Zootopia is a movie with various amounts of representation. One example of representation in the film would be how predators are stereotyped as being savages. On Nick and Judy's first interaction, she took out her pepper spray, when Nick was doing nothing but ordering an ice cream. Even after Judy works with Nick and sees he is not bad at all, she still feels threatened when he says he might go "savage" after she disrespects all predators and takes out her fox spray to attack just in case he tries anything. Nick is not the only victim who falls into stereotyping. All throughout the movie, predators are often inaccurately stereotyped, as the 14 missing mammal cases are all viewed as savages due to it "being in their biology". After Judy gives the speech, prey and predators break apart, creating you vs us situation, which increases the perception that predators will become savage due to their nature. The dynamic between stereotypes in predators can directly correlate with real-life stereotyping of minorities in our society. Just like in the movie, most police have a false image created on minority groups and tend to attack and blame them for more, creating more stereotypes.
Another example of stereotyping in the film would be the stereotyping of prey. Throughout the first portion of Zootopia, most people including her parents doubted Judy's decision in becoming a police and often times told her to "stick to the carrot farm". One example would be when Judy was younger and was bullied by a fox named Gideon Gray and he would tell her how bunnies could never get to the status she wanted, a police officer. Another example of prey stereotyping is when Judy walks in on her first day and automatically has to explain to her coworker Benjamin Clawhauser how he cannot call her cute because its weird when anyone else calls bunnies cute. The last example would be how Judy only got to be a meter maid and had to bet on her job just to get a big case rather then something small due to her being profiled and "not being fit for an officer".
The film also portrays racism and the trauma that comes with it. In the film, Nick always acts nonchalant when being told something just because he is a fox. When he was younger, he wanted to be part of a Boy Scouts but was quickly shut off and bullied out of it when he went to the first meeting and got pinned down and a muzzle put on him just for being a fox. He quickly learned that he will always be perceived this way, and starts to not care what people say. The film also shows us a clip of a bunny moving her daughter away from a tiger, teaching her daughter division. We also get to see predators protesting for their rights as they started being mistreated just for being predators, and how Benjamin Clawhauser was moved from the front desk as "the first face people cannot see is a predator." Unfortunately, for most people, this is a reality, as they are bullied, separated, not given proper positions, and have to fight for their rights just because of their race.
The movie also represents various racial dynamics. One example of this would be when Judy Hopps Told Benjamin Clawhauser how other bunnies can call each other cute, but its weird when others do it. This is a parallel to racial slurs in the real world, and how other should not say them. Another example would be when Judy tells Nick how he can just touch a sheep's wool, which is something African Americans go through all the time with their curly hair. Both of these examples are parallels things that happen with different minority groups.
