Why I Hate Zootopia
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2024
- I've alluded to it many times before, and here it is! My comprehensive list of reasons why I think Zootopia is a bad movie.
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THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH. Watching this movie in a class full of black students as a black student was so frustrating cuz I knew what was wrong but couldn't put it into good enough words.
I have yet to watch your video, but if you mention this, I will edit my comment and I will say to not mind this comment, but I feel that before I watch this video I have to mention this real quick.
There was an initial scrapped draft that made Nick Wyld the protagonist, and focused on Predators having shocker collars because they weren't trusted enough to be able to live in normal society. Nick one day found out that it was possible to take them off for medical situations and, getting an idea in his head, decided to create a "Hospital" that was really a club where the predators could live without shock collars.
Disney higher-ups or the CEO at the time walked in on the concept, told them it was too dark, and so the animators toned it way back and changed the entire film.
I actually like the original idea of that movie, but I do agree it was pretty edgy for children. But I think if they had made similar and still more family friendly I think it would’ve been better.
2:06 thinking about Judy being a cop and a rabbit made me think of her being tiny rabbit allegory for misogyny but honestly? Beastars did it better
to be fair, the oscars dont watch the animated movies.
I still can't believe silent voice lost to boss baby
@@Doodlands yeah. That was absurd
8:43 I like to think of the completely batshit insane Zootopia abortion comic as canon, which answers the question of mammal Jesus! He's a bunny in those comics. Judy's parents are devout Carrotholics. Just a little extra psychic flashbang in case your critical thinking skills survived watching this movie!
I actually do quite love Zootopia, if only for Nick and Judy’s dynamic. But yeah, I have to agree, the movie’s racism allegory is disappointingly shallow, but also I feel like it was kinda confusing? Like, at first it seemed like they were making prey the oppressed minority but then turns out it was predators but then they just kept going back and forth? I think they were trying to go for a sexism allegory for Judy but it just doesn’t quite fit into the film I think.
Btw “try everything” makes me cringe everytime I hear it I feel your pain XD
Wel,, piss off.
I loved the movie on an uncritical watch, but yeah you have valid reasons. The justification of racism in this world is definitely not a good thing for kids to internalize lol.
Ngl I'm starting to really hate these allegories using non-humans as substitutes for very real *human* problems, especially on a societal scale. When considering marginalized groups, I think it has very weird implications.
Animals have served as allegorical stand-ins for humans and their problems since the dawn of time.
@@Nyorane I think op was referring to the use of animals as entire groups of people who have been oppressed. Such as using predators (animals who literally need to kill to survive) to represent human minority groups who have murdered and subjugated for simply existing being a slippery slope
Yeah, I decided to reword it better lol
I like this movie but you have valid points
When I first heard what the original story was gonna be about and how they didn't advertise the movie that much feels as though the film makers didn't faith on the movie.
I do think the movie is good, I just wished there was more to the story like world building and backstory as opposed to just "Everyone is equal" cliche and your every other animal movie with animal puns as jokes.
Well obviously the muzzles in the movie are supposed to be like handcuffs
I’m working on a video ranking every film to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar, and my Zootopia segment mentions parts of what you bring up in this video, though I think I do enjoy the film despite my issues with it. A lot of the allegories and issues in this film don’t work for me. Great video as always!
I'll keep my eye out for your ranking video! I'm excited to hear what you think about each film :)
@@JennyCook57 Thank you so much! 🩵
i would love to see your opinion/s on Beastars! it's often cited as 'a better Zootopia,' a sentiment i agree with. but i would like to see your critiques of it!
Less worse not better
To be fair it took years to develop the story, not just a movie thrown out by a company that releases multiple projects a year. Plus beastars is pretty edgy already in a fictional way. Its not contradicting itself like zootopia but its not making a big point with real themes like zootopia was doing, i feel like beastars was always more character focused than it was of being a real world critique
Idk I found Beastars to be trying so hard to be edgy that it feels cringey
9:42 I thought the sloth thing was cute but I thought it was cuz it was the DMV
cuz that’s exactly how it feels 😭
3:04 I’ve heard questions like this before and I think it stems from a flawed attitude toward films like this. Zootopia should not be expected to be a one-to-one allegory for racism in America, or in any real-life society. Zootopia is not the same as America, the mammals are not the same as humans, the prey are not the same as white people, etc. A world of talking animals would obviously have their own set of natural divisions and biases that would be different from what humans have. Zootopia is not a commentary on American racial tensions; it’s a story about bigotry in general. Every prejudice and stereotype we see in Zootopia makes sense in-universe. Trying to compare every detail to real-life social issues is missing the point. It doesn’t need to perfectly parallel our world for us to learn from it.
