WMG / Zootopia Pre Release

WMGs by people who have not yet seen the movie, based on trailers and other pre-release hype, go here.

This will be the most heart-wrenchingly sad movie ever made.

You thought you cried at Wreck-It Ralph. You thought Frozen was sad. You thought you bawled your eyes out at Big Hero 6. Well, Zootopia will have a hidden plot twist so shocking and such a gut-punch to the viewer that it will cause global mass suicides.

• It's more than likely going to be a family-friendly movie, but it'd be pretty damn awesome if you were right.
• While the first two trailers played up the comedy aspects of the movie, the last trailer shows some drama with Judy struggling against the Fantastic Racism, and some really heartfelt moments between her and Nick. This being Disney, some Tear Jerker moments (and possibly the Disney Death of a character) are inevitable.
• Looks like it's Confirmed, based on the sheer amount of scenes listed on this movie's Tear Jerker page.
  • Well... the movie has its share of sad moments, but calling it "heart-wrenchingly sad" is pushing it, especially considering that it has a Happy Ending.
  • Jossed. It has some sad scenes here and there and it carries a serious subject (racism in society), but it's overall in tone much more merrier than Big Hero 6 or Frozen, which were downright depressing in some parts.

This will be a great big Deconstruction of the World of Funny Animals trope.

Every single problem or Fridge Horror with this setting will be addressed directly, either as brief gags or major dramatic plot points. It also makes sense, given that Wreck-It Ralph deconstructed video game characters, Frozen deconstructed fairy tales, and Big Hero 6 deconstructed some super hero elements.

• Sorta confirmed. They carefully talk about how the city has to accommodate each different animal with their different needs and wants (a small residential area for rodents, specialized drinks for giraffes). And there's this big racial commentary regarding different species and how they're treated based on the species' stereotypes (bunnies are small and mild so they can't be police officers, foxes are sly and cunning so they can't be honest citizens...). It's certainly much more thought up than your typical World of Funny Animals.

Contrary to what the ads and synopsis say, this world won't JUST be anthropomorphic mammals.

The story will take place in a mammal CITY, but there will also be mentions of a bird city, a reptile city, an amphibian city, a fish city, and an invertebrate city. If this doesn't happen in the film, the fanfic writers will write stories based on this idea.

• Perhaps things like poultry and seafood exists, otherwise where do they get the meat in this universe? I mean, there are carnivores living among the animals, they gotta eat something.
  • Maybe the film's setting is a Veganopia?
  • Or there are non-sentient animals used for food and possibly pets. Or only vertebrates are sentient with insects and other invertebrates being used as food for carnivores and omnivores.
• Jossed, the only seen animals in this movie are mammals.

Lt. Judy Hopps' actual first name is "Lieutenant".

The initial work for the film suggests she is trying to make it big in the police force. She might not actually be a Lieutenant. It's altogether possible this is a case of Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?

• Then again, since rabbits are being established as Explosive Breeders, it may also be a case of her parents going overboard trying to find a unique name for her.
• You make that sound like a bad thing.
• Jossed. Her first name is Judy. She is also no longer a lieutenant, the script having changed to her being made a meter maid because no one thinks a rabbit is capable of doing anything else.

Alan Tudyk is going to be in the film.

Come on, he was King Candy, The Duke of Weasel-town and Alistair Krei. Odds are that he's going to be in this movie as well, and since he went from main antagonist, to secondary antagonist, to innocent Red Herring, by following that pattern, he's most likely to be a supporting ally in this one.

• He'll be playing a petty crook named Duke Weaselton. More details here.

"The Fox" by Ylvis will be referenced in the film

Given that there will be a lot of animal-related jokes, and that one of the protagonists is a fox, this seems like a good possibility.

• It's a possibility, but I hope you're wrong about this. The last thing Zootopia needs is a dated reference.
• Jossed. But Zootopia has a lot of references that would possibly make it dated in a few years: selfies, iPhones, and Shakira are some of the few "modern" things that appear in the film.
  • Self-portraiture is a form of art Older Than Dirt. It's not likely that selfies - a form of self-portrait - would become dated in a few years. And iPhones as well (they're the most popular brand of smartphone and have been for a decade; they're not likely going anywhere in the near future, either).
  • The song IS referenced, though, in... the movie's official Spotify playlists. So is "Never Gonna Give You Up."

