The Rabbits and the Foxes: Judy Hopps’ Abortion and the Reality of Veganism
On March 4th, 2016, Disney released their newest animated film, Zootopia, to wide-stream commercial success.1 It opened with a 75 million dollar opening weekend, establishing a dominant lead in the box office rankings. For the next 13 weeks, it remained in the top 10 for box office performances, losing spots to movies such as Batman v Superman, The Jungle Book, Captain America: Civil War, the Angry Birds Movie, X-Men: Apocalypse, and several other films that have been forgotten to time. After distribution, the movie had net a total of a 1.02 billion dollar global box office, placing it 24th at the time for highest grossing movies and 4th highest grossing animated movie. It’s sequel, Zootopia 2, released on November 26, 2025, has so far grossed a total of 1.866 billion dollars and is currently the 9th highest grossing movie of all time and the 2nd highest grossing animated movie, only beaten by Chinese box office success Ne Zha 2.
With the understanding of the series’ dominance in the monetary side of film, its role in pop culture can not be understated. In the 10+ years since the original film’s release, countless scenes, jokes, and memes have become engraved into pop culture. Notable examples include the sloths at the DMV, Juddy ticketing every car on the street, and the godfather shrew.
The Legacy of Zootopia
Out of all of these noteworthy scenes, one sticks out more popular and long lasting than the rest, and it’s not even in the movie! Zootopia’s largest pop culture impression comes from a comic starring the titular characters Judy and the fox one dealing with the problems surrounding child birth and child rearing. In the comic, the titular characters learn that animals of completely different species are capable of interbreeding, and that Judy, a prey, has fallen pregnant to a pred. Judy, worried about what will be born and what a child means for her career, has unilaterally decided to get an abortion, against the insistence of the fox to keep the baby. These differences in opinion lead to an irreconcilable falling out, where the two star crossed lovers go their seperate ways, unable to agree on the role of this baby in the universe.
At the heart of the characters’ issues is the idea of veganism. Veganism is a philosophy that seeks to reduce and ideally eliminate all forms of senseless animal exploitation in hopes of achieving a safer, happier world. The most common expression of this philosophy is the abstinence to animal products in food, chiefly stopping consumption of all meat and dairy products. Judy, through her fear of what she would give birth to, expresses her opinions on this matter. A prey herself, Judy already follows a vegan diet and is well aware the fox is primarily a carnivore. Therefore, for her to decide to give birth is to risk bringing into the world another carnivore, one who will be required to live a life of eating meat and exacting animal cruelty.
In her day to day life she must already contend with this problem via living with the fox, but for him to survive he must eat meat; there is no other way. To bring forth another meat eater into the world is to endorse the concept and be willing to perpetuate it: my future baby’s life is more important than the lives of others. Childbirth to her is a betrayal of her values of veganism, and so she is obligated to have an abortion.
The fox, on the other hand, has a lived life of this animal cruelty. His entire family, the full of society he grew up with, embraces the consumption of meat. The opportunity to raise a child is just that; a child. The question of raising another creature who must consume meat for the rest of their life is a non issue. He already must value his life above others, or else he would not be able to live, and it makes sense that these values would automatically apply to his offspring. Judy’s protestations fall on deaf ears: to insist that their child has no value brings into question how she values him. Does she merely ‘tolerate’ his existence? Does she hide some level of disgust at what he must do to stay alive? The fox can not adequately rectify these questions while also accepting Judy’s choice to have an abortion, so he must part ways with her. Her body, her choice, but what does that say about his body, his lack of choice?
Our titular characters are at an impasse, where neither side is wrong. Judy is correct in not wishing to create and raise a child who must enact cruelty to survive. And the fox is correct in feeling that Judy merely tolerates him and the way in which he must survive. At this crossroads, separation is the only logical conclusion. Their differences in world-views are incompatible, and having to confront each’s core tenant proves too much for either of them.
The Future of Veganism
While neither party is at fault for what transpired, the biased opinions of outsiders beg to differ. Over the course of the past 9+ years, thoughts on the comic have shifted numerous times. By analyzing fans’ reactions to the comic, one can determine the reality of veganism. Do the people support Judy in her fight for veganism, symbolizing a hopeful future for the philosophy, or do they side with the fox, arguing that meat consumption must be continued into the future.
The Initial Reactions
A Reddit post made on May 2nd, 2017, during the creation of the comic (note: the comic was released page by page about a week apart) shows the panel where Judy slaps the fox. Users are not pleased with Judy and her steadfast belief in veganism, saying:
Wants to kill their child? Check
Insults [the fox]? Check
Physically assaults [the fox]? Check
I think we can definitely see that Judy doesn’t care at all about [the fox] in this comic so far. Hasn’t cared about his opinions, hasn’t cared about his views, and doesn’t care about his physical health at all.
I think the most hilarious (in a dark sense) thing about this is you could sum up the comic thus far with this exchange.
Judy: I don’t want this miracle baby.
[the fox]: You want to get rid of this miracle baby?
