Judy Hopps in Zootopia Essay Example

Most movies always feature a male playing the hero role. The male hero is someone who's big, strong, brave and different from the rest. But this stereotype of a hero doesn't apply to all movies. Using the Hero's Journey, which is a 12 step process created by Joseph Campbell, we see how the hero faces different challenges and what the outcomes look like. While watching Judy’s journey in Walt Disney's movie Zootopia, we see her get discriminated for who she is, and how she grows through the steps of the Hero’s Journey to show that females can do anything just as anybody can.

As being a female in this world we get treated differently than males. We are overlooked, underappreciated, and left behind. To  Judy who is a small bunny that has just become a cop she is overlooked for who she is. After Judy leaves bunnyburrow to go to Zootopia she realizes that it is not what she thought it was going to be. In the movie, Judy gets assigned for her first job as a police officer and Chief Bogo says, “And finally, our first bunny… Officer Hopps. Parking duty” (Zootopia 15:57-16:04). When Chief Bogo designates her to be a meter maid this is Step 3 in the Hero’s Journey, “The refusal of the call”. Judy did not want to be a meter maid, she wanted to protect her city, the heart of Zootopia. Judy feels defeated because she has worked so hard her whole life to make her dream come true and she will not settle for less. Furthermore once Judy realizes she should be doing more than putting tickets on cars she returns to the police station and asks to get put on one of the missing mammal cases. Chief Bogo agrees but cautions, “I will give you 48 hours. That's two days to find Emmet Otterton. But you strike out. You resign” (Zootopia 33:37-33:48). After getting a new assignment and getting a missing mammal case, Judy’s willpower kicks into gear. Judy knows she can do this because she has been waiting her whole life. This will lead us to the 4th step in the Hero’s Journey. “Crossing the Threshold”. Judy will have to leave the heart of Zootopia to track down Emmitt Otterton along with Nick Wilde, her new fox friend. 

In the world women aren't taken seriously when it comes to their jobs, And that's how Judy felt as a meter maid. People called her things like “dumb bunny” and would try to talk her out of giving them a ticket. But now that Judy is an officer on a case to find a missing mammal she has more power and is able to make decisions for herself. Judy and Nick have started their journey to find one of the 14 missing mammal cases, and they have found evidence that the Otter was in a limo owned by an Arctic Shrew named Mr. Big. So they went to Mr. Big’s house in Tundratown to see if they might know where Emmitt Otterton is. While Judy and Nick listen to Mr Big he tells them, “You wanna find Otterton, talk to the driver of the car. His name is Manchas… Lives in the Rainforest District. Only he can tell you more” (Zootopia 51:38-51:47). When Judy and Nick get this crucial information they realize that Mr. Big is an ally to them and he is someone they can trust. This is the 6th step in the hero's journey, “Test allies and enemies”. Once Judy and Nick arrive at Manchas house they realize he's gone savage like the other missing mammals have. And gets taken away by night howlers. The next day Judy and Nick need the help from Assistant mayor Bellwether to find out where they took Manchas. As Judy is talking to Bellwether she asks, “Where to? Uh Rainforest District Vine and Tujunga. There! Traffic jams for the whole city.” (Zootopia 1:01:32-1:01:37). In this moment Bellwether is another ally because the video footage that she shows Judy and Nick leads them to cliffside which is where they find all the missing mammal cases and turn them in.

Sometimes success isn't always in the greater form. You may only be half way to finding the real answer. This is exactly how Judy felt after finding the 14 missing mammal cases. Suddenly there was a huge target on all the predators backs because they were the only animals going savage. Judy felt as if it was her fault that this happened because of what she said in an interview after the missing mammals were found. So she decided she needed to go back home because she wasn't helping as much as she thought she could anymore. While Judy was home with her family at their farm selling fruit her parents were talking about the midnicampum holicithias that they use to keep the bugs off their produce, and how uncle Terry ate one and went crazy. While listening to her parents Judy realized, “Night Howlers aren’t wolves, they're flowers! The flowers are making the predators go-savage!” (Zootopia 1:19:12-1:19:15). This leads us to the 11th step in the Hero’s Journey, “resurrection”. Judy has solved why all these animals have been going crazy and that people are targeting the predators to turn them savage. In the end Judy made a difference. She did something no one else could do, and that’s because she tried. Even when others put her down and never gave up on herself. And when the movie concludes and Judy states, “we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another… the more exceptional each of us will be” (Zootopia 1:33:50-1:33:58). When Judy says this we should look at it as a message to never kick someone out but to give them a chance, and try. 

To conclude, while watching Judy’s journey in Walt Disney's movie Zootopia, we see her get discriminated for who she is, and how she grows through the steps of the Hero’s Journey to show that females can do anything just as anybody can. People can take away that it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from but that everyone has an equal opportunity to do what they want and they should never be looked over because of who they are.