The whole point of Zootopia is that you can’t judge someone by their species—or by their size. Mr. Big is the ultimate example. He’s smaller than your phone, but he controls a whole ice-cream-truck fleet and a group of polar bears who act as his chauffeurs. That’s the joke: the predator can be the prey, and the little guy can be the big boss.
It also shows how stereotypes get flipped. We normally think of foxes as cunning and bunnies as cute. But here, a shrew—often seen as a pest—is the most powerful thing in the room. It makes you look at your own backyard a little differently. Ever see a shrew near your garden? Maybe it’s running its own tiny criminal enterprise. You never know.
'Zootopia': que animais aparecem no filme | Disney Brasil
But Is It Really a Shrew? Let’s Get Nerdy
Okay, I know you might have heard people say, “Oh, it’s just a mouse.” But Disney confirmed it during the film’s promotion. They specifically designed Mr. Big as an Arctic shrew, using that species’ characteristic long nose and tiny eyes. The Arctic shrew is actually larger than other shrews, but still—he’s a toothpick compared to the polar bears around him.
And here’s a fun fact: female Arctic shrews are called “sows,” males are called “boars,” and babies are called “pigs.” So Mr. Big is literally a shrew boar in a mafia suit. Doesn’t that make you smile? It’s like a piggy bank with a gun.
