Ever since I was little, I've been an avid Disney fan. I still remember playing the movies over and over again on the VCR to the point where I could recite every line. But none of them have quite touched me and got me thinking like Disney's latest installment, "Zootopia," has.
Set in a world where there are no humans and only animals, the different species are able to live in harmony to create a better world for everyone. While watching the movie, I could not help but pick up on certain themes that reflected our society today — most notably, our country's issues with race. It is so easy to take these movies made for children at face value, but the lessons learned from "Zootopia" are some that I think most adults, particularly those in power, could learn from. There won't be any major story line spoilers but in case you are sensitive, SPOILER ALERT!
Tolerance
We live in a world with more kinds of people than we could possibly imagine and yet there seems to be such a low tolerance of others. In "Zootopia," Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is looked down on by other mammals because she is small and there has never been a rabbit that was a cop before. The same goes for Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). He is automatically seen as a criminal because of some fox's conniving nature. Throughout the movie, the different mammals are forced to face these stereotypes head-on as we are, as we continue growing up. Like any Disney movie, we know it all turns out okay in the end, and I think that it can turn out okay for us, too, as long as we learn to be tolerant of those different from us. Remember, we do not have to agree, but respect for each other is a basic building block for human interaction.
"Try Anything"
What's a blockbuster movie without a pop star voice over and a song to go along with it? Shakira lent her voice to the movie not only as a character but also for providing the vocals to its main song, "Try Anything." The upbeat tune gives advice on exactly what you would think. Try anything, even though you may fail. In the film, Judy Hopps is constantly facing barriers that stand in the way of her following her dream of becoming a police officer, just as we do in completing our goals. Hopps just teaches us that trying things differently is the perfect way to find just as good, if not better, solutions to our problems.
Individuality
Throughout the movie, we see 99 percent of the animals are all grouped together. All of the rabbits live out in the farms, all of the elephants eat at the same ice-cream shop, even the nudist colony that Hopps and Nick stumble across are put together separate from the rest of the city. I think you get the picture. Hopps finds her individuality through her dreams of moving to the city and making the world a better place. This is something that I think the younger audience should take away from this movie. A lot of the time we have people following others in terms of career goals, fads and trends and other daily decisions, even when we are not sure that is where we want to be. So we need to realize that it is okay to break through those molds.
Forgiveness
Part of what makes bonds between people grow are the struggles that they go through together. One conflict in the movie is between Hopps and Nick. They are both looked down on by other animals and at one point look down on each other because of the aforementioned stereotypes. Holding grudges helps no one. NO ONE. So to think that there is so much negativity being spread over things that are easily forgotten and tossed aside is a ludicrous notion. Sometimes a kind of forgiveness is forced and necessary, like in the movie, and sometimes we cannot get our petty species to just forgive and forget.
Perseverance
Arguably one of the most important lessons of all time. If perseverance was not a thing, then no one would be where they are today. College students would not be accepting their degrees, athletes would not be playing sports and I would not be writing this list. Hopps is faced with perseverance from the first scene of the movie, from her parents no doubt, but shows no sign of letting that stop her. It is impossible to get to even a basic place in life without going through some sort of moment when you think that you cannot do it or you're not good enough. But, and you heard it here first, you CAN do it and you ARE good enough. All it takes is time and consistency.
These were the main points I picked up on while watching the movie — just be glad I did not talk about the excitement of breaking gender norms, because then you would be reading for days.
