Is ‘Zootopia’ Racist? This Video Has the Answer

Zootopia, the latest film from Disney Animation, has been recognized almost universally as a great film — even though it has a few flaws). Its message against prejudice and stereotypes is clear to most, including the elementary school kids it was geared towards.

But the popular YouTube channel Wisecrack is taking a look at whether the movie could actually be *gasp* racist. In the video, the Wisecrack team argue that racism as seen in the film doesn’t exactly align with the racism in modern society.

There are a variety of factors playing into this. Aligning the predators with a specific minority is unapt because predators run the city of Zootopia – from the mayor to the chief of police — and this has not happened in today’s world. On the flip side, the predators cannot be an allegory for white people because the predators in the movie, unlike white Americans, are also the victims of prejudice. Plus, predators are a small minority of the populace — again, unlike whites in America.

Further, there is legitimate reason for the prejudice against predators in the film – they used to kill and eat prey, and still have those instincts and capabilities deep down. You’d have to be exceptionally racist to argue any race has the instinct to kill and eat people. While Zootopia’s predators can be a potential threat to society, giving the prey reason to fear them, there is no rationality to racism.

This isn’t the first video on the subject Wisecrack has made. Another one of their shows, Earthling Cinema, took a look at hidden meanings in the film. Here’s that video:

What do you think? Is Zootopia, despite its intentions, racist? Let us know in the comments or @WhatsTrending on Twitter.