Disney’s latest animated films have been great successes. Last year’s Frozen took the world by storm not only for the award-winning music, but also for the touching story. The strong love between siblings and the on-point relationship drama felt more real than “disney-fied” (The snowman Olaf could be a real person somewhere in the world). In 2016, Disney keeps the modern day mojo alive in Zootopia. In the film, the characters, which are different species of the animal kingdom, walk on two legs and carry Apple and Samsung look-alike products. Most important, there are pop culture references in every other scene. As you catch each moment, you begin to see stories within a story.
Similiar to Frozen, the story is told from a female’s perspective. Judy Hopps (voiced by BU alumna Ginnifer Goodwin) is a small town bunny, who dreams of being a police officer and protecting Zootopia. The city’s motto is “You can be anything you want to be.” From the start, this statement evokes female empowerment and equal rights. The officers are rhinos, lions, and large animals, but Judy believes she can be as good as any officer regardless of rankings in the animal kingdom. Judy has been told her entire life that she’s just a “cute bunny” and shouldn’t dream so big. But, Hopps doesn’t want to be defined by a stereotype. She ultimately defends her right to be one of the top detectives in an ongoing case. In subtext, men and women should be given equal opportunity for a position for which they can rightly earn.
On the topic of female empowerment, I believe there is a reference to the CBS show Supergirl. Judy’s first “big” assignment is parking attendant. It may seem like busywork, but her super hearing makes the job easier. Hopps can hear the sound of parking meters on several street corners. In this case, her hearing is her superpower much like Supergirl’s. There’s nothing Supergirl can’t do that Superman can. With Judy, she proves that she has the power to do anything. The filmmakers pay homage to the Girl of Steel and the epic scene, where she sprints off to fight crime, tears open her shirt, and reveals the “S”—her true identity. Viewers soon realize that Judy’s orange vest doesn’t do her justice.
A third major topic is social discrimination. Once Hopps makes the move to the city, she sees the world for the first time. Along her journey, she encounters a fox named Nick (voiced by Jason Bateman), who is seen as sly and untrustworthy by Hopps and society. Ever since Judy was little, she has been told that foxes were dangerous, so much so that her parents required her to carry pepper spray wherever she goes. Nick turns out to be a con artist, but also happens to be a key witness in an investigation in which Hopps takes interest in solving. Hopps struggles to treat Nick as an ally, but eventually she comes to find that Nick is more than what people say about foxes. Not all foxes act the same, but it is difficult to break the mold if society sees foxes as nothing but predators. After a rare case of a predator attack in Zootopia, communities begin to divide and see tigers, lions and bears as enemies rather than equals. The filmmakers show Judy and Nick as an example of possible friendship between predator and prey. The world as one.
To come full circle, the movie drives on the concept of empowerment. The theme song for the movie, “Try Everything” by Shakira, is an uplifting anthem. The lyrics “I won’t give up, no I won’t give in..” and “I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail” both reinforce the idea that you never know unless you try. Judy doesn’t give up when she makes mistakes. She learns from them and starts again. She is a fighter and fights to show the city and her community that bunnies can be cute AND courageous.