Jumbo Pop Hustle

This post contains lots of spoilers for Zootopia.

I’ve been listening to the Zootopia soundtrack on repeat while working on my current cosplay project. “Try Everything” is fantastic, of course. It’s infectious and upbeat and it defines two joyous scenes, Judy’s arrival in Zootopia and Gazelle’s concert. I suspect that’s where a lot of people will tune out, but my favorite track of the album is “Jumbo Pop Hustle.” There are two recurring musical themes that highlight Judy and Nick’s key moments throughout the movie, and this track unifies them perfectly.

The beginning of “Jumbo Pop Hustle” follows a sweet and earnest melody. In this track, the melody is very energetic because Judy’s confidence has been bolstered by confronting Jerry on his blatant discrimination against foxes. However, in slower variations, like the one that starts thirty seconds into “Foxy Fakeout,” the melody sounds gentle and innocent, more like a lullaby. A similar version played earlier, during Judy’s graduation from the police academy. Since that scene showed a touching moment with family, the music supports the fakeout by selling us on Nick and Finnick’s father-son dynamic. However, twenty seconds into “Jumbo Pop Hustle,” the earnest melody takes a downturn when Judy trails off in her greeting to Finnick, “Hey little toot… toot?” At the exact moment that we see Finnick picking up a jar of melted Pawpsicle, the track drops down to just bass and percussion, then rises back up into a jaunty new hustle melody.

In contrast to the earnest melody, the hustle melody is brimming with attitude. It struts to the end of a short section, comes back as a new instrument or in a new key, and then does the whole thing over again. The series of solos creates a sort of baton that’s passed from one hustler to another in relay, continually evading the cops. Each solo corresponds to another step of their complex hustle, from melting down a Jumbo Pop to refreezing it in Finnick’s snow paw prints to selling the recycled popsicle sticks as lumber. The music fades when Judy confronts Nick, but when Nick reclaims control of the conversation, the music resumes with “Walk and Stalk.” Although this track sounds quieter during the movie because Nick talks the whole time, teasing Judy for her naivité, it’s still the same theme with new solo instruments and more layers.

There’s a similar melody the following day, when Judy drives up next to Nick and his stroller, but it’s a very brief sequence that isn’t on the album. This is another clever fakeout: we hear the melody and we expect more antics from Nick, but instead, Judy hustles Nick with her carrot pen. The main hustle melody comes back two more times. First, at the end of “The Nick of Time,” Nick has just finished telling Judy about a traumatic childhood memory. She physically reaches out to him and tries to comfort him but he changes the topic. In doing so, he stumbles into the epiphany that they can track down Manchas by looking up surveillance footage from the ubiquitous traffic cameras. The last recurrence of the hustle melody comes during “Ewe Fell for It.” When Judy and Nick stand together, the melody starts playing as they relish their victory.

There’s another interesting parallel between tracks: “Hopps Goes (After) the Weasel” and “Ramifications” have very similar melodies. They’re both played during action sequences involving criminals where Judy relies on her quick thinking, and they bookend Judy’s journey as a new cop. When she chases Weaselton through Little Rodentia, Judy doesn’t know it yet, but she’s actually trying to recover Night Howlers. Later on, after she and Nick see what Doug is doing, Judy flees from Walter and Jesse while stealing the entire Night Howler lab. Even though she’s not officially on the force, she’s driven by the need to deliver the evidence to the ZPD.

Throughout the entire score, Zootopia’s composer, Michael Giaccino, does a great job of characterization with music. If you enjoyed Zootopia, you should give the full album a listen. You’ll also want to check out his scores for The Incredibles and Inside Out.

