Script Analysis: “Zootopia” — Scene By Scene Breakdown

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.

For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.

The value of this exercise:

• We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.
• By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.
• A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.

Today: Zootopia (2016). You can download a PDF of the script here.

Screenplay by Jared Bush & Phil Johnston, story by Byron Howard & Rich Moore & Jared Bush & Jim Reardon & Josie Trinidad & Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee.

IMDb plot summary: In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Zootopia
Scene by Scene Breakdown
By Will King
GoIntoTheStory.blcklst.com

P. 1: Night in a jungle. A young bunny creeps through the undergrowth as young JUDY HOPPS describes the primeval living conditions. The bunny is attacked by a jaguar.

P. 1–3: We find we are watching an amateur stage play by children inside a barn. Judy gives some background about how animals evolved from savage to civilized. She says that in the big city of Zootopia anyone can grow up to be anything. She’s going to grow up to be a police officer.

P. 3–5: Judy and her parents STU and BONNIE leave the theater barn and walk out into the Carrot Days Festival. Her parents try to talk Judy out of her dream, but Judy isn’t dissuaded.

P. 5–7: Judy notices GIDEON GREY, a fox, and another young predator follow some younger children. Gideon robs the children of their tickets. Judy confronts him and demands he return what he took. Gideon knocks Judy down, scratches her face and mocks her before walking away. The children go to Judy and she returns the tickets she pick-pocketed from Gideon. They praise her and say Gideon doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Judy says he was right about one thing: she doesn’t know when to quit.

P. 8–10: Judy, now an adult, is at the police training academy, but her diminutive size seems to be her greatest weakness. In every test or situation, she fails. The drill sergeant is unrelenting that she is going to flunk out. Time outside of class is haunted by inner voices telling her to give up, but she won’t. She works extra hard and learns to use her strengths (speed, agility, determination, creativity) to overcome each shortcoming. Her drill instructor is impressed.

P. 10–11: Judy graduates from the police academy. MAYOR LIONHEART assigns her to Precinct 1 in the heart of Zootopia. ASSISTANT MAYOR BELLWETHER, a sheep, congratulates her and pins on her police badge. “It’s a proud day for us little guys.”

P. 11–14: Judy’s farewell at the train station in Bunnyburrow. Her parents are proud but fearful. They remind her Zootopia is “full of predators.” Her father lists all the kinds to watch out for, especially foxes (“they’re the worst.”) They bring up Gideon, but Judy reminds them that was many years ago. Gideon was a jerk who happened to be a fox, and she knows bunnies who are jerks, too. Her father offers various protection devices. She relents and takes a can of fox repellent to appease her parents. After a tearful final hug, she boards the train for Zootopia.

P. 14–15: Montage as Judy travels by train to Zootopia. It passes through various boroughs (desert, tundra, rain forest) and eventually arrives at the city center.

P. 15–16: Judy takes possession of a one-room apartment and meets her two noisy, inconsiderate neighbors. She enters the apartment and cites what might be its worst features (“Greasy walls…rickety bed…crazy neighbors”), then flops onto the bed ecstatic to be in the big city (“I love it!”).

P. 16: The first day. Judy dons her uniform and checks herself in the mirror. As she heads out the door, she notices the can of fox repellent sitting on the table, shrugs and heads to work. A moment later she returns, takes the can, and leaves.

P. 16–17: Judy arrives at police HQ and meets CLAWHAUSER (a leopard) at the front desk. He remarks how cute she looks and she uncomfortably points out he’s socially out of line. Embarrassed, Clawhauser apologizes and points Judy to the bullpen for the morning briefing.

P. 18–20: At the morning briefing, Judy is the smallest animal in the room. POLICE CHIEF BOGO enters and makes a point to ignore Judy (“There are some new recruits with us I should introduce. But I’m not going to, because I don’t care”). He hands out assignments to the other officers to find 14 missing mammals that the Mayor is worried about. He assigns Judy to parking duty and dismisses the group. Judy protests and reminds him she graduated at the top of her class. Bogo responds, “Well, then writing a hundred tickets a day should be easy.” Judy decides to outdo Bogo’s expectations (“I’m not gonna write 100 tickets… I’m gonna write 200 tickets! Before noon!”).

