INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Disney ‘Zootopia’ Gets It Right On Many Different Levels

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 14:09 PST, Mar 10, 2016

Disney’s newest movie, Zootopia, has managed to once again do what Disney films do best, but to an even new extreme, which is to meet each audience on their own level. For kids, it’s a fun movie with animals, and for adults, it is a tale about race and Furries. But it seems that each group can also learn a little something from the other.

According to the Inquisitr, Disney decided to take on a new marketing strategy with Zootopia, and court the Furry market directly. Disney characters have often been the inspiration for Furry costumes, and Disney has made the leap to meeting them head-on by asking the Furries to take photos of themselves in costume while seeing the movie, and tag or send them them in.

The Los Angles Times is reporting that Zootopia is combining an upbeat animated animal movie with a story about race and prejudice, along with a really upbeat musical score. The music is being called jazzy, percussive, and unafraid, but also worldly. The core of the story is about a bunny, but depending on the set of eyes you are viewing Zootopia with, it’s about tough Judy Hopps or racism and sexism, according to Michael Giacchino, who wrote the score for Zootopia.

“It made me want to look at all the issues that are going on in our world right now. The chance to explore that artistically was very interesting to me. It’s really a personal movie. That may sound strange to say.”

Quartz says that the movie Zootopia is also about race and privilege and what children can learn about those themes. They talk about getting the pop culture we deserve instead of the pop culture that we need, but that is not the case with Zootopia. The film has broken the Disney first week record with $74 million.

Zootopia is an excellent way to discuss some of the topics including multicultural identity, racism and sexism, but put in a way that they can be understood by all audiences. These include “predators versus prey,” and “large versus small.” In the world of Zootopia, carnivores and herbivores, earth-shakers and tiny scuttlers, live side-by-side in peace.

The review is showing that a message combined with an excellent box office mean that Zootopia will be considered a success for years to come.

The Washington Post says that Zootopia is an excellent film for a divisive election season, as there are lessons everyone can learn from it. Sure, it works fine on the basic level as a kids’ film, but there is a conversation that can be had if you want to get to the next level.

But on another level, most Disney animated films are rated G, and Zootopia is PG (must be the Furry marketing again). But the villain in Zootopia is not a witch, or an evil stepmother, but a politician. And, in a timely theme, the bad guy is turning groups and species against each other to gain political power. The bad guy uses trumped up issues to turn all of the creatures against each other, creating the metaphorical zoo of Zootopia.

So while sloths, bunnies, and foxes might just be sloths, bunnies, and foxes to your kids, it is not a mere coincidence that the creatures were chosen as symbols.

Have you seen Zootopia, or do you plan to see it?

[Photo by Youtube]

Share this article: Disney ‘Zootopia’ Gets It Right On Many Different Levels
disney
More from Inquisitr