"Zootopia" is another in the long line of Disney animated features. It tells the story of a Judy Hopps (Jennifer Goodwin), a rabbit from a farmer's family, as she follows her dreams of becoming a full-fledged cop in the mammal metropolis of "Zootopia." However, do not let the animated storytelling or Disney label fool you into thinking this movie is simply for children; in fact, it is sophisticated and packs a heavy thematic punch. Here are two major lessons that "Zootopia" seamlessly gets across. *Warning: there may be some spoilers ahead*
One's dreams, whatever they may be, are legitimate.
Right in the first scene, a young Judy declares her dream to be a police officer in "Zootopia." However, as the first act progresses and Judy chases her dream, there are multiple people who attempt to dissuade her from becoming a cop. After all, "there has never been a bunny cop." Judy receives the most discouragement from her parents. They very blatantly say that she should give up on her dream and just stay on the farm. The humor and shamelessness with which these lines are delivered clearly mock the parents for being so brazen about putting their daughter's dreams down. This is a message for both kids and parents. Kids are encouraged to dream big and not be easily discouraged if it is something they really want. At the same time, parents are encouraged to be open to their child's dreams; however ridiculous those dreams may be, parents should be supportive of their child in their endeavors.
However, continuous determination and hard work are essential in achieving and one's dreams.Sounds simple enough, right? Countless movies have conveyed this theme. "Zootopia" reminds its audience that it is not one single effort, and tada, dreams are achieved; instead, dreams are achieved with ceaseless efforts and indomitable resolve, and even at that, once one achieves his/her dreams, it takes constant effort to maintain the achievement. Judy works hard to achieve her dream of becoming a cop, but even after being accepted into the "Zootopia" police force, she still needs to prove herself to the rest of the officers and work hard to become a good cop.
Species profiling does no one any good.
When the movie starts, Judy is constantly put down because she is a bunny. Bunnies can't be cops. Bunnies are dumb. Because she is a bunny, others prejudge her and don't believe in her. Of course, Judy aims to prove them wrong. However, Judy is not innocent of making the mistake of profiling. While giving out parking tickets, Judy spots a fox stepping into an ice cream shop. She immediately suspects he is up to no good as foxes are sly and mischievous and cautiously enters the store with her hand hovering over her fox repellent (like pepper spray). It turns out that the fox, named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), is actually running a con, but in time, the audience learns that Nick's cynical view of the world and the way he acts is due to a childhood incident, which again involved profiling. Eventually, she must work with this fox in order to solve a pertinent case, but one's presupposed profile of the other causes distrust between the duo. Later in the movie, Judy profiles all predators as being predisposed to savagery due to their ancestry, and she makes this statement to the media, which spreads her statement around like wildfire. In consequence, the entire city is engulfed in fear. The "prey" animals distrust the "predator" animals, and slowly, "Zootopia" self-segregates predator from prey.
Given our current circumstances involving racial and religious profiling, this movie could not have had a more timely release. The movie clearly demonstrates the problems of profiling and how fear can lead down a dark road. We must continuously check ourselves and how we conduct ourselves in society. Judgements and decisions based predicated on fear can have dangerous outcomes. Prejudice has no place in a diverse society. For this, I think this is one of the most mature and one of the best films Disney has produced.
