Judy Hopps

**Officer Judy Hopps** is the protagonist in Disney's 2016 animated feature film *Zootopia*

Role in the series

## Personality

Judy is fiercely optimistic and independent. Since childhood, she has
 harbored a dream to become a police officer, solely for the opportunity
 to help those in need and make the world a better place. She cares
deeply for the well-being of others; this includes her family, friends,
Mrs. Otterton's despair over the disappearance of her husband, and even
Nick. During the chase in Little Rodentia, Judy intercepted every chance of danger for the small residents even when capturing the thieving Duke Weaselton
 was on the line. She has a large heart, and although she tends to keep
her emotions under control - and even under wraps - a majority of the
time, she is capable of expressing her true feelings in a genuine,
powerful light. This is mostly seen with Nick Wilde, whose feelings and
companionship she values highly, motivating her to prevent her own
ambitions from harming others.

Due to being a rabbit, a species unassociated with such a
high-stakes occupation, Judy faced continuous doubt and underestimation
from those around her, from her parents to local bullies. Nevertheless,
she used her opposers as a means to increase her determination and
became progressively more insistent on reaching her goals than ever
before with each naysayer; she believed in the importance of always
trying and making an effort to reach your goals, no matter what. Her
goal was to eventually become a resident and local officer of Zootopia, a
 city where predator and prey supposedly live together in peace and
harmony, unlike the burrows, believing she will be quickly accepted
amongst her peers and neighbors in spite of her species. She was very
idealistic in this sense, having this set dream and not necessarily
taking potentially negative outcomes into consideration which,
unfortunately, made her too idealistic for her own good in this regard
and she found out herself unprepared to face the negative aspects that
lie within the city upon her first residential day, leaving her to
easily fall victim to bigotry and manipulation.

Her optimism and determination to be a police officer tends to
lead her to be, at times, overzealous and impulsive. As a parking
enforcement officer, she gave 201 tickets to anyone whose cars had been
in a parking meter too long (including herself) before noon just to show
 up Chief Bogo's doubts about her, arrested Duke Weaselton for stealing
(even though parking enforcement officers cannot arrest someone, which
was disclosed from a furious Bogo), and had nearly gotten herself killed
 on multiple occasions during her first case.

Furthermore, though she respects the law, the manner in which
Judy carried out her first case is rather controversial; she was not
above using her position of authority to blackmail others into complying
 with her demands and used her alliance with a notorious crime boss
 (a partnership controversial on its own) for interrogation purposes.
Granted, these acts were mostly committed out of desperation, as her
initial lack of respect from the police force, limited timeframe to
solve the case, and her lack of resources due to not yet being in the
city's computer system, forced her to take extreme measures to complete
her mission.

Despite the odds and hardships, Judy remains optimistic and
determined, adapting herself to the environment and those around her to
build up both the way she presents herself and pursue her goals. She is
clever and resourceful, which proves to be her greatest asset. She
tarnishes the stereotype of a "dumb bunny", being intelligent enough to
outsmart professional con artist Nick, several times. Months of training
 at the Zootopia Police Academy
 has also left her tactical, with an impressive amount of physical
prowess. During times of chaos, she can quickly take charge of a
situation by concocting an efficient plan on the spot, being daring
enough to take dangerous chances, in order to potentially end the day
victorious. More often than not, Judy comes out successful as a result
of this.

From childhood, Judy has held the belief that predators and prey
should be treated equally, and made attempts to refrain from acting on
bigotry herself. Due to her childhood experiences, however, having been
bullied by a fox, Judy has a mild fear of predators (mainly foxes),
whether she wanted to admit it or not; so much so that it manifests as
unintentional prejudice itself. After being pestered into taking a
canister of fox repellent during her move from Bunnyburrows to Zootopia
by her folks, Judy made the conscious decision to keep the canister by
her side for a majority of the film. When she first spotted Nick
snooping about the streets, she immediately assumed him to be in the
midst of a scam, following and nearly assaulting him with the canister,
all due to the fact that he was a fox. When it appears that Nick was
merely an innocent civilian looking to buy ice cream for his son, she
felt ashamed of her bigotry, which caused her to overcompensate in hopes
 of redeeming herself, wanting to be progressive and unbiased, while
hypocritically claiming others to be otherwise; this would ultimately
make her a pawn to Nick's scams, in the end, while simultaneously
teaching her a valuable lesson reflecting both life and herself.

The events of Judy's first few months in Zootopia would
ultimately blossom a more mature, practical, diligent and legitimately
progressive individual. Through her experiences, she discovers the
downside of having an overly idealistic mentality carry you through
life, and that the world is a problematic and messed up place, filled
with issues such as prejudice, learning that all mammals - be they
predator or prey, foxes or rabbits - can be victims of bigotry, even
when it is unintentional. No matter the species, all animals have
feelings, hopes and dreams, all of which can be destroyed by
preconceived notions and constant underestimation. As such, all should
strive to live and accept one another for who they are inside, and not
the stereotypes they have been labeled as by society. Even with this new
 outlook on life, Judy would still contend to the method of trying.
Using her success and experiences as proof, she implores those around
her to make an effort to see beyond stereotypes, to prove your worth and
 to reach your goals in spite of all that may go against you, with the
belief that these positive actions can ultimately lead to a better
world, becoming the physical representation of Zootopia's meaningful
motto, "anyone can be anything".