But from another angle, do you think that only certain races experience prejudice in real life? EVERYONE IN THE WORLD gets stereotyped by someone, no matter how privileged their position may seem to be. The fact that Clawhauser can be discriminated against because he’s seen as threatening, while Judy can also be discriminated against because she’s seen as weak is not in any way contradictory to real life. Would you not be surprised to see a small, white woman acting as a security guard?
And maybe I’m just forgetting something here, but when was it established that predators are historically marginalized? Nick was mistreated because he’s a fox, not because he’s a predator. I don’t recall seeing any anti-predator sentiment until after the villains made everyone think they could go savage any minute. Are we just making assumptions because their treatment in the film makes us think of black Americans?
At long last, the "racist animal movie bad" video is here.
I would consider that as fact.
The more "anthro/non-human thing that represents minorities" things I see, the more I believe that there is NO way to actually make any animal/creature/non-human allegory for Actual Real World Minority Issues. If you want to write about racism, just get some poc people to write a story about poc people, because trying to worldbuild an allegory is SO easy to mess up. I have never seen a racism or homophobia or sexism or transphobia or ANY allegory for these actual systemic problems using animals or aliens or elves or whatever the hell that has actually held up for even the MILDEST amount of scrutiny. I just don't think people should do it. Like. Ever.
And this is coming from a queer poc who like writing stories with animals and aliens and non-human things! I just think that when people try to draw 1-to-1 allegories with a specific non-human entity being the equivalent of a minority, it NEVER goes well. If you want to make a racism allegory, either REALLY think about what you're doing (and for the love of god have multiple poc people on your goddamn writing staff), or DON'T FUCKING DO THAT.
Exactly! I love writing with non-humans b/c it is the exact opposite of our experiences. As a plus, I've never seen the majority being represented by non-human allegories 💀. I do wish they were made with more input, lol.
Hey I have a better idea, why don’t you just stop holding allegories for systematic problems to a RIDICULOUS amount of accuracy and perfection to real world problems and let writers DO WHAT THEY FUCKING WANT TO. How do you know if it NEVER goes well and people should never ever, ever do it ever, if nobody is even getting the chance to try to make it work. Obviously, no matter what happens with these kind of stories, the allegory is always going to age badly or have a couple inaccuracies and screw ups, but that’s what’s going to happen regardless of what way the story tackles it. It’s fiction, and usually a fantasy world, and at the end of the day it’s just always gonna fail to perfectly live up to real world societal problems, cause entertainment and creativity is always what comes first in these kind of stories.
@@quangamershyguyyz7166 Ok so I will say this: Zootopia was kinda censored, so its original intentions have been muddied for kids. I wish it was on Pixar or smth 🥲
@@quangamershyguyyz7166 I do not know how to explain to you that allegories with animal people can work, but making it so your racial minorities are being discriminated against because they EAT the racial majority is Inherently Flawed and will never work. A story where the racial minorities are profiled against because they're Evil Space Aliens who tried to take over the galexy a century ago or something is rooted in the idea that racial minorities are discriminated against because they are Bad or were Bad Before so there's a reason for the fantasy racism to happen. In a vacuum, I actually think you could make these allegories work, but in the real world, a lot of these allegories end up getting confused or caught on bigoted tropes and end up being well intentioned but still perpetuating harmful messaging.
However, I am like 80% sure that you are writing this in bad faith, you did not actually watch the video this comment is attached to because the points you make directly go against and occasionally actively refuted by the video. and therefore, I will not try to explain these things to you.
i agree with 90% of this video, I actually love you putting into words what ive tought about this movie for ages. The only thing i actually liked WAS the shrews not being from that area of the USA Because...WELL, THEY HAD TO BE IMMIGRANTS FOR THE STORY TO WORK! but That said maybe a BIT more immigrant would have been better...damn even a detail i liked has a caviat
I also don't like Zootopia probably because I grew up with the Looney Tunes and Pink Panther cartoons and I have a different vision of what animated animals should be like.
