Zootopia
Entry updated 12 August 2024. Tagged: Film.
US animated film (2016). Walt Disney Animation Studios (see The Walt Disney Company). Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore. Written by Jared Bush and Phil Johnston. Voice cast includes Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin, J K Simmons and Jenny Slate. 108 minutes. Colour.
Predator and prey have learnt to live together in a world of anthropomorphic mammals (but no primates) whose society and culture is much like ours (see Sociology). The hub of this Utopia is the City of Zootopia: its infrastructure reflects both the different climate needs of its inhabitants – it has "twelve unique ecosystems" (see Ecology) – and that, though elephant, shrew and those in-between are bipedal and of human Intelligence, their size is unchanged. This affects the Job market: policing (see Crime and Punishment) is seen as a role for the larger species, such as tiger, bear and water buffalo – so when young rabbit Judy Hopps (Goodwin) becomes the first of her species to graduate from the police academy as part of Mayor Lionheart's (Simmons) "Mammal Inclusion Initiative" and appointed to Zootopia's city centre precinct, she is seen as a liability by her colleagues and (to the delight of her parents) given traffic duty – whilst they focus on the spate of mammal predator disappearances.
Whilst handing out tickets she meets Nick Wilde (Bateman), a hustler – and also a fox. Judy had been bullied by a fox as a child, whilst rabbit culture is casually racist against that species, and though she understands this, she over-reacts and takes a dislike to him – not helped by Nick's perceptive but cruel remarks about her ambitions. However, when she promises to locate an otter, one of the 14 missing mammals – and doing so against her bosses wishes, who gives her 48 hours to succeed or resign (see Parody) – she blackmails Nick into helping her. With support from the Assistant Mayor, sheep Dawn Bellwether (Slate), they discover a laboratory with the 14 missing predators, all of whom have reverted to their animal state (see Devolution). They are being held on the Mayor's orders, as he know if it gets out that predators pose a threat to prey species then Zootopian society will collapse (see Politics). Judy's actions lead to his arrest and the situation broadcast on the news: her press conference spreads panic when she suggests the cause might be biological – their DNA causing predators to revert to their primitive, savage ways (see Biology, Race in SF); it also breaks up her newly found friendship with Nick. Disheartened by the damage she has caused, Judy returns home to the Agricultural community (growing carrots, naturally) where she was raised.
Perhaps a little fortuitously, she discovers there is a flower that, if eaten, turns any animal savage (see Drugs). She returns to Zootopia and persuades Nick to help her. They quickly identify the Assistant Mayor as the culprit, who arranged for victims to be shot by darts poisoned with the flower: as most of the electorate are prey species, playing on their fears would enable her to become mayor. Bellwether has Nick shot by a dart and brags whilst he seemingly attacks Judy: but it was a set-up, her boasting is recorded, she is arrested and all ends happily.
The set up of the contemporary world is shown with imagination and Humour, though the history of how mammals all gained human-level intelligence (and previously four-legged species became bipedal) is unclear. This does not appear to be a result of Uplift, but there is a nod to science in a charming children's origin play: "over time we evolved and moved beyond our primitive savage ways", mentioning "the great city of Zootopia, where our ancestors first joined together in peace and declared that anyone can be anything". Zootopia is an excellent, funny film that uses its premise to examine cultural biases, stereotypes and prejudices, including conveying a strong anti-racist message. It avoids the species A = race Y trap; though the viewer needs to accept that, in this context, animal behaviour is being treated as a stereotype. Given the primary target audience is children, the Satire goes a little deeper and is more thorough than might be expected: the ending is a little too easy, perhaps, but that does not detract from the film's overall merit. [SP]
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