It's A Jungle Out There

Well, it was inevitable I would draw fanart of Disney's Zootropolis sometime, wasn't it?

I've been thinking a bit since I reviewed the film, and even though it's not my favourite Disney film, I've actually thought about where it would come on my favourite Disney films list - Zootropolis is currently at number 4 - just behind Hunchback of Notre Dame, Big Hero 6 and Great Mouse Detective. Even though I may not love Zootropolis as much as everyone else, I do really like it - even though I personally think the third act is a bit too rushed, and Big Hero 6 did a better job with the sympathetic villain route. I feel like Professor Callaghan was a bit more sympathetic than (SPOILERS) Dawn Bellwether was - again, maybe because of the pacing going a bit haywire in the last third, but I don't know... I still think the way Bellwether tries to kill Judy and ends the film looking angry after being arrested kind of lowered my sympathies towards her - true, Callaghan also tried to kill Hiro, but that was because they were trying to save Alastair Krei, the one who Callaghan blamed for his daughter's apparent death and as such he probably felt betrayed because of it, and at the end after he's defeated, Callaghan DOES look genuinely sorry for what he's done and gives Baymax and Hiro advice about the portal. I go into a bit more detail about it in my actual review of the film - Bellwether is still a good villain and I do feel some sympathy for her, I just think the film could have handled the sympathetic villain route a bit better.

But with that said, I do like the film's morals about discrimination and prejudice, and some of the allegories behind it (like the DRUG FARM ) are pretty bold, in my opinion.

So here, I've drawn my six favourite Zootropolis characters together - Mr Big watching on while Officer Clawhauser hugs Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, Flash and Gazelle. I really liked the dress Gazelle wore in the poster for the film, so I tried to draw it here.

Judy Hopps - One of my favourite Disney heroines (next to Tiana, Belle, Esmerelda, Anna and Elsa), I really love the effort Judy puts in to achieve her dream about becoming a police officer, her learning to overcome the prejudice she receives while learning to overcome her own racism towards predators. And like Tiana, I do like how she's willing to do ANY kind of work - seriously, willingly putting your all into putting up millions of parking tickets is pretty damn impressive, Judy - I don't think I would be able to do that day after day.

Nick Wilde - Pretty much one of the most likeable conmen I've ever seen in media - true, he's a small time crook, but after his backstory after being bullied for being a predator, his smarts and methods of helping out Judy, his adorkable attitude and his dream of becoming a police officer being fulfilled by the end of the film, I can't feel any bad feelings towards him at all.

Benjamin Clawhauser - I LOVE this guy. He's kind of like the cheetah equivalent of Tiger from An American Tail - huggable, fun, flamboyant - and he gets a smile out of me in every scene he's in. That, and I think he eats almost as much sugary food as I do.

Flash - That one scene in the trailer is enough you need to know as to why I love Flash. He's just such a riot - who knew that just making a character speak and act slower could be SO hilarious when written well?

Mr Big - Godfather references are pretty common in films, but I just think Mr Big, a shrew version of Marlon Brando is probably the best one. I also like the fact that despite the fact that he's a mob boss, he does have a soft side when you get to know him, and he helps Judy and Nick out quite often in the film. I also find it interesting that he's a more respected figure than the police in Zootropolis - Mr Otterton was going to tell him about the Night Howlers over the ZPD - probably because of the deep rooted prejudice themes in this film.

Gazelle - Say all you will about Shakira being an odd choice for a celebrity name, and to be honest, I didn't hear much from Shakira before watching this film, but I did like her performance here... even if I still find her accent hard to decipher at times. Now in my opinion, this character is Kitty Mouse from Great Mouse Detective done RIGHT. Say what you will about her design, but I feel that she's not here JUST for fanservice, and I personally prefer her songs to Kitty's. Also, there's the one scene with her that I really like - after the discrimination of predators starts going out of control, I like how she acts. She may be a celebrity, but when panic sets in on Zootropolis, she uses her star power to make an impassioned public plea for interspecies cooperation. And given that her backup dancers are tigers, she clearly has no fear of predators. As well as being a great singer, I like how she's one of the few characters in the film without any prejudice at all - to be honest, I find that admirable.