Ok, I watched the whole video
There are A LOT of things to criticize about this movie, and you brought up some of them, so kudos for that
The problem I have with your video is that you pivot into arguments that are simply not valid
"Ugh, this scene takes so long"
So what?
"Why only sloths work here?"
For a joke
"Why are they referencing the godfather?"
Because they want to?
"Are the shrews supposed to be Italian Americans?"
These are
"They are not even native to the region"
So what?
This is also a view and arcvosta's opinion. You have good and valid reasons. Previously I only knew that people, especially concerned parents, boycott Zootobia/Zootropolis because it is a movie that contains racism and discrimination disguised as an allegory and the movie may teach children to be racist if we are not careful.
And something that I forgot to add to my original comic, I wonder if she has seen the old version of it how was originally going to be because that is good well from what it looks like
Hating any movie to this degree rubs off as unhinged.
personal opinion here, I completely disagree. I feel like a lot of your points are taking context of it that was meant one way and exaggerating it to another. Like in the example Judy being bothered by being called cute, I took that more like how people calling Asian people cute, which can be very weird and uncomfortable but in some cases from close people a compliment. I don't think it was a "slur" exactly.
I also feel like saying this was about actual racism and not the concept is farfetched, in the example of the fox repellent it's a play on the fact that foxes are one of the main predators of rabbits, like wolfs to deer and I think a closer thing you can example them to is the way women have things to protect themselves against men, Hidden knifes, tasers, pepper spray, ect. And in real life protection like that can be needed and I personally feel like should be carried by men too, not all men can defend themselves like how not all women can, while some men can and some women can too.
Your point later being about how cannibalism and things and how it plays into stereotypes, and it does, then proves them wrong. It points out prey can do it too and that the stereotypes we're false and actually we're all a plot to drive predators out and they got caught.
(Small thing on the jumbo pop thing, he could be getting them from other districts and had gotten kicked out of past ones, whether or not their ran by the same company could be debated but point is he could have, plus I don't think there would only be one store that sells cold treats to elephants and taller mammals. also on the topic on the nudity, I think that your idea is that this is based on human races when it's only based on the idea of racism is why your questions go so unanswered. DMV: It's a kids movie, it was a lot of people's favorite moment. If you want to think too far into it, it could be a job that seems to hire more sloths to take longer maybe for business purposes, or you know. Maybe it's mocking that fact being at the DMV takes forever. Fur rug: fur rugs I don't think are legal, or it could be something like human hair wigs considering fur is fur not their skin. Zootopia+: It was a thing to give background characters liveliness and also let people see a bit more into the world and also it's a spin off. Don't judge it when it was probably made for kids and also to keep the franchise alive since part 2 is still in the works.)
The racism: It was shown yes, but not encouraged. They actual proved the stereotypes wrong and proved the whole thing was set up, proving that in the future there will be less repellents and less fear towards carnivores, it also proves that foxes (stereotyped as cunning) was also proven to be false considering he became a cop. I feel like it did it's purpose proving the stereotypes not only to be wrong, but also show how it hurt people. Like nick being bothered by her fox repellent. Additionally Nick becoming a cop "proves/proved" that anyone can be anything, no matter the stereotypes people put on you and their doubt you can still do what you dream of, plus people like Gideon gray also prove that the stereotypes were false and he believed them and let them get under his skin, once he realized it all wasn't true and he was making those stereotypes true by just following them he corrected his ways and went to do what he wanted. The example you gave of the line of her saying "Hero cop killed by savage fox" was proving that clearly carnivores are the villains and are savage and it also being ironic she was a bunny and he was a fox, playing into the stereotype of foxes killing rabbits, but then... Proving it wrong. Showing that guess what, the stereotype is wrong. Try and not look so narrowly at this, I feel like your opinions completely filed into the stereotypes and not the way they we're proven wrong.
(Also, If you disagree debate in the comments, just be respectful.)
You have good points, but I disagree with some of it. It might be cuz I'm autistic and don't do well with metaphors, but I don't think it's fair to judge the stuff in zootopia by human standards, cuz they're not humans. I think alot of the stuff you don't like, could very well happen in a animal society.