Lesser known species will appear in the movie

Alongside the species that we see in practically every World of Funny Animals, Disney will once again push the boundaries by including species we've hardly seen in this trope at all. It would be pretty cool to see a pangolin, tapir, bushbaby, or other kinds of animals rarely used in fictional works here.

• The confirmed cast includes a cape buffalo, a fennec fox, and a yak, which are all species you don't see that often in media.
  • Confirmed. The cast is varied between common-seen animals and rare ones (gazelles, buffalos, yaks, fennec foxes...).

The main villain will be a cutesy animal who serves as a Foil to Judy.

Like Judy, this character is also trying to prove his/her value, but plans to do it in a much more aggressive, dishonest way.

• Something like probably running a 'not-drug cartel' that makes special 'not-steroids' that they'll sell to other weak animals and if the character is about to get caught, he/she will inject a huge dosage into his/her own body and become a giant hulking beast.
  • Fennick the fennec fox has a major chip on his shoulder based on his cutesy species being discriminated against. Maybe it will be him.
  • Alternatively, it will be Assistant Mayor Bellwether, a cute, pushed-around sheep. See further details below.
  • Confirmed. Assistant Mayor Bellwether is the villain of the movie.
  • Also, the prediction that a "drug" plays an important role in the Big Bad's Evil Plan is Confirmed. However, instead of turning small cute animals into One-Winged Angel, it turns mammals into feral savages.

There's going to be multiple references to the Furry Fandom.

"Be-fur" is not going to be the only poke at it. There will also probably be references to fursuiting, conventions, music, art and etc.

• Jossed.

At the very least, "yiff" will replace the F-word in the movie's world.

You mean, like "cuss" did in another animated film starring a fox?

• Doubt it. The last thing Disney needs are dozens of lawsuits from angry mothers whose kids were a little too curious with Google Image Search.
• Jossed. Not one use in the film. Thank you for playing.

• Do you really think they'd have put in something that contentious as well? Given the great issue of perception in the furry fandom, the last thing a company making a movie to appear to kids is include something they will search for and very much upset parents.

The villain will be a mouse.

Tied in with the "deconstruction of World of Funny Animals" theory and the trend of seemingly nice guys turning out to be depressing, horrific psychopaths, the main villain will be a deconstruction of Nice Mice protagonists. Hey, the mouse is one of their main symbols, and the prince has already been a villain.

• Adding on to this, Disney will take things one step further and make the mouse villain a full-on Evil Counterpart of Mickey Mouse. Mortimer Mouse might already exist, but he's an obvious slimeball. This mean mouse would have Mickey Mouse's charm and manners, but none of his morality.
• Semi-confirmed: a cute shrew is featured as a mafia boss, and at first he does look like a mouse (or like the rats from Ratatouille). Whether he's really the main villain or simply an innocent suspect is yet to be confirmed.
• Jossed. The main villain is Assistant Mayor Bellwether. The shrew mafia boss, Mr. Big, has nothing to do with the main conflict, and eventually becomes an ally to the heroes.

There will be The Lion King-related Easter Eggs

The Lion King was Disney's highest-grossing movie before Frozen came along, and even still it holds up as a classic to this day. It'll be a surprise whether or not you'll see at least one hidden reference (and maybe cameos?) in this animal-centric film.

• Well, it's confirmed that the Mayor's design was based on Mufasa, so you might be right on that one. The movie also references Robin Hood, for that matter.

The grass-eating wildebeest is the villain

Disney seems to be setting a trend for making the villains the least obvious culprits. In Wreck-It Ralph, the loopy, Mad Hatter-esque King Candy ended up being a world-surfing egomaniac. In Frozen, the charming Hans ended up being a power-hungry sociopath. In Big Hero 6, the villain was the genial professor turned vengeful supervillain. That derpy-looking wildebeest, or at least one of them, is clearly hiding something behind those spaced-out eyes. It also wouldn't be the first time a wildebeest was the bad guy in a Disney flick.

• Or at least had a hand in the main villain's plot.
• Jossed.

Going with above theories, the film will involve/break Animal Stereotypes

Possibly to play on racism. Judy being the first bunny in a police force of big, tough animals could be one point. For another theory, it could play on Good Animals, Evil Animals - it could make the audience believe the antagonist is something like a rat or wolf before revealing he/she is really a creature they'd least expect.

