When it comes to finding good allegory, one of the best places to look is the medium of animation. The films of Studio Ghibli contain many themes detailing the need for environmental awareness and care, for instance. Films from Disney deal with such mature themes of loss and growing older. Just look at anything from Inside Out to Bambi. Disney’s latest tentpole franchise, Zootopia, is another story overflowing with rich themes and ideas, further building on what made the original such a hit.
In the world of Zootopia, all animals have grown into a bustling interconnected civilization of shared living space while maintaining their individual identities. The original Zootopia used this world to discuss themes of racism and cultural divide. In the first movie, a bunny named Judy Hopps wishes to become a police officer, and is aided in her first big case by a foxy (and fox) con named Nick Wilde. Through their journey together, Judy learns about the discrimination Nick had to deal with as a predator, and when all predators become victims of an authoritarian crackdown, she is forced to confront many of her own biases. and must confront many of her own prejudices.
So yeah. The original film isn’t exactly subtle about its message. In continuing this tradition, Zootopia 2 expands on these ideas and carries them over into yet another thriller in this bustling world, and this one of cultural theft and erasure.
It’s a tale as old as time where people from mistrusted and marginalized groups will often have creative works, traditions, and even world-changing technical innovations, co-opted by those in power. It’s something that happens every day. Many of the things we take for granted all around us, from the technology we use to the art we enjoy, even the very food we eat, have such stories. In Zootopia 2, this idea is explored with the very world itself.
A world, as it turns out, is shaped by snakes.
One of the reasons I personally was interested in this film is that I’m an avid lover of snakes. I find them to be fascinating and beautiful animals, so the overall cultural distaste for them is something I never quite got. It’s one of the reasons that, despite my enjoyment of the original Zootopia, I couldn’t help but notice that the animals represented in the film weren’t exactly of the scaly variety. In the original, predators were mistrusted, but the makers still kept to the decidedly cute and fuzzy predators like foxes, otters, panthers and so forth. Snakes are a much harder sell due to the innate fear many people have of them.
So imagine my surprise and delight when marketing for the second film began, and not only is it a snake-centric plot, but the series first reptile star is played by none other than Ke Huy Quan. Quan, in the midst of a massive career comeback, was a nice choice to humanize this scaly friend to Judy and Nick, bringing the aptly named Gary De’Snake a personality that was mild in everything except its sheer likability. Gary’s mission? To reclaim a stolen birthright, as it is his very family who are responsible for Zootopia existing at all.
Firstly, the movie cleverly addresses the differences between the characters by using their differences to carry the story forward. Gary’s biology as a cold-blooded animal also comes into play. Being cold-blooded is, at times, a weakness for him, with the cold temperature leaving him sluggish and vulnerable. But since Nick and Judy are warm-blooded, just being near them allows Gary to brave the cold, with them at times providing him with crucial warmth in their most desperate moments
But it goes further than just that. In a stroke of creative brilliance (yeah, I kind of enjoyed the movie), the movie once again uses the differences between the characters in its world-building, showing the animals by their very nature see different things. In the case of Gary, it’s his sight that proves pivotal for the characters. Why? Heat vision. Gary’s own differences are played up as a strength, with this unique gift helping guide the heroes through numerous clues that help them find the proof Gary needs to secure not only the legacy for his family, but also for all other reptiles in Zootopia.
And this is where the film’s major theme, one of cultural appropriation and erasure, comes into play. The city known as Zootopia is divided into various environmental zones, such as deserts, rainforests, etc. And this world is maintained via massive environmental regulating walls that keep the weather contained and on point for the needs of the population. Now, supposedly, this great invention was from the affluent and respectable Lynxley family. A family of, what else, lynxes, have secured their family legacy for generations through this invention, and it has granted them power and prestige in this world. They are even shown to control much of the political landscape, as seen through their appointment of Zootopia’s latest mayor.
One problem, though. The Lynxleys didn’t invent diddly. What we learn early in on the film is that it was Gary’s family, specifically his grandmother, who created the walls in order to make a world suitable for all animals, not just the warm-blooded ones. It’s a creation the Lynxleys stole, fostering a long-standing suspicion of snakes in order to discredit the story and maintain their power. They even go so far as to deliberately use the creation against the reptiles, using environmental controls to turn their once bustling homes into desolate, icy wastelands.
The difference in their mission becomes evident. The Lynxleys want the environmental walls for their own means and power, and use them to gradually expand the tundra world of Zootopia into habitat after habitat, an obvious but effective metaphor for cultural erasure. The De’Snakes, on the other hand, are hoping for their technology to be something that can lead to enrichment for all living in the world of Zootopia, and can show how the same technology can be warped depending on who controls it.
Some will argue that such storytelling isn’t needed in what is meant to be a family event, and yet, what are the stories that stick with us? Many of the stories that stick with us throughout our lives deal with topics that are uncomfortable and important. Disney is famous for traumatizing many children with piles of dead parents. And the ways they adapt stories can help instill new themes into the material. The Little Mermaid, for instance, can be read in a variety of ways, from a story of teen angst and rebellion to a coming-out story to even a universal tale of independence from parental figures. The Lion King adapted Hamlet to show audiences how to overcome the trauma of loss, how taking that too far can lead to denial, and how to overcome abusive gaslighting. Zootopia has continued this proud tradition, with the second film serving as a rich tapestry of allegory and themes while still bringing to the table the same characters we have grown to love since the franchise began in 2016.
