Zootopia Headcanon which is kind of canon (at least in my opinion):
Judy is not a bad driver, she is an excellent one.
I read so many fanfics, comics, shortstorys, etc. where it is just assumed that Judy is a bad driver. But in the original source material (which is Z1&Z2), there is no indication that that’s the case. Quite the opposite technically, we see many instances where Judy shows excellent driving skills. The only reason people keep thinking that she is a bad driver is Nick’s comment at the end of Z1 when he asks her: “… are all bunny’s bad drivers or is it just you?”. That’s it. No further evidence. Just Nick’s usual teasing which is confirmed in Z2 (by himself!) that he does instead of telling her how he really thinks and feels. How impressed he is be her and how much he loves her, but that’s another topic.
So, on the opposite, what is the evidence of her being a very good driver and in my opinion already one of ZPD’s best?
1: We first see her driving in Z1 with the meter maid vehicle. She starts from the ZPD parking lot and we see how slow it goes.
In the next scene however she drives it with relatively high speed and accuracy. What happened between these two scenes? I think Judy used her farm skills to improve the car. We know she grew up as the oldest kid on one of Bunnyburrows biggest farms. Of course she knows how to fix a broken machine (we see this also later in Z1 where she easily gets the old train to move) or in this case how to overcome a build in speed limiter.
2: When Judy finally understands that Nighthowlers are flowers, she rushes back to zootopia in the Pickup-Truck of her parents.
She drives as fast as it goes and we don’t see any lack in driving skills from her side.
3: At the end of Z1 she drives one of the colossal ZPD Cruisers, which has clearly been altered to fit her size.
And, despite the car being hilariously big for a rabbit, she seems totally relaxed to drive this tank through the narrow streets of downtown Zootopia.
4: During the chase scene at the start of Z2 she shows the most prominent example of her driving skills. Not only does she manage to catch up to the suspect who was way ahead of them with an car she never drove before, she also did it while driving through the busy streets of the city in full daylight and operating the radio (which could have been done by Nick if he stopped his antics for a minute).
After the Anteater hits himself unconscious and loses control over his vehicle (which could have happened even if the Swat-Units did the chase, but Judy and Nick were later scolded like it was only their fault) Judy decides instantly to do her best to stop his car. That’s also one of the reasons I don’t understand why some people assume she only does heroic things for praise or recognition. In this moment she does not think about a reward for her actions. She sees, that the car is about to crash into a parade and will hurt or even kill civilians and literally jumps into action to prevent the worst. Not for being a hero but because it’s the right thing to do in this moment, at least for her.
After the relatively successful jump, which clearly could have killed her if it went just slightly wrong, Judy realises that the car is not build for an animal of her size. Nevertheless there is no time for longer thinking and she makes a decision based on instinct: Hitting the brakes as hard as possible, even by going blind.
The manoeuvre works in a way, by not crashing into the parade but unfortunately sending her off the bridge and destroying the monument. But Judy’s quick thinking, good instincts and her willingness to sacrifice herself for the greater good was clearly visible during this scene, as well as her superior driving skills. A lesser driver who faced the same obstacles would not have been able to reduce the damage to the minimum like Judy did.
Judy Hopps is a much better driver than most give her credit for.
I would love to read a fic or a comic based on that premise! Maybe from her academy time where she stuns everyone by operating a large cruiser with ease because it drives just like a huge harvester back at home and what is the big deal in driving that? She does it since forever.
Thanks for staying with me through this post and sorry in advance for my English, I’m clearly not a native speaker (or writer)
So, what are your opinions on Judy’s driving skills?
Did I miss a major point?
Feel free to comment nicely ;)
