Zootropolis: Predator and Prey

Disney’s children blockbuster movie Zootropolis came out in New Zealand on the 7^th of April, 2016. If it wasn’t for the adorable animated animals and the unlikely duo of a fox and rabbit, I may have not bothered to watch. With 98% rating on Tomato, let’s see what all the hype is about.

I sat down and watch this movie with a bunch of friend and was blown away by the visual. The animation was flawless and the city of Zootropolis catered to every animal under the sun. The story started off as a humble one about “following your dreams” and “never give up” until it reached the half way mark when things started to get spicy.

~~~~~~~! SPOILER ALERT !~~~~~~~(Just friggin see it, honestly)

While animals that are commonly known as predators start to attack anything in their path, Judy Hopps is tasked with reporting to the media on what she believes is the reason for this change in behavior. After being encouraged by Nick to give it a shot, Judy stands up in front of the media and says that the predators must be reverting back to their natural ways. This sparks controversy within the media and a stake in Nick and Judy’s relationship. What Judy demonstrated in that moment was inferential racism. She spoke what she believed to be true based on what society had been telling her about predators her whole life. Since she did not know the true reason for why the predators were acting feral, Judy claimed that it was due to the naturalised, normalised stereotypes of being a predator, unintentionally expressing racism against all predators.

Judy is also a victim of the burden of representation, since she is a member of prey, by asking such a loaded statement, she was indirectly called a racist by Nick asking her if she felt that all predators were senseless killers. This issue even spread through the whole city with protests on both sides of the fence, echoing the “Black lives matter” campaigns.

At the end of the film, we find out that the reason why the predators have been acting strange is due to pollen in a type of flower. The government which was taken over by the lamb, Dawn Bellwether was using the substance to take all of Zootropolis for prey type animals. This shows a corruption within the government and an abuse of power. It also shows how structural racism is used against a certain type in favor of another.

Overall, the movie is very beautiful with its top of the line animation to date. (They were boasting about how each hair on the animals moves). However, I’m also glad that they managed to add this issue within a children’s movie. While it may go over most heads, it’s a nice change from Disney being racist, sexist and classiest. While the use of animals makes it “easier” to explore touché issues such as racism, I’m just glad they gave it a shot.

This is just my personal opinion and conclusion on this topic. There are many more to be seen on the internet which is worth checking out. ^-^