Finding Wisdom Through Disney’s Zootopia

How a (so-called) kid’s film helped me learn more about myself.

The following piece contains spoiler-free analysis of the Walt Disney Animation Studios film Zootopia.

Since its release in March, I’ve seen the Disney film Zootopia nine times. This is a pretty ridiculous number for someone who rarely watches films more than twice — let alone ones about animated, talking animals. At 20 years old, I didn’t expect to fit the film’s target demographic, but I was completely wrong. After three trips to see it in theaters, I found myself buying the DVD and showing it to anyone I could.

At first, I thought I was rewatching simply for the wonderful characters, razor-sharp dialogue and gorgeous animation. As an aspiring screenwriter, I couldn’t help admiring all of the subtle nuances in both the script and visuals that made every successive viewing feel like a new, even better movie. Only once I hit viewing number five did I begin to realize that what kept drawing me back to the film went beyond just entertainment.

Zootopia is a story about discovery, acceptance, and love. It explores the human (or in this case, animal) condition with a depth and ambition greater than any other Disney film I’ve seen. I could go on for hours about Zootopia — and often do, to my family, friends, or anyone who will listen to me ramble. It’s not a just a great animated family film, it’s a great film, period.

It handles the complex themes of prejudice and discrimination masterfully. The residents of the all-animal city of Zootopia, whether they’re conscious of it or not, judge one another on many different things, including species, size and whether they’re predator or prey — all of which act as metaphors for the gender, ethnicity and sexual-orientation biases that plague the human world.

Judy, one of the main characters, is discriminated against for being a rabbit in the police force, a profession dominated by larger, stronger animals like lions and rhinos. Nick, the other protagonist, lives his life as a sly con man because he doesn’t want to try to be anything other than what the world sees him as: a shifty and untrustworthy fox.

Zootopia’s co-head of story, Josie Trinidad, who is Filipino-American, stated in the documentary Imagining Zootopia that she wants the film to tell her son that “he should be proud of who he is, no matter what.” Whether you’re a rabbit competing against species bias in Zootopia, or an ethnic minority competing against inequality in the U.S., the film shows that change doesn’t come from fear, anger or blame; it comes from understanding, cooperation and love — for yourself and others.

The movie’s main message, which it manages to convey without feeling preachy, is simple: the flaws and biases in the world can’t be fixed all at once, but it’s everyone’s responsibility to try every day. And by elegantly pitching Judy’s naive beliefs against Nick’s jaded ones, Zootopia ultimately shows that the path to a better world lies somewhere between blind idealism and nihilistic skepticism.

The genuine connection that grows between Nick and Judy throughout the story is one of the most compelling aspects of the film. While most Disney movies with a male-female pair of protagonists culminate in a romantic relationship, Zootopia chooses to organically develop the characters as individuals, unshackled by antiquated tropes.

Nick and Judy’s friendship blossoms from their appreciation of one another for who they are, not by judging the other’s personality as right or wrong. They learn from one another such that each is able to save the other from themselves: Nick shows Judy how to be resilient in an imperfect world, and Judy shows Nick that there’s more to him than what society sees. What makes their partnership equitable is that neither is demanded to change to fit the other’s standards- the bond they share comes from mutual understanding. By the end, it’s obvious that Nick and Judy love one another — the question of romance is irrelevant.

While other recent Disney films like Frozen and Big Hero 6 exist staunchly within their own fictional worlds, Zootopia exists somewhere closer to reality. It has an unprecedented level of self-awareness, and with little satirical touches — sloths who work at the DMV, other animals who touch a sheep’s wool without asking, elephants who reserve the right to refuse service to anyone —it inoffensively points out the ironies of the human world. The film’s sarcastic yet optimistic tone provides comedy, meaning and heart to the narrative in an honest, non-accusatory way. This sharp, snappy and distinctive voice with which the story is told is a testament to the immense amount of time and care that was put into the film’s writing, directing, and performance. All the while, I don’t think any of it diminishes the film’s appeal as a great kid-friendly story.

Much like Judy’s journey into the city of Zootopia, my path into college and adult life has been one of moving away from home, naive expectation, and struggling to keep faith in myself and the world around me. I spent so much of my first three semesters at college questioning my self worth. Everywhere I turned I saw reasons to doubt and distrust myself; whether it was my lingering disappointment at being rejected from my top choice colleges, my failure to make new friends, or unhappiness with the subjects I was studying.

Whenever I faced a setback — be it a bad grade on a test or a failed internship application, my self resentment grew from what I saw as inadequacy. I counted on the rest of the world for validation, which put my happiness into the hands of a faceless society I was trying to impress. And once I finally did realize this, I blamed myself for being so naive. I was fighting battles without realizing I was my own opponent.

These forces ate away at my ability to fight depression. Simple tasks like basic arithmetic or reading a book became challenging, my motivation disappeared, and I constantly felt like a burden to the world around me. As my performance in school slipped, I got more frustrated — I felt like I was being, lazy, stupid and complacent. I’d lost faith in my ability to accomplish or contribute anything of value, and it was the culmination of this self repudiation that led me to drop out of college a year and a half ago. Things have gotten much better since then, but it wasn’t until I saw Zootopia that I realized how far I’ve come.

Returning to university last fall, starting a new course of study in Film and Literature and finding new friends through theatre gave me the chance to turn over a new leaf and focus on learning about who I am, rather than who I think the world wants me to be.

It was this experience that made me receptive to one of Zootopia’s most subtle but important lessons. Judy and Nick’s quests to find themselves showed me that the world has a spot for everyone, even if you have to make one for yourself. The film convinced me that I could rejoin and participate in a world that for so long I felt I had no place in. It taught me that most of the world isn’t divided into good and bad people, just people who are different, and I’m one of them. Life isn’t about not making mistakes, it’s about learning from the ones you do make and acknowledging that failure doesn’t make you any worse of a person than you were before.

This film changed my life, not just because it has steered me towards a professional interest in storytelling and filmmaking, but also because it taught me to be proud of who I am. It inspired me to try to be the best person I can be without forgetting to trust and believe in myself as I would any other person. It taught me that being a part of the world doesn’t mean compromising yourself or anyone else. It showed me that it’s within all of our power to make the world the better place, and it’s up to all of us to try. I’d like to thank the filmmakers for teaching me how to love myself and the complicated world around me.

While I can’t guarantee a slightly cheesy, life-changing epiphany, I can say that Zootopia delivers comedy, emotion and hope to anyone looking for it. I’d like to sit down for my tenth viewing any day now, and I hope that you’ll all join me.

Special thanks to Lauren Davis who helped me edit this story.