• It would probably play out like having one of the predator animal cops being a Jerkass to Judy throughout the whole film, and after she and Nick find incriminating evidence that points it all to him/her, it turns out to be a setup and Judy says that he/she isn't going to get away with this, *name of the predator cop*! But after a Wham Shot and or Wham Line later, we see the character they assumed was the villain is tied to a chair and beaten up.
  • We already have a confirmation that the kind of career options you have are based on preconceived notions about your species and that this forced Judy into a meter maid position so maybe.
  • Confirmed.

Judy's incredible hearing and Nick's night-vision will both be Chekhov's Skills.

Judy's hearing could turn out to develop into something that makes her a Living Lie Detector and Nick's vision ends up saving the pair's lives when the villain's schemes put them in a situation where they're trapped in the dark.

• Jossed. While their animal attributes are mentioned/shown — Judy can hear an expired parking meter from a block away and Nick puts "excellent night vision" on his job application under "Talents" — it's their intelligence, not their species, that's of importance to the plot.

Contrary to the trailer, there are humans. Or at least were.

Or, on a lesser note, there will be references, like "a popular paleontologist Sam Loth found bones of an extinct ape."

• Jossed.

The villain will put Nick in a Friend-or-Idol Decision.

The villain, sensing that the budding friendship between Nick and Judy will enable the pair to bust him (or her), makes Nick an offer that will set the fox for life...all he has to do is betray Judy or at the very least, stop working with her. During Nick's wrestling with himself over the choice, Judy catches wind of it and breaks off their partnership, believing Nick to be a traitor. Later, when the villain has captured Judy and is in the process of disposing of her, he gloats about how she did his job for him by getting rid of Nick, the one thing that could have helped her stop him. Judy laments her foolishness but suddenly Nick bursts in and knocks out the lights, blinding the villain (assuming he can't see in the dark) and freeing Judy. Then the two of them beat down the villain.

• Although Gazelle's probably going to be placed on the good alignment than anything else, the friend or idol decision might be between her and Judy.
  • Actually there are many clues that indicate Gazelle will not be placed on the good alignment; see the WMG several paragraphs below.
  • Jossed, but Bellwether puts the heroes in a position where she'll make Nick try to eat Judy.

Nick is a Jerkass Woobie

As mentioned else where on the film's main page, Judy has difficulty being accepted among the police force, because they think that rabbits are too nice and cuddly to be police officers. This type of classical stereotyping is seen in Mayor Lionheart (lions are usually depicted as brave, natural born leaders) and the sloths at the DMV (doing everything really slowly). Likewise, foxes are usually depicted as being cunning or dastardly. Much like how Judy is treated unfairly for being a rabbit, Nick probably has trouble with being a fox. It's very likely that, for his whole life, everybody expected him to be a thief or criminal. While Nick is indeed a Con Artist, it's likely just because he thinks that he can't do anything else. While he does seem to be a Jerkass (tripping Judy and wasting her time at the DMV), it's equally likely that the poor son of a bitch just wants to have friends, and is lashing out at the society that rejected him.

• Considering the Japanese trailer has Nick saying (via voice-over) "I used to have a dream, too..." this looks incredibly likely.
• Confirmed: Nick originally wanted to be a Junior Ranger Scout, but preconceptions about foxes made the other scouts drive him away.
  • Confirmed. He gets the closest of all of Disney's woobies for us to feel genuine sadness for.

Nick is Haruhi Suzumiya

Because why not?

• Again I must ask, what is it about Haruhi that WMG loves so much? Why all this "X person is Haruhi?"

Flash will become Chekhov's Gunman.

Sometime near the climax, word will reach him that Nick and Judy are in danger, so he goes to rescue them. However, because he's so slow, he doesn't get to pull his Big Damn Heroes moment until seconds before it's too late.

• Or, maybe it will turn out that he can move really fast when he needs to, hence his name.
• And when he finally shows up to save the day, a few riffs from the Flash Gordon theme by Queen will play. He'll save every one of us, indeed!
• Jossed. After the DMV scene, the next time we see him is at the end of the story in a speed gag. He has no bearing on the plot beyond running the plate.
• I did get one thing right, though - he can go really fast, just not on foot like I was expecting.

Mrs. Otterton is the villain.

Going with "the villain will be a cute and innocent-looking animal" theory, she's also a possible candidate.

• Jossed.

Chief Bogo is the villain.