I have other problems my overly logical brain comes up with, like what do predators eat now, despite their digestive system probably being designed to eat meat. Even domestic dogs have the same digestive tract as wild wolves after all this time
As a furry, my main question is always "ok but what do they eat, they can't eat each other, but they're based on carnivores". Then I remember how us humans are just a type of animal and we eat other types of less evolved animals. So I usually go with furry characters owning livestock. That, or since they're evolved, they know how to get non-animal protein (similar to me... I'm vegan lol)
Side note, I do have friends who are fine making racist jokes about their own race, but if a white person tries to make the same joke they won't allow that. That's just a response to when Judy made the multiplying joke but didn't like being called cute, lol
I'm not really a Zootopia fan, never have been, I just casually enjoy it. So I'm not even interested in defending it. I just don't see half of the things you're talking about as a problem. That's just my opinion. I do agree with some of the things you said and I did feel like the racist allegory was pretty shallow even when I first watched it all those years ago, and I have my own set of complaints. But yeah.
Still a good video and I liked hearing your perspective
I don't think it's meant to be a direct one to one with reality, but moresoe a "if animals did function in a human-like society, this might be what that world would be like" scenario
I found your yapping surprisingly pleasant despite having very different feelings about the movie (I like it and think it's creative, enjoyable, and well-paced).
It seems like your problems with the movie come from intensely overthinking and reading into it. They have to use vague allegory to keep the film accessible to the young ones and not get fired by the Disney execs. They intentionally didn't want any animal species be a direct metaphor for any specific race, instead their issues were drawn from their animal characteristics and stereotypes (Godfather gag aside).
I'm not saying you have to enjoy it, obviously, but that your problems with it seem to revolve around 'trying to squeeze water from a stone'. The movie's reflection of IRL social issues is as deep as it needs to be for the story and as much as it can be for a Disney family movie. This isn't some gritty indie animated film from the 90s with profound subtext...
Disney creatives tried to go darker in the 90s with Hunchback, but still had to lighten the story with wise-cracking gargoyles, burping goats, and a MUCH happier ending to keep their jobs and not get sent to hell themselves by their bosses.
Anyway, despite my different stance, it's clear you're passionate about this stuff - so I say keep doing what you're doing. Also agreed, the Gideon scene was great; and while I do find a few parts of the movie a touch shallow, the pros vastly outweigh the cons for me.
But that's just the problem isn't it?
If your allegory falls apart by simply thinking about it you know what your supposed to do when discussing a topic as serious as systemic prejudice then you don't have a very good allegory
The problem I have with this is that you’re underestimating children and teens’ intelligence. Plenty of them are smarter and more aware of social issues than you may think; especially the older they get, the less sheltered they are (with the internet this can either make this worse or better), and if a kid is in a minority or struggles with social issues like the ones presented in the movie, they’ll most likely recognize it.
I liked the movie too, when I turned my brain off and enjoyed it on the surface, but you don’t really have to dig _that_ deep to realize they crafted a poor allegory. And if kids/teens recognize the poor allegory and internalize it, even subconsciously, it’s not a good thing
0:51 film theory has a video about how it is more closely aligned as a reenactment of the crack epidemic started by the CIA than an overall systemic critique and I can’t really see it any other way
It was so obvious and yet so … missed the mark on systemic oppression. Like it doesn’t work very well as a movie that talks about racism for kids. But it does work as a movie inspired by irl CIA shenanigans.
Idk I enjoyed it but idk if I’d watch it again tbh 😂 it’s not like other Disney movies with high rewatch value unfortunately….
7:06 I wanna say something about the play being built on a lie but honestly I might just be mixing it up with Beastars
Here comes the craze zootopia fans to attack the comments.
That term doesn't exist buddy
@@gaminginvirinch3339 The comments can go either way just like other videos.
We’re here to support you before the storm! ❤️
I can get why people don’t like this for that reason but I know I enjoyed it, but I do understand why people don’t like it and that’s fine
I feel like a better simple racism allegory would be to make them all prey, with animals of similar but different species.
Much like Fox and the Hound. They're both canines, with the dog being a domestic version of the relative to the fox. Both canines, both predator. Fox hounds are bred to hunt foxes, but it isn't instinctual like hunting prey, it's a general attitude towards hunting small animals. Both torn apart by societies expectations of them.
