Nature And Nurture In Disney's Zootopia

In the article “Zoos Are Cruel and Unnecessary,” Earth Times posed a question, “With the internet, as well as DVDs, 3D TV, etc., are zoos really necessary to teach people about animals in the 21st century?” In the response given by Liz Tyson, director of the Captive Animals’ Protection Society, she argues an animal and its environment in a zoo is “out of context” and there is no substitution for an animal’s natural habitat. Therefore, viewing animals in such environments distorts the message that a zoo’s primary purpose is to conserve these habitats in the wild. By focusing solely on the artificial habitats, Tyson fails to mention the educational opportunities that zoos and zoological parks can provide, such as interactive visitor programs, breeding and rehabilitation programs, and up-close animal encounters.

“No matter what kind of person you are, I implore you: try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you” - Judy Hopps. The Disney movie, Zootopia, explains a society of animals where all the prey and predators get along together nicely. Judy Hopps, a rabbit, has always wanted to be a cop her whole life, but her parents want her to stay on the carrot farm to become a carrot farmer just like all of the other bunnies. After a lot of determination, Judy becomes the first prey/rabbit cop and moves to the city of Zootopia. The head officer explains that nine animals, prey and predators, throughout the four Zootopia zones had gone missing. Determined to prove her spot as a cop, Judy jumps at the opportunity to solve the mysterious cases. Judy went out trying to solve the cases with a mischievous fox to figure out what happened to the missing animals. Zootopia is a great modern day example of transcendentalism as it displays examples of nonconformity and confidence.

A Disney film, Zootopia was released on March of 2016, it is not only a kid animated movie but a movie that exposes many social issues that we face in today’s society. This film is set in a city named Zootopia, where animals all sizes big and small come together to live a peaceful and civilized life. They “have abandoned traditional predator/prey roles in favor of civilized coexistence” (Rovi). In this film, there is a rabbit named Judy Hopps who has always dreamed of becoming a police officer, she lives in a town called Bunny Burrow. Where she lives with both parents and about two-hundred brothers and sisters. Judy leaves her parents and siblings behind to pursue her dream of becoming the first rabbit police officer, despite being told she will never be a police officer due to gender inequality. On her first day of work, she is assigned to be a traffic officer or as others referred to her a “meter maid.” She is determined that this will not stop her from being a real police officer. On her first day of duty, she gives out two hundred and two parking tickets and meets a con artist that happens to be a fox named Nick Wilde. In Zootopia, foxes are untrustworthy and discriminated for being foxes. This con artist will later help officer Hopps solve a mysterious crime. In Zootopia, a total of fifteen mammals go missing, and Judy puts her career on the line, for offering to help resolve this case. She is given forty-eight hours to crack this case if

Zoos are internment camps for animals, and it should be shut down because of all the mistreatment and bad effects it has caused on animals. These bad effects and mistreatment can be summarized to three major points, which are:

In addressing the movie Zootopia, something of great importance in relation to the movie to take into consideration is the relationship between animals. Something which used to be a problem between all animals until they all found a way to coexist peacefully. To illuminate to what, exactly, is the predator and prey relationship between the animals. However, it is made obvious throughout the movie that there is still tension between them, as well as a lack of trust between predators by the prey. Although the role of the main character Judy Hopps is vital for she plays a direct role as well as her parents who say that “foxes are the worst, it’s in their biology”. In labeling foxes in general as that as sly animals with nothing but foul intentions. Whether it was through her own personal experiences, like her encounter with Gideon grey, another fox who had bullied Judy and her friends growing up from her home town. Or through society’s outlook on them in general, since they have their own image and are known for being sly in addition to the fact that they are of the predator group (Spencer & Howard, Moore, 2016).