P. 20: Montage of Judy ticketing cars, her highly-developed sense of hearing detecting meters going off. She achieves her goal of 200 parking tickets before noon, then has to issue number 201 to herself when her own meter runs out. As she prepares to do the afternoon’s workload, she notices a fox going into an ice cream parlor and follows. From the window she can’t see him, so she goes inside.

P. 20–23: The elephant proprietor doesn’t want to serve the fox, and Judy pops the safety strap on her fox repellent anticipating trouble. She hears the fox explain he wants to buy a popsicle for his tiny son’s birthday. His son wants to grow up to be an elephant and wears an elephant costume. Judy’s heart melts, and she chides herself for being prejudiced just because he is a fox. When the proprietor refuses to sell to the fox and makes a stereotypic remark, Judy points out the store is committing health code violations, but she’d be willing to overlook them if he’d sell the nice fox a popsicle. When the fox realizes he forgot his wallet, Judy foots the bill.

P. 23–24: Outside the ice cream shop, Judy introduces herself to the fox, NICK WILDE. They exchange mutual admiration and Judy goes on her way, convinced she’s making the world a better place.

P. 24: As Judy continues her parking duties, she again comes across Nick and his son, but they’re acting suspiciously. Nick melts the popsicle and they save the resulting syrup in jars. They load the jars into a fancy airbrushed van and drive off, Nick’s tiny son at the wheel.

P. 24: Judy follows into Tundratown where, in a snow-covered field, Nick and his son, FINNICK, make dozens of smaller popsicles.

P. 25: Nick and Finnick return to Savannah Central and sell the small “pawpsicles” to lemmings as they leave work at the end of the day.

P. 25: Nick and Finnick capture the thrown-away pawpsicle sticks and sell them to mouse construction workers in Little Rodentia.

P. 25–28: Fresh off the sale, Nick and Finnick divide the profits, then Finnick drives off. Turns out Finnick is a diminutive adult helping Nick with his cons. As Finnick leaves, he reveals Judy to Nick, and Judy is pissed. She accuses Nick of lying, but Nick says, “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.” Judy tries to corner Nick for law violations, but he has every base covered — she can’t touch him. As they walk, he reads her like a book — outlook, personal history — and then pronounces her unpleasant future (“…Til finally she has no choice but to go back home with that cute, fuzzy wuzzy little tail between her legs…”). Adding insult to injury, he points out she’s unaware she’s standing in wet cement, then leaves.

P. 28–30: Judy returns home defeated. Dinner is unappetizing. The radio plays nothing but disheartening songs about loss and failure. Her parents call and she tries to put on positive face. They notice her meter maid jacket. They’re relieved — she’s not a real cop and she’s doing something safe! Judy bids them good night, then the loud neighbors next door (who heard everything through the paper-thin walls) tell her to turn down the depressing music. She whispers to herself “Tomorrow’s another day,” and the neighbor replies, “Yeah, but it might be worse!”

P. 30–31: The next day begins with Judy facing the ire of those who receive her tickets (“My mommy says she wishes you were dead”).

P. 31–33: Then, a frantic shop owner reports a robbery. Suddenly stoked to be a real cop, Judy sheds her meter maid jacket and pursues the thief. The chase continues into Little Rodentia where she saves a lady shrew about to be crushed by a giant donut the thief kicked down the street. She uses the donut to body-cuff the thief and returns him to police HQ.

P. 33–34: The donut-restrained thief rolls into police HQ and stops in front of Clawhauser’s desk. Judy pronounces the thief caught (“I popped the weasel!”), but Bogo calls her to his office, furious.

P. 34–38: Bogo reads Judy the riot act, then adds sarcastically, “…but to be fair, you did stop a master criminal from stealing two dozen… moldy onions.” MRS. OTTERTON barges in on their meeting to plead for help finding her missing husband. While Bogo tries to kindly push off Mrs. Otterton, Judy volunteers to take the case. Bogo excuses Mrs. Otterton, then fires Judy and demands she apologize to Mrs. Otterton. As he opens his office door, Bellwether is talking with Mrs. Otterton. She informs the mayor that Judy will take the case, then wishes her best of luck and that she has a friend at City Hall. As Bellwether and Otterton leave, Bogo gives Judy 48 hours to solve the case or she will be fired. Judy reluctantly agrees and leaves.

P. 38–39: At Clawhauser’s desk she looks at the paltry case file. However, there is a photograph that shows Emmitt eating a pawpsicle and Nick’s tail disappearing around a corner. She has a lead.