Judy: OMG how dare u?!? (slap)
Commenters are vehemently pro the fox. Judy’s choice of violence is unforgivable. Domestic abuse is over the line and can not be tolerated, but have they applied this same consideration to Judy’s belief system? Sure, abuse towards your spouse is cruel and terrible, but what about abuse to the fellow animals of this world? Judy’s child would persist in a world of abuse; they must abuse others to live. If the fox cannot tolerate something as simple as a slap, how can they be willing to subject an untold number of people to death. When just a modicum of abuse their child must carry out is applied to the fox, commenters abandon Judy’s views in support of the fox, ignoring her broader point of this is what their child’s reality would necessitate for survival. If the fox can’t handle a slap, how can he expect other’s to handle dying for his child?
As the weeks pass and the comic is finished, users can start to gather more informed beliefs, and they have decided that Judy is still completely in the wrong:
So here, Judy becomes the bully that she suffered abuse from in her past. And you know what? At this point, whatever her position is became irrelevant.
She is wrong to hit [the fox].
Her position is now damaged because she lashed out hysterically. It doesn’t matter if she was pro-life and [the fox] was pro-choice. It doesn’t matter if they were arguing over their favorite color. What matters is that Judy attacked physically and [the fox] didn’t (they both attacked verbally though, so there’s that). [the fox] took the high road by leaving his abuser, leaving him to hurt Judy by the only thing he could take from her: himself.
…
[the fox]’s the winner, though, remember. He got the title drop, and he didn’t hit Judy.
The complete lack of consideration for Judy’s view is still apparent. Judy’s belief that birthing this child is tantamount to making her own Dexter is completely overshadowed by one slap, an action a millionth the cruelty of what her child must inflict on the world. At least in the early days of this comic, veganism is put onto the backfoot, and it must play catch-up if its’ philosophy is to stand a chance and survival into the future.
Opinions Start to Shift
Covering of this comic in the years since its release will require a brief covering events that have transpired since. About a year after this comic, a sequel was posted, showing the fox returning home to find Judy a lesbian. The fox, a deeply homophobic man, gets angry at this, pushing Judy’s new partner into the wall before being kicked out by Judy. Why is this important? In terms of displayed abuse, the pair are on equal terms. Judy has slapped the fox, and the fox has body checked her new partner. Now, arguments focused on her abuse must contend that he has done it back. So, several years after, how do people view this comic? Beliefs are more mixed:
I liked the comic and it’s follow up. I didn’t see it as pro life or pro choice. I read it as a couple making a hard choice and how they dealt with it in a sadly real way. I don’t know anything about the artist or any drama about them. I like stories that deal with what happens after happy ever after and the end credits roll. So much of the fan comics is wish fulfillment to the point of being saccharine and patronizing.
How is [the fox] being a pro-lifer a bad thing? It’s his kid, too.
Judy dodged a bullet. With how childish [the fox] was acting when he found out Judy wasn’t ready for a baby… imagine [the fox] as a father… that child would have ended up more than a freak with a narcissistic, psychotic, father who believes abortion is nothing more than murder.
Opinions are more mixed. Some see the comic as a couple having to come to terms with how they view meat in the food chain, while others are still glad to throw their support behind one side. Judy notably has supporters, those who recognize that her beliefs on veganism are justified and that she must do as she believes. This mixed reception shows much more promise for vegans, where people are starting to at least consider Judy’s arguments and beliefs.
The Modern Day and the Future of Veganism
Veganism is dead and Arby’s killed it. In the past several years, the message of the comic has been shifted to focus on the closing of an Arby’s down the street of the titular characters, with edits made to the comic to uphold this mischaracterization. The opinions of our two sides are relatively similar to before, but Judy has become a shell of herself.
In the new comic edit, the fox is the world’s biggest Arby’s fan, typical of his meat loving self. Judy does not like Arby’s, but she still eats there. The comic focuses on the betrayal the fox feels upon Judy revealing her dislike of the restaurant, and he leaves her due to this. This edit has butchered everything Judy stands for.
Arby’s is a place that sells MEAT. Judy is a VEGAN, who does not eat MEAT. Even though she doesn’t like it, she still eats it. Instead of a vegan standing up for her beliefs, Judy is a husk that just doesn’t want to eat meat 4 times a week. She doesn’t ever denounce meat eating, she gladly partakes in it. Her character has been ruined by removing the one character trait she had; the trait critical to the entire meaning of the comic: her veganism.
The most popular version of the most popular piece of Zootopia media is just about how often one can eat meat at an Arby’s and be happy about it. The argument has gone from veganism to moderation of meat. Vegans have lost the war and the philosophy will soon die. Yesterday, the discussion was about whether or not one should eat meat at all. Today the argument has become how often should one eat meat. Tomorrow’s argument? Whether or not one should eat something other than meat. The belief in a less cruel world is dead, taken over by one’s love for Arby’s. Current vegans of the world, watch out as Arby’s will be opening near you and your fields of grass will be turned into their parking lots.
Is there a way back from this? Outside of Zootopia 3 incorporating the original comic as canon, no. Society has decided that veganism is no more, and that’s that. Will the fox get more Arby’s? Yes. Will Judy be eating more and more meat as time goes on? Certainly. Will Judy still be considering an abortion? No, she has grown up and accepted that cruelty is a necessary and good part of life. What can we, the viewer, learn from this retrospective? The public is more open to endorsing harm than ever, and soon, to hurt others is to be truly living. Much like how the fox must hurt to live, so soon will we.
- Author’s note: I have never watched either Zootopia movie ↩︎