Secondly, zoo animals are kept in enclosures that don’t allow them to live their lives in a natural way. The elephant, Happy, from the Bronx Zoo is kept in solitude which is not ideal for elephants. Tullis says, “Happy has lived alone, separated from the zoo’s two other elephants. Her solitary confinement is quite unlike the life of a wild elephant. In nature, elephants live in closely bonded matriarchal families.” Moreover,

Most people think of small animals, such as sheep, as meek and submissive due to their frequent portrayal as innocent characters in children’s stories and folklore; in these same stories, antagonistic characters tend to be fiercer animals such as lions or wolves. However, the children’s movie Zootopia, in which all characters are mammals, shows that this is not always the case. The characters in this film break the stereotypes against them by being different or the opposite of what the audience expects based on their species or occupation within the film. For instance, Judy Hopps solves the case on the missing mammals and why they went savage despite being a “dumb bunny”, and Nick Wilde turns from a sly con artist to the first fox cop. This

Hybridization doesn’t always mean harmony though. Nick Wilde, a con artist fox, another main character in the film states that “We don’t always get along” (Zootopia). This exemplifies that hybridization has issues and stereotypes. In Zootopia, the most prevalent ones are dumb bunny and sly fox. While predators and prey might live together or mammals as a whole, the stereotypical classifications will still be a part of their society. It was a pleasant surprise in the end to see that Judi and Nick were able to tear down some of these stereotypes by becoming cops like no one thought a bunny or fox could ever do. Judi and Nick were able to achieve their dreams and create a platform for their fellow mammals. While it didn’t solve all the problems, it was able to produce a more unified environment and a more peaceful example of hybridization.

It is important to remember that animals of all kinds can have emotions and thoughts. Many zoos do a decent job addressing situations that deal with animal’s mental issues, after

Zoos are a dynamic educational source that enhances our community. Zoos raise awareness about jeopardized species and the significance of preservation. Zoos may help us to comprehend animals. They offer a good tool for our societies by lodging and dealing with creatures that may have been in peril at one point in their life. “100,000 kids come to London Zoo every year to learn about creatures.”[3] Usually when people come to zoos and they are taught about the conservation of some of the endangered species, a lot of these people get motivated and inspired to do something about it either by donating money or volunteering to help and so on.

The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when rookie Officer Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) arrives, she discovers

Traditionally, animated films have been made for and consumed by children, with the plotlines and themes being relatively basic and forthright. However, recent years have seen the release of animated films that explore significantly more adult themes and thought provoking ideas. Perhaps the most confronting example of adult themes in an animated film is in 2016’s ‘Zootopia’. The film forces viewers to think about concepts such as racial segregation, nature vs. nurture and the debilitating effect of stereotyping. Although Zootopia features anthropomorphic animals, it is easy to draw a connection between the film’s prey vs. predator narrative and racial divide in our own society.

In the film Zootopia we see right off the back how a society is shown it may look happy on the outside but picture can be misleading. Although race plays a big part in the movie what I didn’t notice before reading Sir Thomas Moore’s Utopia was that it was much more than that. It was about the society and how people views never really change. Even though the predators and prey lived in peace for many year the prey still felt some way about the predators. Zootopia was very large but the people there had hidden resentment toward each other. This goes with the first quotes “They are generally more set on acquiring new kingdoms, right or wrong than on governing well those possess”. Zootopia full of tall beautiful building but the people there were still unhappy.

The sun was shining, the sky was spotted with clouds, and the wind was whistling as it passed through the trees. Overall, it was the perfect day to visit the zoo. Smiling, happy children bounded beside me as I walked underneath the large, blue and yellow sign announcing “The Colorado Zoo.” As I walked onto the sidewalk, I looked out over the “habitats.” The big, colorful signs advertising the exotic animals “brought from all over the world!” Animals that were taken from their home, taken from their habitats, and taken to a world where they are put on display. Animals who are forced to live out their lives in zoos in unhealthy, degrading, and devastating ways.

The film Zootopia, written and directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, follows the life of a small, yet spirited rabbit as she endures the trials angst of pursuing a profession as a big- city police officer. The city of Zootopia is a lively, thriving metropolis where Judy Hopps, the story’s protagonist, bravely embarks on her dream of pursuing a career in law enforcement. The writers employ a buoyant, kid-friendly storyline to comment on a myriad of social injustices and inequalities abounding in modern-day society. Feminist literary criticism utilizes feminist ethic and ideology to analyze the way in which male supremacy permeates the language and themes ingrained within literature. It allows readers to observe literature from a renewed, unorthodox perspective, and therefore extends the spectrum of accepted ideas and convictions. Zootopia is wrought with commentary on the pervasive presence of female oppression in the workforce. Oft beleaguered Judy Hopps combats disrespect and prejudice from her colleagues, condescension from her family and community, and gender bigotry that requires her to continuously prove herself as both a legitimate and qualified officer.