Mild spoilers ahead!
Disney dropped a trailer for their new series Zootopia + just mere days before launching six episodes on November 9, 2022. Unfortunately, it seems to be the only episode that are planned for this series, but who knows?
On the Walt Disney Company website, you can see a spoiler-free description of each episode, so feel free to take a gander. However, I watched them all yesterday, and I am here to give you my opinions about each episode.
For a quick disclaimer, I am not a fan of most sequels or prequels in any form. Unless there is some sort of pre-planned sequel (like in a book series), I usually have my reservations. I personally don’t find them as entertaining as the original. Of course, there are exceptions (Shrek 2 is *chefs kiss* perfection), but generally, they’re a no from me. I will often refuse to watch them.
However, my family loves Zootopia. We love the adorable animals, the character arcs, and the not-so-subtle societal critiques. So, I had to watch this new series. Each episode is very short so you can watch all of them during a long lunch, and they are all relatively entertaining. The purpose of each episode is to add to the background and world that the main story takes place.
Episode 1: Hopp on Board
This episode takes place right after Judy Hopps gets on the train that takes her to Zootopia. Her tearful parents (okay, her dad is the only one crying) and her many siblings say their goodbyes as she embarks on her grand adventure. Just as the train is taking off, they notice that one of their young children, Molly, has decided to climb to the top of the train, and they must rescue her.
If you are wondering where Judy gets her bravery and gumption, just look at her parents. They, relatively casually, I might add, speed along train tracks, drift over mountains, and launch themselves through the air in order to catch up with the train and save their child. They adorably flirt with each other throughout the ordeal, which explains why so many kids (aside from the fact that they are rabbits), and they eventually save their child from certain danger.
However, because of their incessant flirting, they lose track of her again, and she hops on another train that is headed back home.
While we can assume that everything ends up fine and it was cute, the continuous gag of “Oh no! Baby might get crushed, eaten, etc.” as they were pursuing the train got old fast. And when the end pulled an Uno-reverse with Molly getting on a train heading back home, I was just a little disappointed with the cliche. But, 6/10, I would watch it again if my daughter wants to.
Episode 2: The Real Rodents of Little Rodentia
While I wasn’t wondering whether the world of Zootopia had reality TV shows, I think it’s funny that it does. I think that it’s even funnier that Fru Fru, the shrew that was rescued by Judy from the giant donut that, in turn, rescued Judy from being iced, is the star of one. At first, I thought, “Wouldn’t the daughter of a mob boss not want to be part of a reality TV show because then her family may be exposed?” But then I realized a lot of our reality TV stars had some sketchy starts, so I shouldn’t be so picky.
The episode follows Fru Fru as she plans her wedding, but she is overshadowed by a cousin who shows up and who keeps pushing her ideas on the bride-to-be. After an emotional explosion between the two ladies, Fru Fru goes to clear her head by going shopping. There she is rescued by Judy from the giant donut. Since her brush with death, she realizes that her family is more important than a wedding. She and her cousin reconcile, and the cousin shows Fru Fru that she had Fru Fru’s mother’s wedding dress altered to Fru Fru’s specifications and that all her suggestions were to Fru Fru’s benefit. Fru Fru ends up having the wedding of her dreams.
While this episode is one of my favorites, the ending is ruined for me because of the introduction of the night howlers. One of her bridesmaids brings them as part of her bouquet, and then everyone at the wedding goes savage, and the episode cuts out.
My question is: what happened after everyone went savage?? Was the bridesmaid just stupid or part of the overall predators-turning-savage scheme? Was anyone hurt? Come on, Disney!
8/10, I’ll watch it and hope in vain that they wrap up the new loose ends they’ve introduced.
Episode 3: Duke the Musical
While I understand that the show was trying to emulate a different type of filmmaking style for each episode, I don’t know if this was the right one to do a musical. I personally didn’t really care about Duke Weasleton, so I didn’t want to know more about him. Even though his whole zany musical arc throughout the episode was mildly entertaining, I wanted to fast-forward through it to get it over with. Duke always thought he wouldn’t be doing small-time crime (selling bootlegged movies, pick-pocketing, etc.). He always thought he would be the head of a larger scam, like selling junk cars that can only be serviced by his auto shop or selling organs on the black market. He also briefly considers maybe he should go straight and start being a good guy. But then the allure of money is just too tempting a siren.
