Think you’re too old for silly cartoons? Disney’s Zootopia, while kid friendly, tackles hard hitting adult topics in a comedic way. After seeing the previews for a movie about a bunny fighting crime, I’ll admit that I thought it’d be a total flop. However, after seeing the film it’s about so much more than that. These fuzzy animals are more than just cute; they teach kids of all ages the about stereotyping and inequality. Disney challenged itself this year by making a movie about racism and sexism, and did so flawlessly.
Stereotypes. Racial Profiling. Police Brutality. The need for diversity. These heavy hitting topics can be hard for a parent to explain to their kids. Zootopia offers parents the perfect platform to start these heavy conversations. Zootopia is an alternate universe where animals have evolved to human like. Rather than talking about color, the movie creates a metaphor by setting the animals into two ethnic groups: predator and prey. Although it may sound like a complicated theme, Disney manages to pull this off effortlessly. This movie while intelligent is also very entertaining. It’ll make you ugly laugh embarrassingly loudly, and also make you hide your welling up eyes from the movie goer next to you.
What really struck a chord with me is its relatability. Many people have been told they won’t amount to anything other than a stereotype. The message of the movie is while people may judge you based only what you look like or where you come from, you can’t let it stop you from achieving your dreams. Are you on the other side of the fence? Zootopia also tackles white privilege and does a great job at allowing each end of the social spectrum to walk in the other’s shoes.
People of all ages can learn something from this revolutionary film. Zootopia is Disney’s way of combatting social inequality by both entertaining and educating its audiences. It’s inspiring to see such a socially aware movie succeed in the box offices. Against movies filled with clichés and misogynistic plot points, Zootopia still rose to the #1 spot.
This film is educational, witty, funny, emotional, culturally relevant, and a must see for more than just children.