Hooves vs. Zootopia

I know everyone’s all over the moon about Zootopia’s social subtext, the glittery tigers, and how Wilde/Hopps is super cute, but can we talk about Hooves for a moment?

Specifically those on donkeys, zebras, and horses.

Now, in the world of Zootopia, most mammals seemed to have evolved in the sense that their otherwise vestigial dewclaws have become full-on opposable thumbs. That is, those tiny digits that are further up the legs.

Which is why Judy, Nick, and a whole host of others can hold stuff like smart phones and cheap ties.

Interestingly, this has also happened to both even and odd-toed ungulates like Gazelle, Bogo, and Officer Fist Bump.

For the last of those, it’s because he’s got more than two toes to work with. For the first two, it’s because they’ve got dewclaws of their own. Like so.

Horses, Zebras, and Donkeys don’t have dewclaws because they’ve just got the one toe. Which would be fine if Zootopia and the surrounding world at large didn’t seem to be so thumb-oriented what with all the knobs, touch screens, and popsicle sticks.

Is no one else curious as to how these equines get by?

Do they use prosthetics or do they have sticky hooves?

I hoped that they would explain this in the film itself, but they completely glance over it.

Did you know that they thought about including a horse in the ZPD during the developmental stages of the movie? You can see him in the recently released The Art of Zootopia hardcover.

I can most certainly tell you why they didn’t decide to pursue this idea further. If they did, they’d have to explain just how a horse cop is supposed to work when he can’t cuff a suspect or hold a stun pistol.

And this subset isn’t on the cutting room floor. You can still see zebras in promotional materials. They’re on the posters and they’re in some of the teasers.

What? Were you expecting some insights? Some theories? No. This isn’t one of those posts. This is an expression of utter confusion. All those interviews the creators have had so far and no one’s bothered to bring up this particular topic? Is it a no-no question? It baffles. It put the “wild” in beWILDerment.

And now we’re at the end, and it’s just hitting me that I have no idea how the donkey in the first image I posted is holding those sunglasses.

Eh, maybe they got finger barbs that pop out of their hooves when they need them. Like Wolverine! Like this!

Peace. I’m outie.