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  • The first trailer. Some found it hilarious, but others were turned off by the Lemony Narrator speaking in a very condescending tone, explaining what "anthropomorphic" means and presenting a World of Funny Animals as a groundbreaking new concept, even though it is Older Than Print (see Reynard the Fox, for example). The later trailers restored many people's faith in the movie especially as more information became available about the movie's production and it was revealed that the story was still in flux at the time the first trailer was produced. Disney marketing was simply trying to do the best they could with what little story information was available.
  • The decision to make the setting mammals-only. Some find it disappointing, since all the other worlds of funny animals that this film is trying to deconstruct included bird and reptile characters, and excluding them makes this film feel unfaithful. They also point out that the anti-prejudice message could've worked just as well, if not been even stronger, had non-mammals been included. Others felt the decision to limit which species had evolved allowed the movie to avoid or play with many of the tropes that come along with a pure World of Funny Animals like Carnivore Confusion, Vegetarian Carnivore, Herbivores Are Friendly, Predators Are Mean, or Sapient Eat Sapient. They also point out that the Fantastic Racism in this film is severe enough with the wide variety of mammals, and including non-mammals would make it even more confusing.
  • The Hidden Villain. While some audiences like the message that this conveys (you can be oppressed and be racist yourself), others feel the character is barely memorable/intimidating, that the plot-twist villain cliche is getting old and that Disney should stop using it for now, especially since this is the fourth time in a row that they've done it. There's also a third group who agrees that the plot-twist villain is getting old, but feels that it is justified in this particular film as crime stories usually have a surprise villain.
  • The racism metaphor. While some felt it was nicely handled, others felt it was too anviliciously in-your-face about it. And still others felt the examination of racism and prejudice didn't quite go far enough, failing to take "modern definitions" of racism into account by presenting racism and prejudice as existing on an equal playing field. Some of the objections have since been played down since many documentaries and post-movie interviews revealed that the creative team was focusing on bias and how it plays out in a society where two groups (predator and prey) have a historic tension between them. It was revealed that the writers/directors did their best to avoid any direct racial analogs and most objections were the audience projecting specific interpretations of racism that were never intended.
  • The fact that the movie paints police in a good light. Some consider it a good moral in that it teaches that there are good police officers, while others believe that such a lesson is risky and distastefully-timed because the movie came out in an era where real life Police Brutality is an extremely visible issue.
  • While he's mostly an Ensemble Dark Horse, some thought that giving Finnick an extremely deep voice was a bit overkill while others found it hilarious.
  • Believe it or not, while most parents believe this film is good for kids and have enjoyed it alongside them, there is a very vocal group of parents who thoughts this movie was too scary for their kids. Though it probably didn't help that, while the movie was pretty lighthearted overall, it was slightly Darker and Edgier than Frozen or Tangled.
  • The movie is ambiguous as to the nature of Nick and Judy's relationship at the end of the movie. This has led to the fandom being divided into a larger faction that prefers to think of them as a couple, and a smaller faction that prefer to see them as Platonic Life-Partners. Not even the creators and actors of the film themselves can agree on whether the relationship is platonic or romantic.
  • As more and more footage of the Darker and Edgier original version is released (in which Zootopia was a dystopian Crapsack World and the predators were forced to wear shock collars), the fandom is divided on it. Some agree with the studio's stance that it was far too bleak and unrelatable, and that changing it was the best thing that could have happened to this movie. Others take a neutral stance — it was too dark to succeed, but would have been great in another medium, such as a graphic novel. And still others believe that it would have been far more engaging and relevant to current events than the final product, where the brokenness of the system is rather downplayed.
  • Some fans think Shakira's "Try Everything" is just as good as the film itself while others feel it's one of the weaker points of the movie. On that point, people are also somewhat divided over the Dance Party Ending. Some thought it was fun while others thought it was cliche and generic.
  • The scene where Nick reflexively scrambles to get behind Judy when startled by a savage tiger. Is it an Out-of-Character Moment that paints Nick as a Dirty Coward for the sake of a sight gag? Or is a heartwarming indication of how much he's come to respect Judy's abilities, to the point that he now trusts her to protect him?

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