From afar Zootopia (one of Disney’s more recent releases) appears to be just the average kids movie. It takes place in what one could assume to be a “first world” capitalist democracy much like the U.S. but the country is completely unknown. The plot’s premise is the average life of a human in an animal world. More importantly an animal’s utopia.
The movie centers around a bunny named Judy who’s lifelong dream has been to become a cop in Zootopia. Being from a rural area and being that she is a small feminine creature Judy faces a world of bigotry. People doubt her based on the fact that by nature she is innocent, petite, and weak. Her parents as well as her peers offer her alternatives to working in the criminal justice field and at one point during her childhood she is overtaken by a fox that proceeds to tell her she is will never successfully achieve her career aspirations. Although Judy’s life is personified in the shape of a bunny her situation is almost strictly parallel with the life of a white woman. As someone who is always seen as feeble, easily overcome, and needed to be protected she seeks to assert her power and prove her abilities worthy in a white male dominated society. While Judy is mistrusted soley based on being a bunny and known as prey; she does not have many other factors that prevent her from becoming a cop. She does not face the cruel injustice and stereotypes as those who are predators. Judy throughout the movie embodies what white feminism is. She repeatedly ignores what predators have gone and continue to go through although, she does steadily overcome her ignorance as the movie proceeds.
In addition to Judy the plot also focuses on a fox named Nick. Nick is the epitome of the idiom “as sly as fox”. He works as a con artist to survive in Zootopia. Nick and Judy are introduced upon Judy’s first day on the police squad. He fakes being the father of a small fox who desires an elephant ice cream in an elephant-only ice cream parlor. The elephants consistently refuse to sell him and his “child” an ice cream to which naive officer Judy steps in to assist. While Judy believes she has served justice, it is soon revealed that Nick is running a side business selling elephant ice creams melted down, reshaped and resold to a new audience. Nick is what is known in Zootopia as a predator. His nature is to kill, stalk prey and deceive the innocent
which many in Zootopia believe to be a hindrance on their societies progression. Nick’s life and situations are very similar to those of ethnic minority groups. He is stereotyped and seen as a peeve to society. While Judy attempts to recover from the ways other view her Nick is unbothered seeing that if people will view and discriminate against him for his inevitable being he will not go against their beliefs. Nick sees no problem with fitting a mold especially with the prejudice that will always follow him whether he escapes the cast or not.
After an attempt arrest on Nick, Judy finds information to blackmail Nick and recruit him for a case that will save her career. She must find a missing otter that has went “savage”. During her mission Judy and Nick move past their background and experiences to become friends and work as partners in crime. As she reaches the end of her case Judy has a revelation about savages and their nature in Zootopia to which she reveals to the police department (which results in a mass removal of predators in her department as well as predators in other fields of work). Upon this revelation the media and other outlets seem to be satisfied with her conclusion and hold a conference for her. During her Most of the animals that are “savages” are coincidentally predators which strikes the city horrifically. The media personifies and perpetuates bigotry when reporting on predators making them seem like monsters that stymie the city’s safety until an underlying cause is revealed. Judy refers to predators as natural savages resulting to the termination of her and Nick’s newfound friendship.
Judy returns home after causing quite the uproar in the city. Following her homecoming another fact contributing to the prosecution of predators in zootopia is unveiled. judy returns to the city to announce this critical piece of information. Soon after predator and prey unify and the movie ends as a traditional children’s movie would.
Aside from the overall synopsis being described as a movie about talking animals living like humans, zootopia is more than that. Zootopia identifies and analyzes our ignorant ways. It teaches love and self acceptance, how to override an initial prejudice and how to be an ally. The movie is important to teaching tolerance to young children at an early age as well as vital to the adults who accompany their children when seeing the movie. As a woman of color I could relate to both Nick and Judy. And while as a woman of color I can see the parallels between race and gender in this movie with the real world I’m sure there are other attributes that lgbtq+ individuals can identify with as well as people who are old and young, poor, disabled, a religious minority and more. Zootopia serves as a tool of entertainment and education in a world that refuses to be progressive.
