QUEZON City, Philippines (June 8) – “You can be anything!” A very empowering message delivered by Disney’s first quarter animated treat, Zootopia.
I think I’m not spoiling anyone when I say that Zootopia is a story about a cute bunny named Judy Hopps. You see, Judy is not content about staying in the rural town of Bunnyburrow and becoming a carrot farmer like her parents. She has big dreams. And that is becoming the first-ever rabbit to join Zootopia’s police force.
For a movie that is primarily geared towards kids, Zootopia managed to tackle many real-world issues in a manner that is not cheesy at all. Amidst the state-of-the-art animation of anthromorphic mammals, controversial issues like stereotypes, discrimination and surpassing societal expectations to achieve your dreams.
I salute Disney for always managing to include timely and rich lessons in its animated films. From Frozen to Maleficient and now Zootopia, Disney was able to challenge normal lessons that we impart to our children like the concept of true love, the love between siblings and the love between a mother and a daughter. In this film, we were invited to explore a world that has a more diversity compared to ours and still manage to – outwardly at least – aim for equality and inclusiveness. As I already stated earlier, “You can be anything” is the official motto of Zootopia.
Of course, that is just the surface and the city is more complex than it seem and not everyone agrees with the stated motto. We get to see what happens when we allow someone to make use of prejudice in influencing the way we think.
Funny, smart and thought-provoking, this is how we should make animated films.
(written by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)