P. 39–42: Hopps tracks down Nick pushing a baby stroller and requests his help, but he refuses, mocking her. He brags about how much money he makes. She threatens to arrest him for tax evasion but Nick is fearless (“It’s your word against mine”). Judy produces a carrot-shaped pen that also records audio and plays back Nick’s confession. Judy uses Nick’s own phrase against him (“It’s called a hustle, sweetheart”). Nick knows he’s trapped. Finnick climbs from the stroller and leaves with a laugh (“Have fun working with the fuzz!”). Nick reluctantly agrees to help in return for the pen.

P. 42–43: Nick leads Judy to the Mystic Spring Oasis which turns out to be a naturalist club. Naked animals are everywhere. Although uncomfortable, Judy refuses to give in.

P. 43–45: They interrogate Emmitt’s yoga instructor NANGI, an elephant who remembers nothing, but YAX, the proprietor, remembers him in great detail.

P. 45–46: Back on the street, Nick asks for the pen, but Judy can’t run a plate. Still blackmailing Nick for help, she promises to give him the pen in 36 hours if he continues to help. Reluctantly, Nick offers that he knows someone at the DMV.

P. 46–50: At the DMV, Nick introduces Judy to FLASH, a sloth employee (the DMV is staffed by nothing but sloths) who moves and talks excruciatingly slowly. After a long day trying to get the info she needs, and Nick delaying her through idle chatter with Flash, they emerge only to discover it’s now after dark.

P. 50–52: Judy and Nick arrive at the limousine lot, but it’s locked. Nick assumes the game is over, since she doesn’t have a warrant, and asks for the pen. Judy says fine and tosses it over the fence. Nick climbs into the storage yard, but Judy burrows under the fence and gets the pen first, claiming she doesn’t need a warrant because she saw a suspicious character breaking into the yard. Again on the hook, Nick continues to help.

P. 52–54: They find the car with the proper license plate, and inside discover Mr. Otterton’s driver’s license. The interior of the car has been shredded. As they investigate further, Nick realizes who owns the car and panics. Before they can leave, they are captured by two large polar bear enforcers.

P. 54: During the ride to the home of Mr. Big, Judy asks why Nick is so fearful. “I uh, I may have sold him a very expensive wool rug… that was made from the fur of a… skunk’s butt.”

P. 54–57: Judy and Nick are taken to the estate of Mr. Big, a diminutive shrew with a Godfather accent. Mr. Big wants to kill Nick for selling him a skunk butt rug, but it turns out Mr. Big’s daughter is the lady Judy saved from being crushed by the giant donut in Little Rodentia. Mr. Big forgives them and offers to help find Otterton.

P. 58: At his daughter’s wedding reception, Mr. Big explains that Otterton attacked his limo driver. Both Nick and Judy are surprised an otter could act so aggressively. He gives them directions to the Rain Forest District to interview the driver, Mr. Manchas.

P. 58–61: Judy and Nick find the residence of Mr. Manchas and ask about Otterton. Manchas is scarred from Otterton’s attack and says Otterton kept talking about the “night howlers” when he turned savage. Manchas agrees to let them in to talk more, but before he can unlatch the door there’s a commotion inside. Judy and Nick investigate, but Manchas suddenly turns savage and attacks them. They dive into the jungle to escape and Judy calls for help on her radio.

P. 61: Clawhauser shows off an app to a perp that makes it appear he’s dancing with superstar Gazelle. He finally answers Judy’s frantic call.

P. 62–63: Judy reports their location, then loses her radio. She saves Nick by handcuffing Manchas to a light pole, but they are forced off the high bridge. Judy grabs a vine with one hand, holds Nick with the other, and swings them both into a net of vines. Safe for the moment, Nick is stunned that Judy would save his life. The branch supporting them snaps and they plummet toward the ground, saved at the last second when the vines they’re still tangled in go taut. The police back-up arrives and Chief Bogo steps out. “Well, this should be good.”

P. 63–65: Judy leads them back up to the bridge, but Manchas is gone. At his wit’s end, Chief Bogo demands Judy’s badge. Nick steps in and chastises Bogo for refusing to give Judy the resources she needs and so little time to solve the case. He excuses himself and Judy, and they leave to pursue the case with ten hours left. They take a sky tram.

