Animation Source Forums

At one point in time of the film, when Nick was the main character, predators wore tame collars (the collars made the prey animals feel more secure), which would shock them if they got too worked up or emotional. A young predator (at the age of five) would receive their collar at a taming party, though it's unclear if the ceremony takes place on their birthday. The child receiving the collar saw the ceremony as a growing up phase, though the parents knew that their child would no longer be free.

After a screening with a select few at Pixar, they expressed that they didn't like the film. They suggested, instead of having collars, to add stereotypes instead.



I'm glad that they scrapped the idea of using shock collars. Even though the film still has a serious theme to it, the addition of the collars would have made the darker than what it should have been, and depressing.

I watched the draft scene with Nick in the hospital and it was really sad. Like the directors said, the shock collars would bee to dark and make people hate Zootopia world. I'm also glad they scraped that idea.

I also think it would have made the movie much too dark, I think it's already not so suitable for younger audience, due to some scenes and it's serious theme. The deleted scene of Koslov's son getting the tame collar made me feel really bad for the little polar bear. At first he's really excited at getting the collar, because he knows he's becoming an adult, but then it shocks him, and he goes to his father's arms crying. I'm glad they decided not to add those in the final movie.

I don't think Zootopia is unsuitable (though the naturalist club may be a bit much, despite it not being too detailed) for children, but it certainly has a complex plot that a younger audience wouldn't necessarily understand.

That scene with Koslov's son is without a doubt a emotional scene. Not only do you feel for Morris because you know what the collar is for, but his getting shocked only reinforces the sadness. Nick is also in a hurry to get away from the "taming party", and appears to be worked up emotionally at the end of the scene.

I agree; the collars would have been a mistake - and they would have left the movie considerably more politicized.

I like the way that the final version of Zootopia came out, and it made me adore the movie. I do, however, like the idea of the shock collars as perhaps an alternative version to the movie we got. Maybe as an "AU" sort of thing. I thought the idea was really interesting, and it would give a different spin to the story. I also would've liked to see the deleted scenes from that version of the movie come to completion... It obviously would be a much darker film than the original, but I think that's part of the appeal for me. Seeing the main characters triumph even in a world that has all the odds stacked against them.

It is interesting, and that deleted scene with the young polar bear, in the extras, is touching (and quite sad too). However, the directors said that, after screening earlier versions with the tame collars for Disney staffers, they got reactions that were pretty negative...the same kind they would probably have received from test audiences, and then the general public. It would not only have changed the entire tone of the movie, but would have ultimately affected it's ratings and popularity. In the end, ditching the collars was a good idea. Though keeping those elements for the extras was good to give fans a chance to see how it could have played out...perhaps in a darker version of that world. "AU" indeed.

Yeah, that's why I think maybe it could possibly work better if they ever decided to try and bring that idea to fruition. Although it's highly unlikely, I'll admit. I think now that we have a really positive view of Zootopia, maybe it would be received better if this version were to be done as an "alternate" (almost like alternate endings but on a larger scale).

I was browsing through Zootopia Tweets a couple of days ago and came across a post by Joaquin Baldwin, a Disney layout artist who designed the layout for the Taming Party scene, said that he was going to be releasing an animated version of it in the next 24hrs hours. That 24hrs has passed and the scene can now be seen on YouTube!

That's such a supremely-sad scene. Even the version on the DVD/Blu-Ray. And not just for the polar bears, but even to see Nick's reaction as he watches the event. It really hit me hard.

I had seen it in the storyboard form, but it does gain something from CGI - even the limited amount shown there.