“Zootopia” explains race for kids

One day I came home to my parents watching cartoons, “Dragon Riders” to be exact, and I knew “this is where I get it from.” I love children and family movies. Something I don’t brag about for good reason is that when I was 14, I vowed to watch every Barbie movie produced, and I have. So when trailers hit theaters for “Zootopia,” of course I knew I was going – with my entire family.

Judy Hopps, a small rabbit from the countryside, has been told all her life she could never be a cop. This was because she was small and cops needed to be larger predator animals. Hopps proved everyone wrong and graduated top of her class. However, with 14 missing animal cases, her new chief of police still puts her on parking duty.

The movie underlines a few morals, including “anyone can be whatever they want to be,” and whether someone is predator or prey, you shouldn’t treat them differently.

Zootopia also captures real-life problems, using animals. When Hopps catches a bad guy, her chief threatens to take away her badge for not sticking to parking duty. After a crying otter, some yelling and screaming, and the assistant mayor showing up, Judy is given a measly 48 hours to find the otter’s husband. Unfortunately there is nothing in his case file and because she is so new to the precinct, she can’t access anything on the server.

Hopps blackmails a entrepreneurial, tax-evading fox into helping her. Nick Wilde, the fox,  was the last person to see Mr. Otterton. Wilde takes Hopps to a nudist community, the DMV, a limo parking lot, the home of a crime boss by the name of Mr. Big, and lastly, to one of Mr. Big’s limo driver’s house.

Within the film there are many laughable scenes. Hopps has a family numbering well over 250, and when she leaves the small town of mostly rabbits you can see the population number still growing. The mayor of Zootopia is obviously a lion – being the king of the animal kingdom and all. When first arriving at the precinct Judy meets a very large, doughnut-loving cheetah cop at the front desk. The DMV is filed with sloths and by the time Hopps and Wilde get their plate number, it’s midnight. Mr. Big himself is quite a small animal who employees polar bears as bodyguards.

As the movie continues, you find out the hard time Hopps and Wilde have been through. The pair end up finding the entire group of 14 missing animals – all gone crazy. The entire city of Zootopia becomes frightened, as only predator animals are reverting back to their natural ways. Judy loses her new friend, Wilde, along with her hopes for the city, moving back home to be a carrot farmer.

The movie doesn’t end there, though. Of course, the problem is resolved and Hopps and Wilde become friends again. Judy encourages Nick to join her at the precinct and be her partner in crime fighting.

All in all, the movie is enjoyable, teaching some good principles. Just because someone is a certain “race” (or physical stature) doesn’t mean they can or can’t do something. Judy proves she can be a cop and Nick proves he can be everything opposite of sly and cheating. Though the film was good, little girls will probably still watch “Frozen” over “Zootopia.”
But, if I ever have children I will most likely own this film for them, or for myself. I give this movie a 3.5/5.