15 Little Details That Make “Zootopia” Even More Interesting

The film Zootopia: Essa Cidade é o Bicho became a worldwide success upon its release, back in 2016. The details and references scattered throughout the film require a closer look from the viewer to be able to recognize them. Zootopia is the ideal movie for those who like to discover the easter eggs left by the directors, as there are several of them.

O awesome.club took on the mission of watching the plot again to find out what are some of the details that can easily go unnoticed by the public. Check out!

In Zootopia, there are several references to Disney studio icon Mickey Mouse. Some are easier to spot, like the water tank up on the roof of the Police Academy. At other times, however, you need to pay close attention. Did you notice the little Mickey Mouse figure on the bottom of the pram the hippo is pushing? And look, these are just two of the many that can be found throughout the film.

The place where Judy and her family say goodbye before heading to the big city pays homage to the Japanese animation studio Ghibli. The entrance is very similar to Totoro, from the movie “Meu Amigo Totoro”, and also the studio’s mascot.

At the beginning of the train ride to Zootopia, Judy decides to listen to some music. In the playlist we can see puns with famous bands and artists, such as The Beagles (The Beatles), Fur Fighters (Foo Fighters), Kanine West (Kanye West). The production also played with the names of some original Disney songs, such as Let it goat (Let it go, from Frozen), Part of Your Wool (Part of Your World, from Little Mermaid), among others.

As soon as the train passes through Tundraland — the snowy part — there is a very discreet reference to the movie Frozen — a freezing adventure. Two little elephants are dressed in clothes similar to the sisters Anna and Elsa. What few people notice is that they appear again moments later, when Judy exits the train station.

Next to the ice cream parlor where Judy and Nick interact for the first time, there is a movie theater where “Star Trunk” is showing. The pun makes a play on the Star Trek film series.

A “sneaky” reference to the yet-to-be-released Moana movie is a small sticker of Maui’s hook on Nick’s cheating partner Finnick’s van.

In the sequence in which Judy chases the thief Duke Doninha in Mini Rodencia, it is noted that both are much larger than the rodents residing there. As such, the difference in size and the mess they cause evoke memories of movies like King Kong, Godzilla and Ghostbusters.

Still in Mini Rodencia, if you take a closer look, you will probably be able to notice the Lucky Cat Café restaurant, where Hiro, Tadashi, Baymax and Mochi reside in the Big Hero 6 movie.

A second (but not the last) reference to the film Frozen is found in the scene where Chief Bogo, when scolding Judy, says “life is not like a cartoon where you sing a song and your beautiful dreams magically come to light, like let it go”, in reference to the theme song of the animation in question.

And it’s not just references to children’s movies that makes an animation. Those who already have a little more experience must have noticed that the character Mr. Big is inspired by Vito Corleone from The Godfather. Even the red flower on the tuxedo reminds us of one of the most famous characters in cinema.

In another scene, Chief Bogo stars in another reference (or maybe it’s just a coincidence), this time to the Brooklyn 99 series. Bogo is looking at the singer Gazella’s app on his cell phone when Garramansa suddenly opens the office door. Just like Captain Holt in Brooklyn 99, Boss Bogo pretends he wasn’t having fun with apps during work hours.

The Brazilian version of the film had a special touch. The anchor (which in the original version is an Elk) was replaced by a jaguar. And to pay homage to his voice actor, Ricardo Boechat, he was named Onçardo Boi Chá. In other countries it was also changed to allude to animals in the region and to play with the name of a local journalist.

During the investigation, Judy and Nick need information from Duke Doninha. They find him at his bootleg DVD stand, which features works like Pig Hero 6, Wrangled, and Meowana. All are films from the same Zootopia studio and the human characters were replaced by animals. At the time, the Moana, Gigantic, and Frozen 2 movies hadn’t even been released yet.

The Breaking Bad series also served as a reference for the creators of the film. The traveling illegal laboratory and the yellow protective suit are already reminiscent of the series. In addition, Doug’s henchmen, Jesse and Woolter, are a small homage to the main characters (Jesse and Walter) of the series.

Zootopia popstar Gazella was inspired by Shakira — and she even gave suggestions on the character’s appearance. In addition to performing the theme song “Try Everything”, the singer also voiced it.

Have you noticed any of these details before reading this article? Or is there an easter egg that you thought was cool, but that we forgot to mention? Share with us in the comments!