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Perhaps my biggest issue with Zootopia was that despite focusing on issues of racism and prejudice, I always felt like it only did so in a superficial and barebones way. And this issue became harder to ignore after watching Nimona.

The racism within the world of Zootopia is less of a formidable obstacle and more just a mere hurdle on the track that just quickly jumped over. The biggest example of this problem is with the film's "main antagonist," Mayor Bellwether. Aside from being a crappy twist villain, we never see the effects she has had while she was in power, effects such as policies, laws, or other systemic powers she could've wielded to malign and oppress the predators of Zootopia.

But the way Nimona tackles the subject of prejudice just completely puts Zootopia to shame. For Nimona (the character), the malice she experiences is not some mere bump in the road, it's a suffocating presence that surrounds her on every side, one that she has to endure on a constant basis. Whereas the supremacism in Zootopia was this mere stomachache that fades as soon as it appears, in Nimona, it's this all-consuming cancer that infects every corner of society from government to law enforcement, to goshdarn cereal ads. And not only that but this culture of supremacism is also accepted by almost everyone in said society, much of the time without them even asking themselves why they're accepting it.

Many have argued that you shouldn't go too hard on Zootopia's social commentary because "it's only a kid's movie," but after seeing Nimona tackle the same subject with far more depth and nuance, I can't help but ask: "what's Zootopia's excuse?"

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