Sitting on my bed with a 101 degree fever last week, I wanted to watch a simple movie that I could fall asleep to.  Scrolling through Netflix, I remembered my little campers this summer telling me to watch Zootopia because they loved it.  Thinking I would end up falling asleep halfway through because it was a movie fit for second graders, I hit play.

Snuggling into my blankets, I never could have predicted how much I would come to love this movie.  Not just because of its fun plot line…actually the opposite.  The serious underlying themes throughout the movie totally shocked me and all I could think was wow. just wow.

***For those of you who have yet to watch it….SPOILER ALERT! Go watch it and then come back to this post.***

I think the reason I was so pleasantly surprised by this movie was because of how clearly they addressed social problems such as racism and sexism.  Many producers and writers shy away from doing so because they don’t want to be too “political”, but the makers of Zootopia surely hit the nail on the head with this one.

In a world full of different animals trying to live in peace and harmony, there is a clear social hierarchy which causes some species to put at a disadvantage over others.  For example, foxes are seen as having a totally different culture than other animals.  They are seen as criminals and are not trusted to have important jobs.  This is an overt reference to how people of color are treated in modern society.  Not only are they often discriminated against in the workplace, but they are also much more likely to be arrested and incarcerated due to prejudice.

And if addressing racism wasn’t enough, the makers of this movie went above and beyond to break gender stereotypes as well.  In the movie, the bunnies represent women, and are often told that they aren’t big or strong enough to have tougher jobs.  There are many little comments said in the film about bunnies that people in our society sometimes say about women, and the bunnies break each stereotype one by one.  The main bunny, Judy, goes above and beyond as a cop to save her community and prove those who doubted her wrong.

Zootopia is definitely not a snoozer like I might’ve originally thought.  After watching it, I actually sat and reflected on the issues addressed in the movie.  I thought the creators of this movie did an incredible job, and the fact that a film with such a positive message is so popular with young children gives me hope for the future.  If they can see how the discrimination in this movie is wrong, hopefully they can make the connection to the real world and help make a difference.

I’m inspired by the bravery of a cartoon bunny and fox, what can I say?