The Big Things You Should Know About Zootopia

I’ve made no secret about my excitement for Zootopia since the day the first teaser trailer was released. Originally, I saw a bunny and that was more than enough to earn my interest. The more I saw, however, the more excited I got. I mean, sloths at the DMV? And Zootopia does not disappoint.

So what do you need to know before you go?

Hopps Family Farm stole my logo.

It’s OK. I’m not mad at them. I’m even willing to admit that a generic-ish purple bunny head could have become their logo in a totally natural way that had nothing to do with this site. But I’m also forced to look at the fact that Judy Hopps was clearly based on me. A relentlessly optimistic bunny who constantly expects the best of people? Yep…Judy Hopps is me. I’m pretty sure of it. Except the running part…I do not run and I would have definitely failed out of the police academy. But other than that? We’re the same person.

In all seriousness, I flipped when I saw the farm logo and have obsessively searched online for a picture and it doesn’t seem to exists. So keep your eye out for it when you watch the movie and think of me. And taking pictures of a movie screen is really bad form. You absolutely shouldn’t do that and send a picture of it to me. That would be bad…

It’s rated PG.

Specifically, it’s rated PG for “thematic elements, rude humor and action”. That begs the question, “How young is too young for Zootopia?” It totally depends on the individual child and how sensitive they may be to some scenes showing predator animals who growl and chase. There’s no overt violence shown.

The movie also contains a ton of adult humor. You should fully expect most of it to go straight over your child’s head. Of particular note is the animal nudist colony. It’s a darn funny scene and it’s gotten a lot of buzz. Worst case scenario here is that you have to talk to your kid about why adults were laughing at naked animals. It’s unlikely they’re going to notice the references to Breaking Bad or The Godfather. But you will. And they’re pretty funny.

It tackles some big issues.

The overall theme of Zootopia is “Anyone can be anything!” But more than that, Zootopia is going deep with a storyline that touches on bullying and racism. No, it doesn’t beat you over the head with it. No, it’s not going so deep that it’s too much for young kids. Expect kids to walk away with the message that you should work hard, that you should be nice and that you shouldn’t make assumptions about people without getting to know them. For some pretty big issues, Zootopia does an amazing job of breaking them down into something easy and tangible for a child (and an adult) to get.

There are no princesses or love stories.

Well, to be perfectly honest, there is a mafia princess. And there’s a wedding. But Zootopia isn’t a love story. Not even as a secondary plot. I love my Disney Princess as much if not more than anyone. I can’t wait until we get the next one. That doesn’t mean Zootopia suffers from a lack of princess power. Zootopia is giving everyone a pretty awesome new hero to love. And I, for one,  can’t wait to see some Judy Hoppses asking for candy this Halloween.

It’s darn funny.

I can’t remember the last time I was in a movie theater and heard quite so much laughter. The sloth scene kills, even if you’ve seen it a dozen times already. But there are laugh out loud moments throughout. Not to mention plenty of chuckle-worthy sight gags. And as you’d expect, no one does it quite like Disney when it comes to mixing child-friendly movies with adult-worthy content. You’ll all laugh. I promise.

Zootopia is in theaters now!