\n<\/p>\n
In a popular recent movie, two protagonists work together as partners in a police department. They have very different personalities: The man is cynical, quick with a quip, always in a loose tie and a tucked-in shirt. The woman is earnest, mission-driven, persistent, idealistic. They are past their meet-cute and their first adventure together and into a consolidating phase of their relationship, when they will decide whether the chemistry they felt in the first blush of encountering one another signifies something real. Every adult in the audience will spend the movie\u2019s run time wondering if they will or won\u2019t.<\/p>\n
No, these are not the main characters of a rom-com or a romantic drama. They are Nick Wilde, the cartoon fox voiced by Jason Bateman, and Judy Hopps, the cartoon rabbit voiced by Ginnifer Godwin, who are the stars of Disney\u2019s family hit<\/a> Zootopia 2<\/em>. The movie, which was released over Thanksgiving, is ostensibly a buddy-cop comedy about anthropomorphic critters living together in sort-of, mostly peace<\/a> in a geoengineered town. But, somehow, it\u2019s primarily inspiring heart-eyes in viewers past the age of 16. Zootopia 2<\/em> is making romance readers post on Reddit<\/a> about how much better this couple is than those in the books they\u2019ve recently read and, on TikTok, declaring that Zootopia 2<\/em><\/a> is \u201cfor the booktok girlies,\u201d then recommending books<\/a> with male main characters with vibes similar to Nick Wilde\u2019s. On Letterboxd, review<\/a> after review<\/a> nods at the idea that this children\u2019s animated movie contains within itself a rom-com for the ages. \u201cNever in my many years of life did I think I\u2019d find myself YEARNING for a fox and a bunny to kiss,\u201d wrote one reviewer<\/a>. \u201cYet here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n To those whose only exposure to this movie was as a child a decade ago when the first Zootopia<\/em> came out, or perhaps as a parent of a child back then, this development may seem sudden. But this isn\u2019t Nick and Judy\u2019s maiden voyage as an unlikely ship\u2014even back in 2016, the idea that these two should probably be a couple, regardless of their incompatible biology, generated a ton of fan art<\/a>, including an incredible artifact of the internet that has its own Wikipedia page<\/a> and is known as the \u201cZootopia<\/em> abortion comic.\u201d (In short, Nick and Judy conceive a child. Nick wants to keep it; Judy doesn\u2019t. You should probably just read it<\/a>.) In an online world where I\u2019ve seen people admit to such unholy ships as Snape and Dobby from Harry Potter<\/em>, Sam and Dean (they\u2019re brothers!) from Supernatural<\/em>, or Grandpa Rick from Rick and Morty<\/em> with Stan Pines from Gravity Falls<\/em>, imagining a bunny and a fox who were created to entertain kids ending up in bed together is practically tame. (Not to mention, enjoying cartoon foxes a little bit too much is a time-honored tradition. A lot of people out there are willing to publicly own feeling something extra for the Robin Hood fox<\/a>, voiced by Brian Bedford in Disney\u2019s 1973 animated feature.)<\/p>\n But this sequel has given #WildeHopps new power by smuggling the structure and tropes of romance into a Disney movie. Twice, Wilde and Hopps go undercover and present to the world as a couple\u2014aka \u201cfake dating,\u201d one of the best tools that romance writers looking to bring their couple together and tease readers with possibilities have got. At an event where they\u2019ve put on fancy dress to blend into a crowd, Nick gets jealous when another man shows interest in Judy, who looks really cute in her outfit. Nick has a nickname for Judy that he always uses, except for (as commenters on a few TikToks have noticed) when he\u2019s very worried about her, when he calls her her actual name<\/em>. This is a classic reveal, a recognizable thing for the \u201chides-his-feelings\u201d cynic in a cynic\/sunshine pairing (like this one) to do. At the climax of the story, Nick discards his innate sense of self-preservation and goes to great lengths to save Judy from peril, after which they come together in a desperate embrace, speaking over each other in their haste to describe their feelings of relief\u2014a climax, in every way but the literal.<\/p>\n