Going along with how Mr. Big is not the villain, who would ever expect—or suspect—that the police chief himself is the villain? He is a main character and yet doesn't seem to be involved in Nick and Judy's case, but why? Because he wants to run his police force the way he wants to; by excluding Judy or anyone else he deems unworthy. He has Mayor Lionheart under his control to keep the people unaware of his corruption ("Anyone can be anything"?) and others like Clawhauser are intimidated from squealing by him. The movie seems to be focused on the Zootopia police force, so why couldn't Bogo be the Big Bad? He made up a plan of the otter's husband gone missing or involving a plan with Mr. Big as the villain, when it was all a trap/hoax. (Especially since Nick seems to be framed for a crime he didn't commit, Bogo could have been behind this.)

After Big Hero 6 having Police Are Useless when they dismiss Hiro, Disney could probably go the extra mile and show that even police aren't always good. It's 2015 and I think Disney can take a chance to teach children that you can trust police forces but that you shouldn't trust EVERY single police officer. Or that not all police officers or forces are using their authority for good. Could also help to show that corruption in the police force is a very real thing.

Possible ending scenario: Chief Bogo gets exposed and arrested and they need a new police chief. What better way to end Judy's journey on becoming a police officer than having her rise to the rank of the police chief of Zootopia? Plus, female chief of police. Goes to show that there are good cops and bad cops. The end. (Although I can already see the Unfortunate Implications that arise from this...)

• Jossed. However, the real villain does have some cops helping her, so the "Dirty Cop" trope was used.
  • Were they actually "Dirty Cop"s or were they just dressed up as cops? I don't remember seeing any of them in the police station at any point during the movie.

Clawhauser is the main villain.

There is a possibility they'll pull an Adachi with him.

• Some people in favour of this theory created this picture◊ (spoiler for Frozen).
• Jossed. He's just as sweet as he seems.

Judy will leave the police and become a Private Detective

She wouldn't have to answer to any racist superiors that way. And Nick could be her partner.

• Jossed and confirmed. Judy stays on the force, and Nick becomes her partner.

Zootopia is an actual zoo.

Per the most recent trailer we see that part of the conspiracy deals with animals going native, so that could be a clue as to what the city really is, and why it's apparently the only city in existence to them.

The Hate Plague in Zootopia is actually a G-Rated version of rabies

The frothy mouth of the animal (Mr. Otterton?) that attacks the panther cab driver, and the fact he passes it on to his victim, support this.

• Jossed. The Hate Plague was actually the cause of a flower used to repel pests from crops, but it makes animals go crazy when they make contact with it.

As a Twist Ending, Zootopia will reveal to be an experiment of making animals sentient

Which means the movie is a Disneyfication of The Island of Doctor Moreau.

• Jossed.

Nick will be affected by the Hate Plague at some point, possibly the climax.

It looks like it can spread, if the panther that lunges at Nick in the second trailer is the same one attacked in his cab earlier. Aaaand foxes do kill and eat rabbits in real life...

• Alternatively, it might hit Judy instead. Less of a problem, but it would give Nick an opportunity for moral/character development. (Provided that The Power of Love is a viable cure.)
• Confirmed, more or less: Bellwether doses Nick with what she thinks is the plague, but it turns out he's just pretending to be infected.

Contrary to the trailers, this movie will also be a musical.

Well, why not?

• Not impossible, but not very likely either. With the massive success of Frozen, Disney knows that animated musicals sell well again, so they would play up the musical aspects in the advertising. However, Shakira's character Gazelle will undoubtedly sing a song or two in the movie.
• Jossed. In fact, "Try Anything" is the only new song.

Gazelle is actually the Big Bad!

Whilst I was browsing on Tumblr, this particular post caught my eye:

http://spaceprincesslevi.tumblr.com/post/136447600520/zootopia-spoilerstheory

It speculates that Gazelle is actually the one spreading the plague (or at least organizing it) that's turning the Zootopians feral. Several WMG's above speculate that the villain ins someone we would not suspect, and her unassuming appearance does make her fall on the category. And if this is really the case, then her song "Try Everything" might actually be a cleverly hidden villain song, and the title is using exact words: She really wants to try everything like being Zootopia's supreme ruler (or something ?).

And also, it's about time we had a female villain again! The last female villain we had was Mother Gothel back in 2010.

