What to watch: Zootopia (may also be listed as Zootropolis)
Where to find it: Disney+
Run time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Rating: PG
Best for ages: 5+
Why We Recommend Zootopia
Despite being released in 2016, Zootopia was not on my radar until recently. It's one of those movies that fall into my cinematic gap years—the time period after my childhood/babysitting years, but before my kids took control of the remote. Now I am on a mission to make sure nobody else misses on this underrated flick.
Zootopia starts with a bunny with a dream. Young Judy, despite her size and cuddly appearance, is determined to be a police officer. Even though everyone tells her that bunnies are better suited for carrot farming (like her parents) than fighting crime, she defies the odds by graduating from the police academy. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (sorry...I couldn't resist), Judy reports for her first day on the force to find that everyone, including her captain, still doubts her ability to enforce the law. She spends the rest of the movie partnering with Nick, a ne'er-do-well fox, on a crime-solving adventure to prove herself.
I recommend Zootopia for ages five and up because, one, it has a few brief jumpy scenes that depict predatory animals in a manner that might frighten younger or more sensitive viewers. Two, the plot and moral lessons may go above younger kids' heads. On the surface level, we have a strong female character, Judy, who is inspiring viewers to believe in themselves and to achieve their dreams through effort (a great alternative to wishing on a star). Then we have Nick, who demonstrates that it's never too late to start making good choices. On a deeper level, we see a city of diverse inhabitants that learn the importance of trusting one another and living peacefully together. And, perhaps most importantly, going to the DMV is the worst!
The DMV scene in Zootopia is, in my opinion, a perfect comedic scene. The writer who decided that sloths should be the DMV employees deserves an award. This reference is one of those gems that will go over your kids' heads but the scene is so brilliantly written and executed that your kids will laugh at the scheer silliness of it. It's no wonder that this standout scene is what inspired our Zootopia-themed activity.
Hanging Sloth Craft
Sloths became a big topic of interest in our house after watching Zootopia. For the next few weeks, Everly, my five-year-old daughter, loved walking around the house slowly like a sloth, looking at pictures of sloths on the computer, and learning about them. One of the things she found most amusing was how they spend so much of their time hanging from tree branches. This prompted us to create our own hanging sloth.
Materials needed:
1 paper towel roll
1 deconstructed cereal box
Scissors
Glue or tape
18-20 inch piece of string or yarn
Crayons
Free sloth template (link below)
Optional: Brown paint and green craft paper
Estimated time: 20-30 minutes + drying time
Step 1: Help your child cut the sloth face out and begin coloring it.
Step 2: While your child is coloring the face, cut out the body stencil on page 2.
Step 3: Tape the sloth body stencil to the cereal box and have your child trace the outline of it.
Step 4: Cut your sloth body out. (We do not recommend this for children due to the thickness of the cereal box material.)
Step 5 (optional): For a darker brown sloth or tree branch, have your child paint the sloth body and paper towel roll.
Step 6: Help your child cut the leaves out and begin coloring them. You can also use the leaf cutouts as stencils for your child to trace their own leaves on green paper. We used sparkly green craft paper that we had on hand.
Step 7: Using a pen or pencil, punch two holes towards the ends of the paper towel roll and tie your string through the holes.
Step 8: Once the body is dry you can glue or tape the face onto the body and glue or tape the body and leaves to the paper towel roll.
Step 9: While you are waiting for the glue to dry, talk about these fun sloth facts from worldanimalprotection.us:
Sloths are the slowest moving mammal on earth, taking 60 seconds to crawl one foot. (Demonstrate how slow this is to your child then let them take a turn.)
They spend 90% of their time hanging upside down.
Sloths can swim! They move up to 3 times faster when they swim and can hold their breath for 40 minutes.
Or, use these discussion questions to help reinforce some of the morals in the film:
At the beginning of the movie, why did people think Judy couldn't be a police officer?
Did that make her give up on her dream?
How did she achieve her dream of becoming a police officer?
What are some things that we can try our best at even if it's hard sometimes?
At the beginning of the movie, did Nick make good choices or bad choices?
At the end of the movie, did Nick make good choices or bad choices?
How did he learn how to make better choices?
Can you think of some good choices that you can make?
Share the fun you are having with us on Social Media! Tag us @curiouscouchpotatoes when you try any of our activities.
Educational Insights
Tracing is an excellent fine motor skill. This activity builds eye/hand coordination and helps develop hand muscles for pencil control.
For young children, cutting is an essential skill. Don't be afraid to hand your child scissors under supervision. Get child safety scissor. Encourage them to hold it the correct way (thumb on top, finger(s) on the bottom).