I think elementals did this message better imo
I thought the multiplying phrase was some situation where a marginalized member of a demographic would use a detail about their own group as a joke like how black people would joke about stereotypes about themselves to laugh at the ridiculousness, but it’s not really one-to-one. Not a fan of how some of the animals in Zootopia are follow the very stereotypes they were often associated with, but I’m just someone who like subverting expectations. Would be nice to see more black creators who noticed the issues with the movie at this depth.
I do like this video though. It’s not every day that I watch a video as deep and critical as this.
I mean I agree with you a little bit, the movie is definitely not perfect but it is still pretty good. Lots of the more ‘social justice’ sorta talking points you made were not the best imo, speaking as a gay bi-poc btw.
This is why I prefer the original idea, even if it needed work, I still think it had a more interesting take.
Zootopia is its own universe with its own rules, its own ppl and its own prejudices
Not everything has to be a perfect analogy or even an analogy at all..
I agree there's a lot of stupid stuff in this movie but the racism allegory doesn't have to be 1 to 1..
love your videos. thanks for continuing to make them
My prayers have been answered! Thank you, Lord!
To sum this up ...the plot lot just isn't realistic enough for you + you didn't like some of the humor that most people did.
Usually these hate videos are like I DON'T LIKE THIS MEDIA AND NOBODY ELSE ALLOWED TO EITHER BECAUSE SO AND SO!!!! And while that seems to be the tone of this video it still seems to be more preference based than giving real valid reasons why it's like offensive, even if it feels like that was the intention
The day has come.
I actually have so much nostalgia with this movie and I was a bit biased. But I actually do agree with your points and I thought that the whole Fox repellent and flower making everyone go savage thing was stupid. It ruined the impact of the movie and I thought it was a shallow portrayal of racism, like I like the film. But it doesn’t deserve to get any Oscar treatment, I think more people should be critical of the film and I love how honest you are. (Like the twist villain thing didn’t matter, though I do think the concept of a twist villain is stupid.)
This movie deserves the Oscar treatment and all of the love it gets. People shouldn’t criticize it more for silly reasons
@@quangamershyguyyz7166 Whatever you say, but it seems like you didn’t watch the video. Plus no story is perfect and we should be able to see what stories did wrong and make even better stories, and if you think it deserves Oscar treatment then I respect your opinions. Just remember that being critical of something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a good thing, in fact I love the characters in Zootopia it’s just the portrayal of racism doesn’t sit right with me.
@@TheRationalDremer I did watch the video and while I disagree with a lot of the stuff said in it, you’re correct. No story is perfect and we do need to talk about what they did wrong so they’re improved on and made better. I still think it deserves Oscar treatment. At least a nomination I would say. Though I’m fine with people being critical of it as long as they have good reasons for it.
@@quangamershyguyyz7166 Sorry, I has a tenancy to think that people who say that something deserves all the love and praise, I just think about the fact that we need to criticize it and I’m extremely cynical when I feel someone is praising something to much. Even for things I enjoy very much. (I am so sorry for assuming and I am just so sorry for my cynicism and ignorance.) I also feel extremely guilty when I can’t think of something to critique in things I enjoy. It’s just when I feel that something or someone is only positive reactions it feels fake to me.
@@quangamershyguyyz7166 I also think that the movie’s portrayal of racism didn’t make sense, especially when I was a kid and I agree with what the creator of the video said, though some things I didn’t agree with. Though I don’t mind if people love it. (Also thank you for teaching me about my fast, cynical, ignorant and perfectionistic tendencies and how it can affect the way people perceive me.)
I swear the woman that made this is just the antithesis of fun. I have never seen a more depressing, joyless person in my life take a fun, colorful, entertaining movie for kids so seriously and treat it like an actual hate crime against society because they want to seem smart by using big words and complex real world allegories for something this unserious and made for entertainment before anything else. It actually annoys and disgusts me that people are liking this video
awww, buddy :( if you didn't understand any of the big words, you could have just said that :((
Once you blamed yourself for being white and privileged, I had to stop watching. It's just sad how people still believe that lie and bs. 😅
0:51 film theory has a video about how it is more closely aligned as a reenactment of the crack epidemic started by the CIA than an overall systemic critique and I can’t really see it any other way
It was so obvious and yet so … missed the mark on systemic oppression. Like it doesn’t work very well as a movie that talks about racism for kids. But it does work as a movie inspired by irl CIA shenanigans.
Idk I enjoyed it but idk if I’d watch it again tbh 😂 it’s not like other Disney movies with high rewatch value unfortunately….