CREDIT: WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES (2016)
In Zootopia anything is possible. As long as you prove yourself first...

Zootopia, a city where lions lay down with lambs (or at least work with them), gazelles peacefully walk alongside tigers and everyone just generally gets along. In hops Judy Hopps, the city’s first bunny police officer, full of good cheer and pluck, ready to prove that she’s as good as anyone else. Except, of course, things are never that easy.

To start off, it has to be said that this is a great movie. With fantastic voice acting by a ton of recognizable actors including Shakira, typically excellent animation and remarkable settings, the background of Zootopia is quite excellent. The script, full of animal puns and references to Frozen and The Godfather, is at turns amusing and touching, with the genuine emotional rollercoaster one almost expects from Disney at this stage.

Unfortunately, in trying to prove “look guys, we’re not racist anymore”, Disney may have gone too far in trying to make too big a point. As the film revolves around the systemic racism and prejudices of the animal world, it’s impossible not to draw parallels between the story and the real world. The problem is that the message they were trying to get across is often different than the message they intended.

For example, the overarching theme of the movie is that with hard work and dedication you can be anything. Except, of course, it’s entirely on you to prove that you don’t fit in with the stereotypes of your species, and no one has to accept you or even give you a fair chance until you work twice as hard to do this.

Also, it’s totally okay for someone to take advantage of you for years, treat you like garbage and take all the benefits of your hard work, so long as they’re a good person deep down. Plus, only a crazy woman would try to change the system, or act out with violence against the deeply ingrained power structures that are already there.

The entire movie almost comes off as an appeal to preserve the status quo while playing lip service to the idea that people can be whatever they want. Chaos reigns until the original power structure is restored, and there’s a weird sympathy for the 10 per cent that gives the impression that Disney believes that the current system is the best and that those that abuse power only do it for reasons beyond their control.

Yes, this is reading a lot into a children’s movie. However, the media that we, as a society, show our children inform their beliefs. It would be easy for a chid to walk out of this movie believing that racism is just the way things are and it’s up to them to prove they’re different than the rest of their ethnicity. This is a crappy lesson that we see too often.

Overall, this is a movie that is amazingly animated and scripted, but fundamentally problematic. The sad part is that so many people will see it as a step in the right direction for a company that wants nothing more than to preserve the status quo.