3 Lessons Learned from Reading the ZOOTOPIA Screenplay

by seantaylorcreates

In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Zootopia is a fantastic film. With a screenplay written by Jared Bush and Phil Johnston (Story by Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush, Jim Reardon, Josie Trinidad, Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee), the film uses creative world-building and fully realized characters to address injustice, all while moving along at a zippy pace.

Here are three lessons learned from reading the Zootopia screenplay:

#1. CHARACTERS ACTIVELY WORKING TOWARDS GOALS ARE EASY TO ROOT FOR

Judy’s desire to make the world a better place is admirable, and she pursues her goals with integrity, which makes us like and root for her. Throughout all of her trials and tribulations, she remains kind and presses on in the face of adversity. When she sees injustice, she calls it out and encourages others to speak up, too. And when she makes mistakes, she admits it, and makes things right.

That is a true hero.

#2. HAVE CHARACTERS DEFEND EACH OTHER

This is a pivotal moment in the film. Judy is in a quandary because, despite her hard work, she did not live up to her superior’s expectations, and is asked to hand over her badge. Being a person of integrity, she prepares to do so, but Nick steps in to defend her. Despite cajoling and belittling her throughout the story, Nick has grown to respect Judy. Seeing her hard work be disrespected is too much, and he steps in to defend her. To a much larger animal, I must add.

When characters defend one another, we are drawn to them on a primal level. Loyalty. The nurturing nature of a mother. Whatever it may be, we trust people when they openly protect characters we like. The best character arcs show how small decisions amount to larger moments, which can be either healing or extremely dramatic, both of which are displayed here.

#3. USE STORY TO CONFRONT INJUSTICE

Zootopia uses animals to address social issues like prejudice and discrimination, challenging audiences to reflect on their own biases. This can be seen in numerous story threads, including Judy’s desire to become a police officer despite being the first one (and having to prove herself), and of course Nick’s backstory, in which he was deemed untrustworthy and bullied for being a fox. Their friendship challenges Nick’s expectations of police officers, while she is forced to reevaluate her own inherited biases.

“Anyone can be anything.”

Empathy for people of different cultures is what Zootopia accomplishes so well. This is more important than ever.