• You may be onto something, as well, given The Law of Conservation of Detail. It's a little suspicious that an apparently ordinary pop star gets so much billing and a big-name celebrity voice actress, as if she's not the villain, it seems unlikely that she'd play that big of a role, let alone enough to get a big flashy musical number with backup dancers onscreen.
• If she is, indeed, the villain, she may pull a Wounded Gazelle Gambit, pretending to be the victim rather than the mastermind - which would double as a clever Stealth Pun.
• And let's not forget the latest trend in Disney villains: a comic authority figure, a wise mentor, a handsome prince? It's not unreasonable to suspect the celebrity might be more than just a big name to slap on the poster.
• Further building on this: that facility in the trailer looks less like a holding cell and more like a secret lab where the virus is being manufactured, given the secretiveness, and the tiger? One of her backup dancers/guinea pigs.
• From same tumblr account, concept art of what seems to be an early design for Gazelle and four feral tigers with some sort of special collar (likely a control collar): http://spaceprincesslevi.tumblr.com/post/136845371125/zootopia-spoilerstheory (the image is far down).
  • The collars are actually from a previous draft of the movie, in which all predators were required to wear one. They're not present in the final version.
• Jossed. She's just the Celebrity Guest Star of the movie.
  • One thing is confirmed: the villain (Deputy Mayor Bellwether) is not only female, she fits the trend of increasingly unlikely villains - in this case, the bumbling, comedic ally.

The movie's climax will play out like a Zombie Apocalypse scenario.

If you think about it, the "savage" Hate Plague has very similar effects to a zombie virus, making previously sapient creatures mindlessly attack others. Perhaps by the end of the movie, the majority of Zootopia's population will be affected, with Judy, Nick and a few others having to stand their ground. Then maybe even Nick gets affected (as suggested above), attacking Judy like a predator, but Judy is able to stop him with the Power of Friendship. Then somehow (probably with the help of a Chekhov's Gunman) they will find a formula to cure the savage animals and turn them back to Civilized Animals.

The film will have heavy feminist undertones.

Note that Judy is not only the only small animal at the police, but also the only female. While her gender will never be directly addressed, the discrimination against her species will heavily parallel how women are treated when they take traditionally masculine jobs. This would certainly not be the first Disney movie with feminist undertones.

• In another trailer there was at least one female in the briefing room besides Judy, an elephant. It was her birthday. The film itself might show more.
• Jossed. While one could argue that the hardships Judy goes through during the police academy training and at the precinct reflect the hardships of a woman having a masculine job, the main message is more about racism than feminism. There are already women on the force when Judy joins. In fact, Judy's supervisor in the academy is a female polar bear.

Zootopia's inclusiveness is unique in the film's world.

A lot of effort is put in the trailers into showing how the city puts great effort into accommodating animals of all shapes and sizes comfortably into one society, but at the same time prejudice is shown to run rampant between different species. This would seem to indicate that the melting pot of Zootopia is not the norm, but that outside the city different species lead very segregated lives in their own, separate communities. Hell, Zootopia could be a literal attempt at creating an experimental utopian city-state in a world where nations are traditionally strictly divided by species lines.

The Hate Plague isn't turning animals rabid.

Rather, it reduces them to functioning on their basest instincts. Sort of un-anthropomorphizing them.

• And Judy, not Nick, will be the one affected. Come on, rabbit rebelling against Animal Stereotypes, plague that reduces Civilized Animals to instinctive behavior, it's obvious.
• Does that mean that only predators and dangerous animals turn aggressive from it, and rabbits and other harmless animals, instead, become timid and flee from their former friends?
  • The stereotypically harmless animals, like rabbits, are actually not exactly innocuous.
  • Confirmed for how the Hate Plague works. Jossed, sort of, for who gets "afflicted" among the principal characters. All though during the conversation that clues in Judy to what's going on, her father mentions that her uncle was exposed to an excess of the night howler their family used to keep bugs away and attacked her mother when they were children - apparently biting a chunk out of her arm.

Judy gets infected and becomes scared of Nick.

Carrying on from the above WMG, at one point Nick will try to snap her out of feral mode and we get a POV shot from Judy that makes it look like he's trying to eat her.

• Jossed.

Clawhauser's obsession with Gazelle is actually a repressed predatory instinct.

Consider this: gazelles in real life are the primary prey for cheetahs. Clawhauser's official description says he "loves two things: pop star Gazelle and donuts". Maybe he has an appetite for Gazelle, and eats donuts to oppress it, which in turn made him so fat. Once he's hit with the plague he will go full predatory on her. Jossed, but the villains were suggesting that they planned on hitting a cheetah with the plague next. And he happened to be the only cheetah shown so far...