P. 66: Judy and Nick ride over the forest in the tram. Nick recalls his childhood.

P. 66–68: In a flashback, we learn Nick was traumatized as a child and learned to keep his real feelings hidden (“Never let them know they get to you”). He also decided that since others would only see him as a shifty fox, he would live down to their expectations.

P. 68–69: He and Judy begin to bond, but it’s too much for Nick, so he begins to joke as if he’s a traffic reporter. The joke reminds him about all the traffic cams across the forest canopy which they could use to trace Manchas. Judy knows someone at City Hall who could get them access to the traffic cam feeds.

P. 69–70: At City Hall, Bellwether is trying to keep up with Mayor Lionheart. She spills an armload of notebooks. Judy and Nick help her pick them up and ask for help.

P. 70–73: Bellwether gives them access to the traffic cams, then leaves. Judy and Nick watch Manchas be abducted by wolves. Judy realizes that “night howlers” refers to the wolves. With Nick’s geographic knowledge, they trace the van to an asylum outside of town. Judy comments how good Nick’s research abilities are and suggests he’d make a good cop. Nick is insulted.

P. 73–74: At the asylum, the entrance is guarded by wolves. When Nick is almost discovered by a wolf guard, Judy howls, which starts all the wolves howling. Making use of the distraction, they sneak inside the asylum. Nick admires Judy’s quick thinking.

P. 74–77: Inside, Judy and Nick discover a medical facility where all of the missing savage predators are caged, including Manchas and Otterton. Mayor Lionheart arrives, along with a medical doctor. Judy and Nick hide in an open cage just in time to avoid discovery. Judy records the conversation between Lionheart and the doctor using her mobile phone. Lionheart has caged all the animals while seeking a cure, but kept Chief Bogo in the dark. Suddenly Judy’s phone rings. Lionheart and the Doctor panic and leave. Alarms go off, the cell door closes and locks, and guards approach. Judy and Nick escape by flushing themselves down the toilet.

P. 77–78: They end up in the river. Judy wants to get the evidence back to Chief Bogo.

P. 78: At police HQ, Chief Bogo enjoys watching himself dance with Gazelle on the app when Clawhauser bursts in and announces that Hopps has found all the missing mammals.

P. 79: Sometime later, the police, including Chief Bogo, arrive at the asylum, arrest Lionheart, and take the savage animals into custody.

P. 79–80: At a news conference, Chief Bogo announces the missing mammals case has been solved. Off to the side, Nick gives Judy a lesson about how to handle a news conference. Thankful for Nick’s help, Judy offers Nick a chance to change his life by applying to become a police officer. She then hands him her carrot recording pen, “In case you need something to write with.” Nick is free!

P. 80–82: Before the press, Judy tries to answer questions, but her inexperience leads to misstatements that make all predators out to be dangerous (“For whatever reason, they seem to be reverting back to their primitive, savage ways”). Nick is taken aback by what he hears, and relives his childhood trauma. Before Judy can cause any more damage, Bellwether cuts the news conference short.

P. 82–84: When Judy returns to Nick, she’s surprised by his angry reaction. He confronts her about the fox repellent she carries. He feigns an attack and Judy instinctively reaches for the repellent canister on her hip. It’s the confirmation Nick needs. He returns the application (“Probably best if you don’t have a predator as a partner”) and leaves. Judy tries to stop him, but is cut off by the press corps. Her answers to their questions only make the situation worse.

P. 85–86: A newscast reports more attacks and notes they have happened since Judy’s press conference. Scenes of Judy trying to keep belligerent protesters apart. Singer Gazelle pleads for an end to the violence and distrust (“…give me back the Zootopia I love”).

P. 86: Judy looks on helplessly as Mrs. Otterton watches her savage husband, who is oblivious to her, in a safe room at the hospital.

P. 86: Chief Bogo calls Judy to a meeting with newly-appointed mayor Bellwether.

P. 86–87: On the way, she learns Clawhauser is moving from the public desk to the boiler room downstairs because a predator shouldn’t be the first face the public meets at police HQ.

P. 87–88: In the meeting, Bogo and Bellwether try to convince Judy to become a media hero, the public face of ZPD, but Judy feels she has failed because of her comments at the news conference. Tensions between predators and prey have increased. She resigns her commission and leaves the city.

