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ZOOTIOPIA OF THE CIVILIZED AND THE SAVAGE Name: Course: December 1, 2016 Animals are good for allegory. Storytellers can easily get into the heart of a message in an almost subconscious manner using the representative nature of animals. For instance, snakes are known to be sneaky, sloths to be sleepy, and ants to be industrious. Using these representations, storytellers can quickly make their central theme known to the audience. However, allegory can also be dangerous if not handled with the care it deserves. This idea is particularly the case as the parable becomes more complicated or attempts to explain more complex issues. If one intends to use this technique effectively, then they need to master the art of control. This element of control seems to be elusive to the makers of Disney’s Zootopia; a fascinating film that finds itself in a dark mess of metaphors. This article discusses the movie from an anthropological point of view. Zootopia is a town where animals joined each other to create a new and peaceful world. Before the city was built, predators could stalk prey deep in the jungles. However, in Zootopia, they have stayed in “anthropomorphized peace for centuries.” Nonetheless, what looks like a lovely mosaic from the outside is truly a city full of traditional unease between various species; an unease that is almost about to erupt into violence. The film is probably one of Disney’s strangest among the new breed of animation movies from the company. It somewhat ridicules Frozen and traffics in a “non-stop pop culture references that one would expect from a Shrek movie.” It also places emotional beats way below political messaging. The film
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