Zootopia Analysis (Philip Baglio post 4)

After finishing the movie, it was difficult to remember that Zootopia was a Disney animation. Compared to other Disney classics, like Frozen, Zootopia lies completely on the other side of the spectrum of what a children’s movies can be. In its simplest form, Zootopia takes on the structure of a fable. We’ve all heard the story of the Tortoise and the Hare and know the meaning of its message, but Zootopia finds a way to modernize the themes and lesson we’ve been accustomed to hearing.

Naturally, as humans we have the tendency to categorize and stereotype all aspects of our lives. We’ve even done so to the point that we see animals in that same light. The fox is wily. The owl is wise. This film uses those beliefs to centralize their anamorphic mammal world. These distinctions allowed the writers to easily divide these animals between predator and prey. The history of Zootopia is built on the fact that these two groups were able to deter from their past where prey lived at the mercy of the predators to live harmoniously in a world where anything is possible.

Initially, it appears that the prey would be seen as the minority subjected to oppression by the laws of the predators. Their mayor is a lion for goodness sake! But that whole idea of history tending to repeat itself disappears as the main conflict begins to develop. It is revealed that because the prey now have power, they ultimately have total authority. This is because they have the second biggest controlling factor; the majority. Predators only make up 10% of the population, we’re told. This immediately shifts the focus from a “bunny” not being capable to work as a cop to an otter not being able to control his “savage” tendencies. The turn was unexpected but just as powerful. We learn how quickly a specific group can become the minority given the events that take place. In our world today, we’ve shaped what distinctions give power and what distinctions don’t, but none of that is set in stone. It is all subject to change. Most people look at Zootopia with one perspective, the politically "racial" allegory between predator and prey. Most miss the idea of how societal structure can indirectly put a group in a situation to be ill-treated.

The idea of a utopia or place where everything is perfect in every aspect is unrealistic. There is always some underlying flaw that can be taken advantage of just like Bellwether did. It’s possible for a place to have utopic aspects, but as we can see in Zooptopia there is always some way for an imperfection to exist whether its surfacing was direct or not.