Judy Hopps is East Asian

Let’s break down the stereotypes in this movie:

• Judy is the first bunny police officer. I know there’s a lot to be said about black/white race relations and police brutality, but no one ever remembers that Asians are the most underrepresented ethnicity in American police departments.
• Judy is not perceived to be dangerous. This is significant because most of the other POC/predators in this movie ARE seen as dangerous. Nick, Mayor Lionheart, the mafia polar bears… I could go on and on. And in real life, it’s generally black, latinx, and arab POC that are perceived as dangerous. East Asian POC face discrimination, for sure, but they’re not typically seen as dangerous.
• Instead, Judy is generally seen as weak and delicate, which mirrors the perception of East Asians, especially East Asian women, in mainstream media. She’s also physically small/petite.
• “Only bunnies can call each other cute.” I know a lot of people likened this to the n word, but within the Asian American community, many of the people I know feel the same way about “fob.” It was originally a derogatory term for Asian American immigrants (as in, immigrants who had just arrived “fresh off the boat”). And although it’s been reclaimed in recent years (see: Eddie Huang’s memoir of the same name), it’s only okay when an Asian person uses it.
• “Good at multiplying.” (I know it’s in the context of a rabbit breeding joke, but you could also generously interpret it as the “all Asians are good at math” stereotype.)
• “All bunnies are bad drivers.” Perhaps the biggest stereotype about Asians and especially Asian women.
• Judy has overbearing parents. Need I say more? Also, the whole “complacency and stability” shtick? Very, very Asian. Unlike some other POC communities, Asian Americans are pretty quiet when it comes to civil rights, and there’s a definite stigma when it comes to challenging the status quo. Also, on the whole, I feel like younger generations are more politically active (read: Judy), while the older, more traditional generations (read: Judy’s parents) are more complacent.

And on top of all that, I like self-projecting onto fictional characters kthnxbai.

(Also, there’s an old Japanese legend about the rabbit that lives in the moon, and according to the Konjaku Monogatarishū, one of the rabbit’s companions is a fox. The opportunity is too cute to pass up, y’all.)