Judy will get promoted to a Lieutenant at the end of the film.

Since she was originally planned to be a Lieutenant before the film's creators decided to make her the main character, this would be a clever Development Gag.

• While a neat gag, it would be a bit odd without a Time Skip. Going from new police officer to lieutenant is a huge jump.

This film is going to turn out to be Flame Bait on the internet for political undertone

Going off several above WMGs on it deconstructing the World of Funny Animals or having feminist undertones, there's a lot of different ways for the story team to talk about contemporary issues through animal allegory. To list a few possibilities: Gender roles in the workplace, racism, police culture, tokenism, criminal elements in a "utopia" and different ways to tackle that problem, freedom of expression, and possibly even on what it means to have "human nature". Hence the the whole 3rd trailer thing about them all being evolved, but still animals, and how change "starts with you."

Judy will have a speech in the ending.

When Judy says "No matter what type of animal you are, change starts with you.", who is she talking to? It doesn't sound like she is talking to Nick or Bogo, it sounds more like she is announcing a speech to a group of people. In this case, at the ending when she solves the case, she is congratulated by the mayor at a ceremony and she makes that speech to the public at the end of the movie.

• Confirmed! She is giving the speech to the latest batch of police academy graduates.

The Big Bad will be none other than Mayor Lionheart

This is a movie where cartoon animals break Animal Stereotypes. But remember, not every stereotype is negative. When you picture a lion, you probably imagine something like Simba, Kimba, or the Cowardly Lion. The image of courage, nobility, and above all, heroism. The lion is also regarded as the king of beasts, the top of the food chain.

Now imagine a world where all animals have human or near-human-level intelligence, and have access to technology that enables them to match or even surpass the once mighty king. What do you suppose would happen if the lion stumbled upon a way to regress them to a more... manageable state? There would be no one left able to challenge his position as the top of the food chain. All it would take to stay in charge would be a show of strength and a mighty roar. No more politics, no more having to talk to those lower than him, there wouldn't even be any question.

If the Zootopians were all made feral, the lion would benefit the most. And the best part is, he can set this whole plan into motion without anyone suspecting a thing. After all, how could a noble lion possibly be anything but heroic?

• Consider this: His voice actor, J. K. Simmons, is voicing the Big Bad in another upcoming animated movie that takes place in a World of Funny Animals. Coincidence?
• Admittedly, this would be another strike against Animal Stereotypes, considering male lions are (outside of certain films) known to be lazy cats that fob off all of the work on the females.
  • Actually, TLK portrays this accurately. It is mentioned by Scar that the lionesses are the ones doing the hunting.
• Jossed. As it turns out, it's his Assistant Mayor behind all this.

There will be a Be Yourself message

Sure, "anyone can be anything" sounds good on paper, but it isn't applicable to anyone. Some people (or animals in this case) are limited by what they are physically able to do. The tiny, the huge, the fast, the slow, the ones that can fly, the ones that can't, and so on. Some have advantages that others don't. But, that's okay. You should still try to follow your dreams, but you shouldn't try to be something you're not. Judy will spend the whole movie biting off more than she can chew and trying to exceed her limitations in order to prove that a rabbit can do all the things that other animals can do, but won't be able to escape the reality that she has limitations. Then, at the climax, she will realize that she's had a Chekhov's Skill all along that ultimately saves the day. She will still prove her worth as a cop in the end, but she will be effective in a different way than her coworkers are because she has advantages that they don't. And that's okay.

The protagonists will uncover an even grander conspiracy

Whoever the Big Bad is will actually be revealed to be working with a Greater-Scope Villain. they will likely be from another city, either a city of avians or reptiles (a city with anthropomorphic marine species however seems unlikely but not impossible). As such, it will give the protagonists an excuse to venture outisde of Zootopia should a sequel be made.

• I bet it's the birds. Zootopia is specifically mentioned as a mammal city. Mammals appeared at the same time as dinosaurs, but were mostly rodent-like vermin that either served as food or weren't cared about. Then the meteor came and mammals came to be the ruling class. And who birds originated from, again?
• It definitely shouldn't be the reptiles. Because the stereotype about them is that Reptiles Are Abhorrent, but the creators' purpose is to deconstruct Animal Stereotypes.
• Confirmed. While the initial conspiracy is that animals are disappearing, it's to try to hide an even bigger one- one to make people think that predators are dangerous, potentially berserk creatures who can devour you at a moment's notice.

