#zootopia analysis

[yet-another-name08]

Zootopia is Utopian fiction

Okay so obviously the name is a pun on the term utopia but I have interesting stuff to say. Zootopia already passes the infrastructure portion of a utopia. All people of all shapes and sizes are able to go about their lives and be successful without physical obstacle. Socially is when people may begin to have objections.

We see discrimination (specifically against predators but prey can also experience it based on size or species), government corruption, and gentrification all happen in the city. How can the franchise be utopian fiction if there are these clear issues plaguing their communities? Well let me ask you, what happened at the end of the films?

You see I believe Zootopia represents a utopian society in the way that its citizens are able to adapt to change and fix past mistakes. They welcomed Nick, a fox, onto the police force despite previous discrimination and stereotyping. They rebuild their relationship with reptiles and invite them back onto their land the city had stolen.

I think Zootopia is telling us that a utopian society, or at the very least a positive society, rests in the paws of the people. That’s Judy’s whole message at the end of the first film. Try.

Try to be kind.

Try to be welcoming.

Try to fix your mistakes.

Try to make the world a better place.

[hannahberrie]

Why do you think Nick rarely calls Judy by her first name?

This may sound slightly weird, but I think it has a lot to do with the old saying, “If you name it, you get attached to it.” 

As we know, Nick doesn’t like to get close to people, since he lives in this mindset where the world is out to get him. He doesn’t want other people to hurt him, so he doesn’t let them get close enough to. Calling people nicknames is a way of keeping his distance, of not getting attached. Nick isn’t getting close to Judy Hopps, he’s being bothered by a rabbit, a meter maid. It’s very impersonal. 

When Nick first meets Judy, he calls her all kinds of nicknames - evidence that he’s keeping his distance. He doesn’t know her, he doesn’t want to, so he avoids attachment by keeping her at a safe distance. 

The first time we see him come close to calling Judy by her real name is after he defends her to Bogo. 

By this point, they’ve grown to be a lot closer. This is a sign that Nick is allowing himself to open up to Judy, which is shown by how he literally does so moments after, when he tells her about his childhood. 

The first (and only) time he calls her by her real name, Judy, is when he thinks she could be hurt. 

At this point the two are full-on partners. They’ve connected and become close over their experiences, and Nick has fully opened himself up to her. Instead of trying to push her away, Nick calling Judy by her first name is a sign that he deeply cares and is worried for her. 

After Nick becomes an officer, we see he still calls Judy nicknames, but they’re no longer in a derogatory way. He’s not trying to belittle her, but instead, the names are terms of endearment. 

I think that him calling her, “Carrots,” and so on is his way of saying that he cares for her, without actually having to flat-out say it. It’s a different way of holding his emotions at bay, however, this time it’s in a far more positive light.