'Zootopia' - The Easiest Way to Explain Social Injustice to Kids & Grown-Ups

Disney deals with the most important social issues of current times in Zootopia. In the new film, a story of animals who have long gone past their savage ways, the Mickey Mouse company strives for more diversity in film, Walt Disney Animation treats the fight for equality, from feminism to racial injustice and beyond, in a way that's friendly to all audiences.

First off, Zootopia is as adorable as Disney movies can get, starting with the fact that, as usual, the movie's absolutely beautiful to watch. Besides, it's filled with inside jokes (including a sly, blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to the Frozen hit, "Let It Go"), references to pop culture and even a little bit of self-mockery.

In all, this is one of Disney's best, in the same line as other recent hits like Wreck-It-Ralph and Big Hero 6.

Without being corny or overtly cliché, the film tackles with some seriously heavy subjects of the utmost importance in today's world that might go unnoticed with the youngest crowds, but not with their parents. Much like how 20-something-year-olds now watch Freakazoid and realize it's a very adult-oriented film, those who are little kids right now will watch Zootopia in 15 years and might be surprised at how socially aware the movie is.

As shown in the numerous trailers and clips from the film, Zootopia deals with a city where animals have grown past their savage ways, and now all mammals, whether they were once predators or prey, coexist peacefully. However, even in this metropolis of diversity, stereotypes are rampant.

Lead character Judy Hopps (voiced by the ever-adorable Ginnifer Goodwin) is a (female) bunny trying to make it into a big animals' world: the police force, a place populated only by big animals, not one of which is female. Except for the obviously gay character, Officer Clawhauser (Nate Torrence), not one of the big animals in her precinct, including Idris Elba's Chief Bogo, takes her seriously, and she has to fight for relevance in her work after being assigned parking duty.

When Judy is first assigned to Zootopia, away from her carrot-farming hometown, her parents (hilariously voiced by Bonnie Hunt and Don Lake) warn her to be wary of foxes, giving her numerous lessons on how to get rid of them, including an anti-fox spray ... because bunny-women better watch out in the big city of the mean fox-men.

And while Judy's much more progressive than her parents, she never leaves her apartment without her spray, and she does judge the first fox she meets, Nick Wilde (masterfully voiced by Jason Bateman).

The subject of women fighting for relevance is treated more than once with Judy and other small animal characters (as well as a lot of "mansplaining"), but the core film's poses a heavier discussion. When a few animals somehow go "wild" again, it comes out that this has only happened to predators, which puts out a terrifying eugenics-like theory: only predators can be evil, because this would never happen to sweet little creatures like bunnies or sheep.

Zootopia presents a sugarcoated metaphor of stereotyping in today's society, and of course, the whole thing is resolved in a very Disney way: through friendship, teamwork and a few sly, foxy ruses. Still, the older audiences from this film can find a new way to understand current issues, and even explain them to children in a very non-intrusive way -- one even including a few sloths and elephants in the room.

You can enjoy all the animal puns, Disney inside jokes and social awareness of Zootopia starting March 4. And remember: only bunnies can call each other "cute," it's kind of wrong for other animals to say it.