Story
Zootopia is a place where predator and prey animals live together in harmony. Judy Hopps the rabbit (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) dreams of being a police officer and making the world a better place. Despite objections from her friends and family, Judy moves to Zootopia to follow her dream. In Zootopia, Judy must work with a sly fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to discover why predator animals around the city are going missing. The answer might threaten Zootopia’s harmony.
Themes
Violence
Zootopia has some violence. For example:
- The movie opens with a predator chasing its prey through the jungle and trying to attack it.
- There are a few predator attacks throughout the movie. For example, a jaguar chases Judy and Nick through the forest, trying to attack them.
- A fox cub bullies a young rabbit by pushing her into the ground. When she tries to fight back, the fox scratches her. Later in the movie the adult fox apologises for his actions.
- When Judy is training at the police academy, she is put into a boxing ring with a rhino. They both punch each other.
- A flashback scene shows Nick being bullied as a cub. The bullies beat him up and put a muzzle on him.
- Nick and Judy fight dangerous sheep on a fast-moving train.
- Judy and Nick are threatened with dart guns.
- In the final scenes, Nick seems to become savage and attack Judy. But just before he hurts her they reveal that they’re trying to trick the criminals into revealing their plan.
Content that may disturb children
Under 5
In addition to the violent scenes mentioned above, Zootopia has some scenes that could scare or disturb children under five years. For example:
- There are several scary scenes that show criminal activity. For example, Judy chases a weasel that has been stealing.
- Scenes that show animals becoming savage could be frightening for young children.
- The crime boss Mr Big kidnaps Judy and Nick and takes them to a dark and frightening location. He threatens to throw them into an icy lake.
- Nick and Judy discover a building where savage animals are being locked up. This scene might be frightening for young children because some of the animals jump out of the shadows.
- While running, Judy cuts her leg, which bleeds. She can’t walk and Nick has to carry her.
From 5-8
Children in this age group might also be disturbed or scared by the scenes mentioned above.
From 8-13
Nothing of concern
Over 13
Nothing of concern
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Zootopia shows some use of substances. For example, animals are injected with a toxic flower substance that changes the way they behave. Judy and Nick find the lab where the toxin is made, and it looks a bit like a drug lab.
Nudity and sexual activity
Zootopia has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Gazelle, a singer, wears glittery, revealing clothing and dances suggestively.
- Judy and Nick visit an animal nudist colony. The animals are shown without clothes, and Judy is shocked.
Product placement
Zootopia features some products that are like real-life products – for example, ‘Zuber’ (Uber), ‘ZNN’ (CNN) and phones that look like iPhones.
Coarse language
Zootopia has some coarse language and insults that children might copy.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Zootopia is an entertaining comedy that most of the family will enjoy.
Zootopia is most suitable for children aged over eight years. Because of the movie’s violence and scary scenes, we don’t recommend it for children under seven years. We also recommend parental guidance for seven-year-olds.
The main messages from this movie are to:
- follow your dreams
- not judge people based on appearance or stereotypes
- work as a team to achieve your goals.
Values that you could reinforce with your children include bravery and optimism. You could also talk about the effects of bullying and what the movie says about bullying.