Alright, I think I’ve sorted out my thoughts on this and it’s time. Zootopia 3 concept thoughts:
Birds. Duh
Time skip. Not huge, but enough. Year-ish? Maybe more maybe less, but we’ve GOTTA move away from this tight timeline and let the kids reestablish themselves
Nick and Judy have settled into a VERY comfortable routine as partners in every way. They’re not TECHNICALLY dating though, but like. They’re so domestic it’s not even funny
Judy is on this bird kick and has been since the reptile case. Everyone’s like “girl chill”
I don’t think the birds are banned like the reptiles, I think there’s some other reason they’re not around. And I don’t think it’s necessarily an infrastructure only issue, but there’s gotta be a different reason
I’ve seen a lot of people speculating about Nick and Judy having to take care of an egg or at least a baby chick and it honestly makes a lot of sense. I’m not NOT buying into that concept
Also someone said something about Nick carrying the egg in a baby björn and honestly that’s SO funny to me
Long story short, if we subscribe to that parenting belief, I think they need to take the egg home, possibly venturing outside of Zootopia to do so
I think it becomes a Nick-centric plot, he might have some history with birds or something, but I think we go to where he’s from because it’s the “only way” and I think we may meet someone from his past (mother seems the most reasonable but could be anyone)
This could also be an opportunity to bring Finnick up which would be nice
We all know Nick is a beautifully complex character but I think he may have even more layers than we realize that show up here. Let’s all explore that traumatic childhood together, babe
I think it hits Judy like a TRUCK that she’s in love with him right around here
I think once they use Nick’s past in whatever way to help bring them to their next step, they get the bird home
Except, bird is not accepted back home
Something something bird acts as a parallel to Nick’s own upbringing and bro relates maybe too hard
Judy’s like “you gotta take your baby back” and the birds are like “yeah no, we don’t like you and we don’t like the baby please leave”
That’s the twist this time, no villain, just traditional values leaving trauma on young impressionable babies
Maybe an allegory for queerness, maybe disability, who knows
Regardless, Nick and Judy are like “welp. Only one thing to do”
They take the baby home
It also shows Judy’s growth because she doesn’t need to chase them down, she now knows that some people just suck and all she can do is be good to the people in her world and hope others can find it within themselves to change some day
But the change starts at home, so this is her baby now
Somewhere in here they’re like “oh we’re just straight up parenting this child now, sick”
“Guess we might as well be in love then”
(Which they both already are)
Honestly I can see them avoiding another big love confession entirely, it’s more just like
“So what, we’re just gonna be this bird’s parents now?”
“I mean…yeah, doesn’t it feel right?”
“But like…together?”
“…I mean…doesn’t that feel right too?”
“…Yeah, it really does”
ACTUALLY WAIT THAT IS EXACTLY HOW I THINK IT’LL GO NOW THAT I’VE WRITTEN IT OUT
Because I think they already know deep down what they are and they do not need to makeout on screen and have some big romcom plotline to acknowledge that this is it, this is their family
It’s been made CLEAR
(Also don’t ask me who’s saying which lines because we all know Nick wants to be a dad so badly he just doesn’t want to say it out loud until now so you can interpret it however you want but I KNOW THE TRUTH)
Anyway I think something about Nick’s past will come back at the very end and attempt to resolve itself in a mediocre way that says “I’m trying to be better because you’ve proven you can change and maybe others can too so I wanna try” and Nick is like “eh, it’s a start”
And we stick the landing with the weirdest family of all time, a rabbit, a fox, and their baby bird
Bonus points if it’s a freaking penguin or something extra out of place as opposed to like a blue bird, a robin, or a duck
And honestly, as much as I love this world, I’d be happy with just a solid trilogy if they play this right
ALSO, I do think the Hopps family pops in at some point to be the foil to Nick’s past because they are always willing to change and always so accepting and while Nick has canonically already met them (peep final scene in the sequel), I think he deserves to really see the parallels right in front of his face
ALSO ALSO double bonus points if post-credits stinger is Nick quitting the ZPD to be a stay at home dad. He deserves it so much
ANYWAY THAT’S MY PLOT TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK THANKS
