The Dark Side of Zootopia

Full of wit, beauty, and a powerful message, it’s no wonder Zootopia surpassed Frozen opening weekend and has become the subject of recent controversy.

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Most parents probably thought Zootopia looked so sweet and innocent in the trailers, and got more than they bargained for when they watched it for the first time. The trailer doesn’t lie, though. The movie is about a colorful society full of different kinds of cute mammals that have learned to coexist peacefully. The thing is, the trailer doesn’t reveal the whole truth. Disney really takes a step away from its happy go lucky princess movies of the past by making Zootopia, which is a modern allegory on rascism and prejudice presented in an easy to digest form.

One of the characters makes a comment towards the beginning about life not being a musical where everything is happy. This a good reality check and it also foreshadows the deception that unfolds later on.

There are some very grim moments in the film, particularily when the main characters are bullied. There are moments of comic relief, though, and for the most part, Zootopia remains a bright colorful place throughout the film. The movie contains a few jump scares and becomes very dark when the predators become uncontrollably ferocious, so it probably isn’t a movie little kids should be watching.

The film is encoded with various messages concerning racism. If moviegoers think in black and white, it becomes apparent right off the bat: the animals that used to be prey back in the wild era of animals are seen as the inferior group in comparison to the big powerful predators.

Some of the prey realize that they are being mistreated by the predators and seek revenge. In doing so, the predators become the victims. The main character is a rabbit–an animal of prey–named Judy Hopps. Hopps befriends Nick Wilde, the fox, who is a predator. When Judy sees the wedge that the prey’s revenge puts inbetween her and Nick, she realizes that the movement she originally supported is actually making the prey no better than the predators. Zootopia as a whole eventually realizes this too, and eventually, change is made, and the prey start being treated as equals.

The theme of prejudice is wrapped up with the message to not judge others based off of their appearance. However, considering how intense the movie is, the ending still feels like a letdown. Overall, the movie is pretty great.

The visual aspects of Zootopia are just as, if not even more, appealing as the storytelling.

The animation is stunning, using the same smooth design that was seen in Frozen and Tangled. Since Zootopia has no people in it, moviegoers get a chance to see what else the program is capable of doing and it doesn’t disappoint. In Zootopia, there are four environments: the Little Rodentia, Tundratown, Sahara Square, the Burrows, and the Rainforest District. Each one is designed to look functional for animals to live in. When Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde visit Rainforest District in particular, it’s easy to forget that the movie centralizes on talking animals because the environment is so realistically rendered. Zootopia is one of those films that would be worth rewatching just to take in all the details in the background.

The voices are well matched for the characters in the films, with the exception of Finnick the fox, but he’s supposed to have a deep voice as a joke. The movie makes use of humor most successfully with the running gag that sloths are so slow. Animal nudity being taboo in Zootopia is also joked about quite a bit.

It’s been a while since Disney successfully made a movie that seems to be aimed at an older audience. If students have time over spring break, they should definitely go see Zootopia. The movie will probably have them howling with approval.