Duke Weaselton will turn out to be not such a bad guy.

The creators' purpose is to debunk Animal Stereotypes, correct?

• Jossed; he's even worse than he first appears. He's not just a petty crook, he's supplying Bellwether and company with (some of) the night howlers.
• Also, not the most productive bulb in the farm; as a predator, he's working for a scheme that ultimately harms him. He's just too greedy to realize that.

The sloths are actually trolling their customers by playing the Animal Stereotypes absolutely straight.

The sloths might not actually be all that horribly slow as the trailers shows them to be. Perhaps the sloths in the DMV department spend most their time pretending to be slow as molasses just to get a rise out of their customers for fun.

• Played with- while from what we see the sloths are pretty slow, Flash street races for fun.

Nick will call Judy a hypocrite following the sloth scene.

When Judy first interrogates Nick, he tells her "they should have sent a real cop". Judy will tell him if he thinks that just because she's a rabbit, she can't be a real cop. Then at the DMV, when Judy sees that Flash is a sloth, Nick tells her "are you saying that because he's a sloth, he can't be fast?" Hours later, when they are done, Nick will point out that just like a sloth can't be fast, a rabbit can't be an efficient police officer, making Judy feel absolutely heartbroken.

• This will be dealt with later with the explanation that even though some stereotypes may be right in as far as basic physical qualities go, the animals each have something that makes up for it i.e. Judy has her speed, and the sloth could become a Chekhov's Gunman later. Judy also looks set to realise that she has her own prejudices against predators.
  • Blink and you miss it scene from the trailers; Judy is seen looking a little nervous next to a large tiger on a train. The scene in the trailer makes it look like she's just upset from the missing mammal case, but you can bet in the movie it demonstrates early signs she has her own prejudices against predators.
  • That last part is confirmed; Judy's Innocently Insensitive remarks about predators lead to a Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure with Nick.

The film will also deal with implicit gender roles.

Nick comments at one point in the trailers that bunnies are 'emotional'. This feels like a comment on how girls are expected to show emotion and boys aren't. Nick will help teach Judy how not to show the others that they knocked her down, while she will teach him that he doesn't have to be in sour armour all the time.

• Jossed, essentially. The 'emotional' line is a one-time thing, and the sex of characters is never brought up at all. The film focuses more on species preconceptions, ignorance and bigotry, much akin to racism.

Everyone is evil.

With all these theories on who the villain will be, someone had to say it.

• This is a detective movie, after all, so no wonder we speculate so much about who could be behind the crimes. The entire world having a giant conspiracy against Judy would certainly be an unexpected twist.
• I, the OP, imagined it more like this: Everyone, including Judy, has their own evil plan, leading to a Gambit Pileup of epic proportions! Probably going to be jossed, but wouldn't this be hilarious?
  • Definitely jossed, but the premise is great Fanfic Fuel!
    • Cointerpoint for a confirmed-ish: Almost all of the main characters who aren't hate plague victims are various diameter dickholes through at least character establishment, but some go all the way. Even Judy winds up as the large-diameter variety in the mafia interrogation scene with Weaselton. Though, given the odds of this churning out a massive franchise of canon, I'd say just from the events in this movie, everyone's got a lot of dirt on everyone else. Heck, if Zootopia's laws work like the real world, then, Hopps and Wilde are screwed if Weaselton goes to the media about their mafia connections, kept in check only by mutually assured destruction at the hands of Mr. Big.

The rodent neighbourhood is a hotbed of crime and corruption.

That's what you get when you only hire large, intimidating animals into the police force. No-one can fit to investigate any crime scenes or tail after suspects in a tiny town.

• And considering how everyone is expected to follow the stereotypes, this might just create a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
• Jossed. It looks like any other part of Zootopia, just miniaturized to the point that even Judy is strong enough to stop buildings from toppling over.
  • Not 100% Jossed. It didn't get much screentime, and while it looked normal on the surface, that doesn't mean that the lack of police presence hasn't had effects, it just means these effects are not super-obvious.

At one point, Nick and Judy will investigate a comedy club.

Presumably before or after they investigate Gazelle's club. They'll sit around to try and see anyone suspicious, and then a comedian will start telling hurtful, offensive jokes about rabbits, making Judy so upset she wants to leave. Because, let's face it, if this is a film involving Fantastic Racism, then why not go all the way?

