Earlier this month, Disney’s “Zootopia” was released in theaters. The film was an immediate hit and received widespread praise from audience members of all ages, young and old. “Zootopia” is a movie characterized by stunning animation, great voice work, and an engaging plot; yet, the film is continuing to gain much recognition by film critics because it also delivered social commentary concerning discrimination and prejudice. “Zootopia” is a film of social importance, for it helps teach children about social tolerance, compassion, and kindness while doing so in a fun and lighthearted manner.
“Zootopia” is set in a parallel universe where animals of all shapes and sizes anthropomorphically coexist within the same realms of living. The story begins with a rabbit, Judy Hopps, moving to the metropolis of Zootopia as she begins her journey as the first rabbit to join the Zootopian police force. She realizes how difficult her job may be when she finds that her boss and co-workers undermine her abilities, despite graduating first in her class at police academy she attended, just because she is small. She then is put in a situation where she must solve a serious and difficult mystery involving missing citizens of Zootopia. She solves this with the help of a fox, Nick Wilde, whom she despises at first but then befriends him, using him and his scheming and manipulative traits to help her solve this crime.
There are two ways the film touches upon prejudice. The first is in regard to Judy’s occupation as a police officer during the entirety of the movie. In real life, women, racial minorities, and religious minorities are all set on a lower pedestal when it comes to the police force and are not taken seriously as strong, powerful individuals who can enforce law. Women especially are considered weak in the field, which everyone knows to be false. Judy, at first, is assigned traffic duty before, and has to prove herself to even be considered to take part in the later investigation; her skills are undermined right away, and she is judged solely based on her appearance and size, just as women may be seen as fragile and judged for that as well. Judy prevails at the end, though, proving that social, or in this case mammalian, minorities do hold great power and are able to succeed in whatever job field they choose to participate in.
The second is in regard to the investigation, which involves twenty missing Zootopian citizens, all who happen to be predatory mammals. Approximately halfway through the film, the audience, along with Judy and Nick, finds out that the animals missing are in fact kept away in a secret penitentiary because they all exhibit traits of savagery and barbarianism. This is then leaked to the citizens of Zootopia, and with the help of Judy accidentally calling the locked-up predators “savage,” the city’s social scene shifts as the former prey are afraid of the former predators, despite having no actual justification for being so except for the mere coincidence that the jailed mammals just happen to have predatory history. It becomes an “us vs. them” scenario, and the mammals are discriminated against because they seem scary, even though they are clearly not.
This correlates to the social discrimination we see today, especially in inner city areas. Racial and religious minorities seem harmful and scary externally, even though they may have done nothing to prove that harm or scariness. This is especially a problem in regards to the police force and the “Black Lives Matter” social and racial movement, in which black men and women are repeatedly arrested for crimes that perhaps a white person may not be penalized for. The citizens of Zootopia become cautious of the historically predatory mammals, just as the citizens of a metropolis in the United States have become unnaturally and disturbingly cautious of minorities with no justification, other than that one “might” do something bad. This parallel is obviously evident within the second half of the movie and is where the film becomes socially aware of the society it is presenting itself to.
“Zootopia” does not reward this cautious and discriminating behavior; at the end, it is indisputable that this kind of behavior towards those who are different than we are is not acceptable in a social setting, nor should it ever be. The film stresses that animals of all different walks of life should love and respect each other regardless of background, heritage, or experience.
The difference between “Zootopia” and real life, though, is that in the movie, this discrimination is resolved, and everyone lives a clichéd happily ever after. Yet, we know this is not true in everyday life, as minorities continue to be discriminated against despite the growing number of social movements, especially now with the Internet and the quick spread of such information and social opinion. There is still evident racial and religious prejudice in the world, and at this rate, it seems like this prejudice will never come to an end. “Zootopia” promotes the idea of this so-called “end” in the hopes that children watching will agree with its morals.
It is important for children to see this message. As they grow up in a world characterized by hate, racism, sexism, and religious discrimination, they must know that the only way for people to get along is through the beauty of tolerance and understanding. Without tolerance, no progress will be made. Children are the future of the world, and it is imperative that they learn about compassion earlier in life so they know to practice good morals when they get older. "Zootopia" does a wonderful job of explaining that tolerance is the only panacea for problems such as discrimination and prejudice and that the people of the world should be able to get along if they this tolerance.
“Zootopia” is no different from these other children's movies that have a clear moral message, such as "WALL-E" or "The Iron Giant," in the way the message is advocated—the morals are there and evident, but not excessive. Children enjoy watching it, and though adults can see the message clearly, it is still an entertaining. The film is wonderfully done artistically, and, of course, displays several social messages that are important for children to learn about.
