It’s an amazing thing to go see a children’s movie when you’re a 19-year-old college freshman because let’s be real, no one is ever too old for a Disney movie. Disney’s latest release, "Zootopia," perfectly explained racism and prejudice without explicitly saying it.
The movie begins with the main character, Judy Hopps, a bunny, putting on a show for her classmates. She talks about opportunity and openly announces she wants to be a cop when she grows up. Her parents tried to talk her out of it because it is a dangerous job, and “no bunny has been a cop before.” Judy didn’t take her parents' word to heart; instead, she said: “I want to be the first!” Everything about this is brilliant because it tells children (and anyone, really) that just because it’s never been done before doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Fifteen years go by, and Judy is at the training academy, taking a step closer to her dreams. She fails at the first tests, but she refuses to give up. Judy decides to try harder, and eventually makes it through the tests. Judy shows that not everyone succeeds on the first try, and with the right amount of determination and practice, anyone can accomplish anything.
On the subject of prejudice and racism, there are two groups of animals in "Zootopia," predators and prey, much like the animal kingdom. In the film, it is explained that predators and prey have learned to “live together in harmony," and they do so in the film. When Judy starts her job on the police force in the city, the chief briefs the officers and tells them that 14 mammals have gone missing, and all of them were predators.
Judy gets the opportunity to check out the case, and her discoveries lead her to believe that the animals that disappeared had all gone “savage." No one knows why this is happening to the animals, I suspected a virus of some sort. During Judy’s press conference, she addresses the issue and said that she believed the mammals went “savage” because of their biological or genetical make-up. This starts a divide among the animals in Zootopia.
The belief that an animal could go “savage” because of what species they are, is quite similar to the perception that people have when it comes to religion or skin color. It’s sad to think that people are only seen as who they appear to be, and not who they actually are. The fox in the film, Nick Wilde, acts like a fox because that’s what anyone would ever see him as. There is a character change, and we see Judy start to trust him. Together, they discover what’s really going on with the “savage” animals, and of course, save the day.
This is an important children’s film, and watching as a college student allowed me to relate it to the world today. I just hope that the kids take away the same message I did and that they go out in the world with an open mind. One of the reasons I love Purchase College is the diversity that resides on campus. People from all over, different backgrounds, different values — it brings us together, and it shouldn’t divide us. Maybe one day, the rest of the world will learn to “Think wide open." The message from "Zootopia" is this — no matter where you come from, who you are and when you start, you can do it. It's a matter of belief in yourself.
