History Headscratchers / Zootopia

** You are right that the name is misleading, most mercenaries throughout history generally being private individuals employed to provide security. Still I think he meant the wide gulf between "Rent a cop with a nightstick" and "commando with laser targeted stun gun". Not only are these guys packing heat in a city where weaponry is almost non-existent, they’re also taking down feral animals, kidnapping them, and transporting them to a holding facility without being seen. They also wield their weapons and enter rooms with clear military precision. Simply put that kind of training isn't the kind you put to use catching shoplifters, these are the kind of guys who you hire to clear protesters from your illegally sited diamond mine.

* It may be that shoes are seen as a particularly "high end" product, the kind that you'd usually only see at the highest echelons of athletics (professionals wear them because it reduces injury risk from natural factors like hooves and claws, and levels the playing field a bit). It's like how a lot of companies advertise with their bleeding-edge products that you'll usually only see in high-level events (the fanciest suits, or new athletic tech, or racing vehicles). Most people don't ACTUALLY need those, but it adds a bit of a wow factor to the ad because it implies the model is someone BIG in the field.

** It could also be that the figurines are something like classical art replicas (think someone having, say, a painting of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man or a little replica of Michelangelo's David in their office).

** It's not necessarily racist but rather poor business acumen. Jerry Jumbo's store is entirely geared toward large size mammals. It seems that it never occurred to him to diversify his product offerings toward another demographic outside his target client base which isn't that uncommon in business and realistically, to start doing it now could take a certain degree of expense to retrofit his store to accommodate small mammals, as well as purchase the supplies (molds, sticks, etc) to make the smaller pawpsicles. He just doesn't seem to have an interest in the smaller mammal clientèle and, as such, is unaware that higher profits are even possible.

** That problem exists (to a lesser degree) in the human world. How can a relatively small or old officer arrest a larger, stronger criminal? First, most lawbreakers that ordinary cops have to deal with are nonviolent (think Flash the speeder). Even violent ones will not usually add assaulting a police officer to their list of crimes just because they are physically able to do so. And then there is equipment, training and strength in numbers. A smart cop should know when to call for backup. (The ZDP should also have the opposite problem. How does a rhino arrest a weasel in Little Zootopia where a rabbit can barely move without harming innocents.)

** The whole point of Nick's scam was to manipulate someone into buying the jumbopop for him so he could melt it down and resell it for maximum profit, pretending to not have his wallet was the best way of persuading someone to take pity on him and his disappointed 'son'. If no-one had taken the bait at that particular ice-cream parlour he'd presumably have gone to another one and repeated the scam until someone fell for it.
** Alternatively, he did have the money, but decided to try and squeeze a bit more profit out of the gullible bunny. If Judy didn't cough out the dough, he would've suddenly "found" it in a back pocket or something.
** Alternatively, one could say that Nick derives a lot of satisfaction from bilking Zootopia for as much as he can without ever giving anything back. The Pawpsicle scam, run effectively, easily pays for itself, but he tries to get someone else to buy it for him (and sells the used sticks as "Red-wood") for his own amusement.

* Now, I know this is just a five-second gag, but still. When the duo is patrolling the streets looking for the street racer and Judy slams on the brakes, Nick lurches forward and gets his Pawpsicle­­™ in his eye. While wearing a seatbelt. Isn't that the exact kind of thing seatbelts are supposed to prevent?
** Seatbelts prevent a passenger from flying through the window, but they do not completely immobilize the person. In a normal driving situation, they are quite loose and only "harden" when sudden impact forces tear on the passenger. A simple breakstop may not amount to the force needed to actually restrain the passenger effectively (and Nick was in no danger to actually get thrown out of the vehicle), so it seems Judy carefully applied just the right amount of force to make him facedash his pawsickle.

*** Judy is just one cop. The last time she tried to force Mr. Big to cooperate her in solving the case, it almost got her and Nick killed. Yes, at the end of the movie, she does gain the respect of all of the ZPD and could easily call down the thunder on Mr. Big's crime syndicate, but throughout the course of the movie, Mr. Big is never shown committing any illegal or immoral action (besides almost icing several characters, but that's just business) and accepts Judy into his good graces. If Judy decides to become the LawfulGood cop, attempts to put Mr. Big's entire syndicate out of business, chances are Mr. Big would be furious at her 'backstabbing' him and would've sworn revenge agaisnt her. Being a crime boss implies lots of underground connections in the city that doesn't really bode well to Judy's future. And if Mr. Big's reputation is well known, the ZPD must've heard of him before, but decided to do nothing even before Judy became a police officer, suggesting that they prefer to leave him alone, either because of bribes or he's a benevolent crime boss who sometimes assists ZPD where and when they are unavailable (such as perhaps patrolling in Little Rodentia, where big police officers can't get in). Maybe Judy leaves Mr. Big alone because she already considered that his good points outweigh the bad, and as long as his syndicate doesn't ''directly'' interfere with her job or threaten to throw Zootopia as a whole into chaos, she can leave him alone. Besides, since Judy already got into Mr. Big's good graces, she can ask for his syndicate's help in some difficult case that the ZPD cannot crack alone. In other words, Mr. Big's organization is Judy's unofficial 'asset' [[spoiler: Like that one time she and Nick dragged Duke Weaselton to him and ask Mr. Big to interrogate him.]] Sure, it means Judy let Mr. Big get away with his crimes, but that doesn't mean he's totally off-the-hooks since Judy already knows about his organization and how to bring it down if she really has to (Mr. Big's daughter would make a good bargaining chip). So Judy might think that the two can have a mutually beneficial relationship as long as they stay within each other's rules.

** Judy commits dozens of crimes during the film, and simply continuing to associate with people like Mr Big likely constitutes committing more every day. She doesn't seem to care, and to be honest neither do I. She's a likable and effective anti-hero, no better than Nick really, and she's definitely not LawfulGood. The movie is pretty much about flawed people in a flawed society, trying to make a better world in complex situations that don't always line up flawlessly with the law and accepted morality. I love Zootopia precisely because it sits nicely in my ideal spot on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism.

** It’s worth noting that the majority of Precinct 1, at the very least, are mostly comprised of large herbivore and apex predator species. Wolves in particular are known to hunt elk and musk ox, and under the right circumstances (namely, a very large pack) can pose a significant threat to bears. Similarly, lions can take giraffes, and on rare occasions, even elephants, and according to TheOtherWiki there are at least two known instances of tigers successfully hunting elephants. So while it would be certainly much harder for some of the officers to take on larger criminals, it’s not impossible.

* I think you're confused as to how air conditioners work. They don't "generate cold", they can only move heat around. When they blow cold air out one end, they must produce heat exhaust from another.[[note]]For more on how this works, Wiki/ThatOtherWiki has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump_and_refrigeration_cycle an article you can read.]][[/note]] The system is really about as efficient as is possible when attempting to create climate-controlled areas in open air; the climate wall takes heat away from Tundratown and uses it to heat Sahara Square.

** There are many garden and house plants that are very dangerous and not restricted at all. Oleander is commonly planted for it's flowers, but is so toxic that some people have died after eating only one leaf. There is a species of rhododenron in parts of Europe and Asia that is toxic enough that honey made from it's nectar is poisonous. The common daffodil can kill if you eat the bulb, and one relative of the daffodill is so toxic that just getting the juices of a cut bulb on a scrape on your hand can make you very sick. Morning glory seeds can cause hallucinations and severe diarrhea. Foxglove plants can make your heartbeat dangerously slow. Even plain old tomato and potato plants have rather toxic leaves.