminds me very much of the “Now Climb that Tree” cartoon that became viral several years ago. If the police academy was strict in requiring her to climb the wall by herself, of fighting an oponnent by using her strength alone, Judy possibly wouldn’t have become a police officer. In this sense, the police academy scene represents a rupture with often-portrayed tree-climbing process and values a much more complex view of the world, which is why I like the scene a lot.

Such a more complex worldview actually allows, in the movie, progresses that would otherwise be impossible. For example, none of the other police officers would have been able to enter Little Rodentia to arrest Duke Weaselton, and this implicitly praises Judy’s otherness.

Overall, although a minor point in terms of the movie’s messages, I really like how Zootopia ditches the streamlined “obstacle –> dedication –> overcoming of obstacle” and allows a much more complex worldview that values and praises individual particularities. This allows a much more powerful message, as there’s no single best way of doing a task, and there’s no single way of being what you want to be.

I’ll be ending the discussion here, because this is getting waaaaaaay too long (I’m honestly wondering if anyone will actually get to this sentence hahaha), even though we didn’t even get to discuss aspects like character and character development (even though we touched on it slightly).

I really, really enjoyed Zootopia, and I think it’s an extremely well-made movie.
In my opinion, it does have the flaw of trying to say too much (3 main themes) in too many different ways in too little time, which leads to problems such as Ms. Bellwether being a blank villain, and missed potentials such as Judy’s fox repellent not being addressed in the story’s second part (for example, it could have been used to represent Judy’s personal growth, as the repellent symbolizes her parents’ prejudice and even her own. This symbolism, however, was left unexplored and even forgotten about when Judy leaves the ZPD, and is, in my opinion, a big waste of potential).
However, it still is a family movie which manages to treat complex matters such as prejudice, non-binarity of good and bad, and diversity (and its effects on interpersonal interactions) in a very mature way while still being a light-hearted and funny movie with well-thought characters (with Bellwether’s exception). I honestly find it impressive that a movie with 110 minutes has managed to do all of that at the same time.

Last night, I attended the Zootopia screening. As a lifelong Disney fan, I found this to be an excellent opportunity for a fun study break and a chance to rewatch one of the best animated movies in recent years. The first time I saw this movie, I recall walking out of the theater and being surprised at Disney’s boldness in making this movie. On the surface, it is a clever and enjoyable buddy cop film starring a charming cast of anthropomorphic animals. However, it takes very little analysis to get to the heart of the movie, which is a thoughtful analogy for racial and gender tensions. From the constant stereotyping of predatory animals, to the protagonist’s assertions that she’s not just some “token bunny” in the police force, the movie provides an incredibly nuanced portrayal of a society dealing with issues of discrimination and profiling that were relevant at the movie’s premiere in 2016 and are unfortunately still topical now. One scene that stood out in particular to me last night was a scene portraying a peace rally, in which one animal yelled at a tiger to go back to the jungle, to which she angrily replied, “I’m from the savannah!” This reminded me of examples in our society in which intolerant people ignorantly target other people and make assumptions about them. This was just one scene in a film that was as self-aware as it was fun and humorous, and I highly recommend Zootopia to anyone who is looking for a way to relax that will give them something to think about afterwards.

I really enjoyed Zootopia when it first came out so I was pretty excited to watch it again for Friday Films. My favorite scenes are still Flash at the DMV and at the end where he’s speeding in a fancy car.

I think Zootopia is such an amazing animated film because it tackles the problems of racial profiling, tribalism, and stereotypes all while incorporating humor along the way. There are many scenes through which the film tries to give the audience a nuanced understanding of prejudice and just how common it is. There was a protesting jaguar who was told to “go back to the jungle.” To which the jaguar replied, “I’m from the savanna!” A mother pulled her child closer to her when a tiger sat next to them on the subway. Officer Clawhauser calls Judy “cute” but she explains to him why it is a demeaning word to describe bunnies.

At the beginning, Judy and Nick were foils to each other. Judy was a naive idealist who believed that “anyone can be anything.” Nick was a realist whose cynical and hardened personality was a result of his childhood experiences. But it was this dynamic that made them great partners.

Zootopia is a unique Disney film. Although Disney’s motto is to make people “dream,” Zootopia is an educative (but still family friendly) film on discrimination. It tackled societal problems and presented a much more complicated message than “follow your dreams.”

Zootopia is a fantastic family film that deals with a number of contentious political and social issues in a deceptively simple way. It is the unassuming story of a bunny that becomes a cop in a world of diverse and complex species. What I have always found interesting about the film is its attempt to present a perspective on things like prejudice and bias from two sides. In the film, the world is largely divided into two groups: predator and prey. The predators appear to hold the majority of the power; they are in high positions of authority, leading the government and the police force. They easily trample on those smaller than them, sometimes gaining advantages over prey animals through sheer force and intimidation.

At the same time, prey animals retake some of that power throughout the film. Our bunny becomes a cop, and cracks a big case wherein she initially tells the world that predators are inherently violent as a result of their biology. What confuses me most about this is the film’s analogy. At this point, it appears to crumble; predators account for only ten percent of the population, and they are the animals feared for their “innate” tendency toward violence. They hold power, but are subject to extreme prejudice. In fact, it would seem that every species is subject to some form of harmful stereotyping in the film. On some level this makes sense, but it also feels dangerously close to equivocating the experiences of oppressed groups and those who oppress them.

I know the movie is about coming together to celebrate difference, but I do not believe that it is perfectly analogous to the world we live in. To believe such would be to accept that every person is capable of delivering the same amount of harm on one another through things like bias and stereotyping, and this is not true. There are discrepancies in power that should be exposed and challenged. The film’s focus on law enforcement is an interesting context to choose for the message of the movie, which appears to be that the world is complicated and everyone can be small minded. I understand the thought behind it, but there are moments that make the film feel less like a metaphor for inclusion, and more like a dangerous palliative that tells us we are all given access to the same set of opportunities, and all have biases to overcome regardless of social location. Thoughts?