• Jossed. They do investigate a nudist colony, though.

There will be a minor and/or background openly gay couple.

Considering the rise of children's cartoons with implicitly gay characters like Steven Universe, Adventure Time, The Legend of Korra, Clarence, Paranorman, Gravity Falls, and Courage the Cowardly Dog...well, why not? Or, even better...

• Judy's neighbors in her apartment building are two male antelopes living together. Make of that what you will.
  • Or they could just be heterosexual roommates. Those exist.
    • Probably jossed; though while not seen, it seems unlikely that their apartment isn't also a single-room studio sharing a bathroom like Judy's is. The two also have the same hyphenated last name during the credits and are not the same species Could possibly be adoptive brothers, but that wouldn't really stop much given the implied incest in The Lion King. If they pushed the rating slightly harder, rather than the Office Space Apartments conversation through the wall, they could have just gone at it to remove all doubt and still driven home the shabbiness of the housing.
  • Also, Courage is not a "recent" cartoon.

One of the main characters will be revealed to be openly gay or bisexual.

Oh man, what are Disney's limits for their modern movies?

• Well, they certainly won't allow Song of the South like, for the rest of human existence.
  • Well, it is true that the topic of racism is a tad more sensitive than the subject of homosexuality...
    • And as society progresses, racism is becoming less and less accepted, while homosexuality becomes more and more accepted.
  • On the other hand, the main problem with Song of the South is that it doesn't have enough racism in it to satisfy modern sensibilities regarding the South. That was why the NAACP came out against it.
• Both of the above are Jossed. There are no openly gay characters in the movie. The only characters whom we know a sexuality for are probably Judy's parents and the Ottertons.
  • And Nick and Judy, of course.
  • In the credits Judy's "loud neighbors" are listed as having the same last names, and they're both male and different species (of antelope), which implies that they are either a married gay couple, or adopted siblings.
  • There's still time for Clawhauser. He either is the most secure metrosexual ever, or going to be seriously surprised if someone thinks he's straight if it comes up later in the franchise. Haven't seen someone sneeze that much glitter since Sterling Archer in Honeypot...
    • On the other hand, in a film about not stereotyping people, isn't saying that "Clawhauser acts stereotypically gay, thus he must love men," kinda missing the point?

Lionheart will turn feral near the climax.

From what the trailers reveal, the plague mostly affects carnivores. And who's the most powerful carnivore in Zootopia? The Mayor himself. In fact, if Assistant Mayor Bellwether is indeed the Big Bad, as speculated above, then it might be her plan all along - with the Mayor losing his mind, she becomes the most powerful animal in the city.

• Jossed. Lionheart never goes feral, but he's falsely imprisoned for masterminding the Hate Plague, leaving Bellwether (the real villain) free to replace him.

Mr. Otterton is Patient Zero.

Based on the fact that we've only seen Mr. Otteron in Feral state in the back of a Black Panther's Cab who then later comes in with a scratch over his eye in Feral state as well. Also, due to the fact that only after Judy gets more in depth to Mr. Otterton's history is when she gets the idea that it's bigger than everyone thought.

• Entirely possible, given The Reveal. The Hate Plague is a serum made from Night Howlers — a type of flower. Mr. Otterton, if you examine his file when Judy reads it, is a florist.
• Jossed. It's not suggested he's the first, and the Hate Plague turns out NOT to be a contagious disease.

The Naturalist Club is trying to stop the plague by reuniting with their feral selves...

In a CONTROLLED enviroment. With safety guards in place, the more they spend Natural, the more comfortable they are. They may think that in case the Plague affects them, they will be better equipped to deal with it due to their increased familiarity rather than someone who stays "Anthropomorphic" the entire time.

• Jossed. The club has been open for a long time, it's only goal is to be a nudist club, and the "Feral Selves" bit is artificially induced via precisely targeted chemical weapons.



Nick and Judy will be the Fan-Preferred Couple of the Disney fandom as a whole

Based on their chemistry and how overall people seem to like them as a pair. Forget Quasimodo/Esmeralda and AnnaxHans, this'll be the ship everyone would want it to become canon.

The two tiger police officers seen in the briefing room moonlight as Gazelle's backup dancers.

• They certainly both look like the dancers.
• The tiger on the subway that frightens the bunny mom is one of the dancers, too.

---