Vasconi 1

Dawson Vasconi

Professor Jackson

Intro Comp: Writing as inquiry

28 August 2016

Zootopia

            In the children’s movie Zootopia, any viewer can notice comedy, sly stereotypical references, and an overall moral. Similar to most Disney films, there is rising action, a climax, and falling action. However, what was surprising as an older viewer of a children’s film is it was an advanced viewing for a younger audience. The film was laced with adult humor. As Washington post says, “The genius of Zootopia is that it works on two levels: it’s both a timely and clever examination of the prejudices endemic to society and an entertaining, funny adventure about furry creatures.”

            The poster for Zootopia served its purpose. It intrigued the audience to see another Disney film. Logically, the younger crowd sees Judy, the rabbit, and Nick the fox as cute animals playing large roles in an animated movie. What they may not see is facial expressions and color. Judy’s facial expressions show innocence. Her perky ears show an overall happy attitude. She is wearing blue cop clothes showing she must be the hero of the movie. Nick however, is a fox. Foxes are known for being sneaky and sly. Nick does just that with the smirk shown on the poster. Additionally, Nick is wearing a Green Hawaiian shirt and tie. That is a two-faced outfit. Is he relaxed and up front? Or is he a working business man? Furthermore, in the background of the poster there are billboards. Before watching the film, the viewer may wonder what they are or draw conclusions to what they may be.

            When watching the movie and analyzing the poster, questions that were made prior to the movie were answered. The billboards are scenes in the movie. Nick’s green shirt represents money and greed in the beginning of the Movie, but by the end his patriotic tie shows he will change into someone like Judy. When thinking of colors, Pathos remarks come about. Bright colors tend to promote happy endings and a silly or fun atmosphere. Zootopia follows those stereotypes. Both the poster and film are rich with color.

            According to Everyone’s an Author, in all written pieces a writer needs to think about the Audience, Purpose, Genre, Context, and medium and design. Whether it is a writing piece or a film production, the strategies should apply. Looking at Zootopia as a whole, those characteristics are met. Their target audience is children. While I don’t believe the film in depth was perfect for a child, the steps taken to make it animated and clever usage of animals made it appeal. Purpose wants the writer to explain “what has motivated you to write.” (Lunsford 82) Judy explains continuously throughout the film that she can try to do whatever she wants. Judy wants the viewers to be motivated to try and accomplish what they want. Lastly, genre, context and medium and design are all linked. The genre being an adventurous animated children film helps provide context about what kind of information and messages you will be providing.

            Looking back less critically, the poster is insightful to the movie, as is the title, if you are looking at basics. The basics speak for themselves. Zootopia being Disney’s 55^th animated film meant a continued tradition of success and record breaking in numerous countries. (Uselessdaily.com)