Zootropolis 2 and Gaza: How a children's film mirrors colonial violence

Note: Spoilers ahead 

Children's animated films can always be relied upon to deliver a message of morality. From kindness and inner goodness in Cinderella to nurturing environmental consciousness in Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest. Or, more recently, empathy and inclusivity in Zootropolis, a film that endeavours to confront prejudice and celebrate the differences between species in the eponymous animal kingdom.

Nine years later, Zootropolis writers Jared Bush and Phil Johnston have doubled down on that mission statement with a sequel that I settled in to watch a few Sunday mornings ago with my friend and her two kids. 

There I was met with what might be the most geopolitically aware animation from the Walt Disney Company thus far — a potent critique of Western settler colonialism, systemic corruption and an empowering call to action that has now crossed over $1 billion at the box office. I know Disney bosses will be happy with that figure, but I am bemused that this story was even greenlit.

The film opens with Zootropolis gearing up to celebrate its Zootennial, a national commemoration of the invention of the weather wall 100 years ago, which allows different species to live in their preferred climates. 

This wall was supposedly patented by Ebenezer Lynxley, an affluent lynx who, we are told, as a species, "are a territorial mammal who will do anything for extra land." 

That's confirmed by a news report that the Lynxley family's "long-awaited Tundratown expansion continues," and "residents continue to raise their concerns about the future of their neighbourhood." 

Back when Ebenezer claimed to have patented the climate wall concept, as evidenced by his so-called journal, an infamous snake attack followed. This led to all snakes being ethnically cleansed from Zootropolis, with only a tiny reptile population left hiding out in a place called Marsh Market.

Edward Said might have had a field day with the portrayal of these animals, exhibiting what he might call an Occidental vs Oriental dynamic. 

Lynxes are mostly associated with Europe and North America, and represent Western dominance, the Occidental world, through the wealthy Lynxley family, who dwell in a cold climate, live in a European-looking mansion and "push animals out with lies so they can have more."

Snakes are more commonly associated with continents like Asia and Africa, representing the East, the Oriental world, through Gary De'Snake.

He enters the frame to steal the journal back, proving it belonged to his great-grandmother Agnes, the true inventor of the weather wall, who "wanted to make a place where all animals felt welcome."

That the writers were inspired by the Arab world's scientific innovation today deepens the resemblance to Southwest Asia.

As Jared Bush explained to The National, "We looked at Dubai quite a bit for the technology behind how you would manipulate an environment and make something that's in a hot weather environment cold." 

But, in the film, that technology is stolen from Agnes by Ebenzer, who not only erases her scientific legacy from Zootropolis history and frames her for a murder he committed, but whitewashes the existence of her homeland — quite literally. The snake city, which looks very much like Old Palestine, has been hidden for a hundred years under a blanket of snow.

It recalls the Islamic Golden Age, where Arabs were global leaders in science and technology, building upon classical Greek and Roman ingenuity, to produce influential innovations and learning, says Jonathan Lyons, author of The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization, "that helped lay the foundation for the [European] Renaissance and, ultimately, for the West's global supremacy."

It's that sort of supremacy Zootropolis confronts. "The world was never meant to be on one animal's shoulders," says Gary and yet, the Lynxleys fuel a hierarchy of species.

Where Lynxley patriarch Milton can continue his father's colonialist legacy by expanding into Marsh Market, since they are the establishment and "water folks like foxes are lesser mammals," so no one will stop him.

Why a kids' movie is resonating with real-world activism

Except for Judy Hopps and her reformed con artist pal Nick Wilde, newbie police officers who endeavour to help Gary uncover this centuries-old conspiracy. A widening criticism of the police and their barbaric practices could have made for an awkward endorsement of these powers.

Instead, the cop bunny and fox work outside the badge as fugitives to reveal the systemic corruption in Zootropolis' governing powers. 

"The world will never be a better place if no one is brave enough to do the right thing," says Judy, an explicit call to action to reject systemic oppression, fascism and settler colonialism.

A powerful line that rings even louder with the global cry of protest against the Israeli regime as it commits genocide and ethnic cleansing to expand its borders, so Palestine no longer exists. 

Of course, I doubt any of the filmmakers would admit to an intentional correlation. But the sequel was announced in February 2023, the title was confirmed a year later, and production took place in April 2024, so the writers would have been aware of the social and geopolitical tensions at the time.

Maybe Disney execs weren't looking too deeply at the story's subtext either — this is the same conservative company that greenlit Star Wars series Andor, a series many believe is a formidable commentary on Gaza.

Still, I'm glad they missed any real-world comparisons; what better place to critique these nefarious dynamics than in a children's film? 

Where kids are taught about right and wrong, and the grey areas in society that make it difficult to speak truth to power without fear of reprisal, where standing up for a snake might mean losing your job, even your life, but you do it anyway because it is the right thing to do. 

Whatever the inspiration, it's clear that filmmakers are cognisant of the prevailing geopolitical issues and continue the long-standing trend of using science fiction to confront them.

From Andor to Superman, and now Zootropolis 2, imperialism, fascism, capitalism and colonialism are all being rejected in favour of resistance, unity and empathy. 

As I sat in that screening room, next to my friend's daughter, I felt immense joy that this was the message she and countless young kids around the world were receiving.

And given the film's monumental box office success, that's a lot of kids; children who are our future, a generation who might achieve more to tip the scale towards equality and inclusivity than we have today.

My friend says her children were raving about the film in the weeks since — I couldn't be prouder. That's cinema doing its job: entertaining and educating. 

Zootropolis 2 is a rallying reminder that we all have a moral choice and that choice can lead to meaningful change.

It also reminds us to look past "all the reasons that we're not the same," as Nick says at the end, so "we'd see that what makes me me and you you can make us even stronger."

Hanna Flint is a British-Tunisian critic, broadcaster and author of Strong Female Character: What Movies Teach Us. Her reviews, interviews and features have appeared in GQ, the Guardian, Elle, Town & Country, Mashable, Radio Times, MTV, Time Out, The New Arab, Empire, BBC Culture and elsewhere

Follow her on Instagram: @hannainesflint