P. 88–91: Judy is back at her family’s farm in Bunnyburrow. She learns that her parents have partnered with Gideon Grey who has become an accomplished pastry chef. They say Judy was responsible for opening their minds. Judy is impressed. Judy and Gideon mend their relationship. Judy learns that her parents use a certain flower to keep bugs out of their produce, but it acts like a drug when eaten and can cause animals to become aggressive. Gideon calls the flowers night howlers. Judy realizes she was mistaken about the identity of the night howlers — it’s not wolves, it’s flowers. She takes the family truck and races back to Zootopia.

P. 91–92: Judy locates Finnick and asks for his help finding Nick.

P. 92–93: Judy locates Nick and tells him about the flowers, but he’s unimpressed, still resentful. Judy confesses she was wrong to say what she did at the news conference, that she hurt Nick. Nick records her admission on the recording carrot pen and says she can have that recording back in 48 hours. All is forgiven.

P. 93: They set out to find the weasel Judy had originally captured using the giant donut. Nick comments on the taste of the blueberries he finds in the truck.

P. 94: Judy and Nick find DUKE WEASELTON, but he won’t reveal who he was selling the night howlers (moldy onions) to.

P. 94–95: Mr. Big threatens to ice Duke. Duke breaks down and tells Judy and Nick he sold the night howlers to a ram named DOUG who has an underground lab.

P. 95–98: Judy and Nick find the subway car being used as a drug lab. They break in, see the flowers, and watch Doug prepare the serum. They overhear Doug on a call about another hit. They see pictures of the reverted predators, including Otterton and Manchas. Doug mentions in the call how he hit Otterton in a moving car. Judy decides to capture the subway car lab and take it to the police. Nick panics.

P. 98–101: Judy and Nick fight off Doug and his minions, and move the decrepit subway car down the tracks. Doug and his henchmen try to stop them. The car emerges into daylight and faces an on-coming train. Judy knocks the last of Doug’s henchmen from the car and he lands on the switch that shifts their car onto a side track, avoiding a collision, but it’s moving too quickly for the turn and crashes. Judy and Nick jump to safety but the car and all the evidence are destroyed. Fortunately, Nick still has the dart gun. They head for the natural history museum as a shortcut to the ZPD HQ.

P. 101–105: Inside the museum they come across Mayor Bellwether who turns out to be the mastermind behind the night howlers drug attacks. While trying to escape, Judy is injured. She tells Nick to take the gun to the police, but Nick won’t leave her. He takes out his handkerchief to bandage her leg, spilling blueberries on the floor. As they try to make their escape, a ram policeman pushes them into a below-floor-level diorama. Nick loses the gun. Bellwether takes the gun and shoots Nick with the dart, which turns him savage, and he turns on Judy. Bellwether then outlines her plan to control Zootopia. Nick attacks Judy, but it’s a ruse. Bellwether isn’t worried. She says she framed Lionheart and she can frame them as well. Judy produces her recording pen and plays back Bellwether’s confession. (“It’s called a hustle, sweetheart. Boom!”). Bellwether is taken into custody as Bogo and other police arrive.

P. 106: A news report covers the arrest of Mayor Bellwether. It also says that an antidote for the night howlers toxin seems to be successful.

P. 106: At the hospital, Judy watches as Mr. Otterton recovers and hugs his wife.

P. 107: (Voice-over) We hear Judy express how she has grown from her innocent belief that anyone could be whatever they wanted to be in Zootopia. She now understands life is more complex than a slogan.

P. 107–108: As she continues, we discover this is a graduation ceremony speech at the police academy at which Nick is inducted into the police force.

P. 108: In the police bullpen, Chief Bogo recognizes the presence of Nick the fox as a new cadet. After handing out all the other assignments, he assigns Judy and Nick to parking duty as a prank. After a moment, he gives them their real assignment: find a street racer in Savannah Central and shut him down.

P. 108–109: On the streets of Savannah Central, Judy and Nick catch the street racer, festooned with the license plate FST NML. When they confront the driver, it turns out to be Flash, the sloth from the DMV.

End.

Writing Exercise: I encourage you to read the script, but short of that, if you’ve seen the movie, go through this scene-by-scene breakdown. What stands out to you about it from a structural standpoint?

To download a PDF of the breakdown for Zootopia, go here.

Major kudos to Will King for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.

To see 100+ screenplay scene-by-scene breakdowns, go here.