3/10, please don’t make me watch it again.
Episode 4: The Godfather of the Bride
One of the questions I had, and I’m sure many people had, when it came to the lore of Zootopia, was how was it that a tiny shrew became the most feared mob boss in the entire city? How did he convince polar bears to work for him? What crimes did he have to commit to do such a thing?
Well, it turns out that Mr. Big has a much bigger heart of gold than we originally thought. He started as a humble immigrant (okay, that’s a stretch because they had to sail across a puddle) with his beloved grandmama, and they built a business from the ground up. During this time, Zootopia was not very accessible to rodents and the various types of animals that lived there. There weren’t many places where the rodents could live. The places that were available were unsafe, unstable, or loud. They were often overlooked and, sometimes literally, stomped on. In addition to his woes, he saw that the polar bears, in particular, were suffering from the heat. With the money that they started to generate, he kindly tried to figure out how to create a better world for everyone. He gave shaved ice to the polar bears, and he and his grandmama made cannolis in every size.
However, he has to fight a large rhino mob boss that tries to take his money. However, because he has made good friends along the way, they can defeat him and then use that influence to make the community of little Rodentia. He gives jobs to people who then help construct the different environments of Zootopia so everyone can be comfortable and happy.
Of course, even though he is beloved, he is still feared, and we can infer that he still ices people, especially when he threatens his new son-in-law with that punishment.
This is definitely a heartwarming episode that still doesn’t allow for 100% comfort in the story’s main character because of the implications that while Mr. Big may have started as a philanthropist and may have done some good, there is definitely darkness that still exists within him.
10/10 definitely going to watch it again to see if I can see any other tidbits of information.
Episode 5: So You Think You Can Prance?
Our favorite chubby dispatcher, Clawhauser, loves Gazelle, and when the opportunity to win a spot as one of her backup dancers, he cannot say no. He and a partner have to go onto the hit show So You Think You Can Prance to compete. He calls for backup, and Chief Bogo responds. Chief Bogo believes that they are there for an undercover mission and so at first goes along with Clawhauser’s antics, but when it comes to actually performing on stage, he backs out. However, when Clawhauser is being booed off stage, Chief Bogo comes in and saves the day.
Unfortunately, Clawhauser wakes up when he hears someone calling for backup when Judy finds all of the missing mammals.
*sigh* Okay, I could tell from the get-go that the twist of this episode was going to be that it was all a dream. And while I thought it was a fun concept, I just didn’t enjoy it. I know, I’m a party pooper. So take my opinion with a grain of salt, and if you like that whole “it was a dream” trope, then more power to you. It is just not my cup of tea.
However, seeing Chief Bogo covered in glitter makeup was pretty fun.
5/10 Meh.
Episode 6: Dinner Rush
If you’ve ever been a server, this episode will definitely give you some heartburn. Sam, the otter, is doing an incredible job at serving her customers and just can’t wait to get off her shift to go to the Gazelle concert. However, it is all ruined when two sloths come in and take up all her time.
The two sloths are Flash and his pink-haired girlfriend from the DMV. As Sam tries to serve them while also serving her other customers, she starts to panic that she will never make it to the concert on time and that she may lose her job. However, when Flash gets on one knee, everyone stops to watch.
The dinner ends happily for everyone, and Sam is able to hitch a ride with Dash and his new fiancee to the concert. However, they are all pulled over by our favorite dynamic duo, Judy and Nick.
This episode was pretty funny. The sloth gag never really got old, and since I have been a server in the past, I related hard. I thought this was a great little vignette of the life of Flash and the others of Zootopia.
My one question is: HOW DID FLASH AFFORD THAT ROCK? Watch the episode, and you’ll ask the same thing. He also has that amazing car, so there are even more questions. Is he an informant for Mr. Bigg, or does the DMV just pay really well in Zootopia? Who knows?
9/10 will watch it again.
While this series didn’t have a lot of substance, I still had a lot of fun watching it, and I think you will too.
Comment down below about which episode was your favorite, if you have any other comments, or what else I should watch. Thanks for reading!
