Judy Hopps

"Real life is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes. Which means―hey, glass half full!―we all have a lot in common.  And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be.  But we have to try. So no matter what kind of person you are, from the biggest elephant to our first fox, I implore you: Try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us."

- Judy Hopps

Officer Judy Hopps is the protagonist of the 2016 Disney animated feature film Zootopia.

Official Bio

 * Judy Hopps is the first bunny ever to join Zootopia's police department. Determined to prove herself, Judy jumps at the chance to crack a case, even if it means teaming up with a con artist fox.

Development
For a majority of the film's production, Judy was not the protagonist of the story. Instead, the film was centered around Nick Wilde, while Judy served as a sidekick, and an already established member of the Zootopia Police Department, assisting Wilde in clearing his name after being framed for a crime he did not commit. She was also going to be a lieutenant and the police force's best cop, but her motivations remained the same throughout most versions of the story.

A little over a year before the film's set release date, Byron Howard, and the rest of the production team crucially revamped the story so that it was Judy in which whom the audience would follow. The reason being that the story centered around bias, and how prejudice plagues the city, despite its wondrous exterior. To Nick, the city was broken from the beginning, and following the story through the eyes of a cynic would degrade both the message and the city, itself. With Judy being optimistic and starry-eyed, the story and themes made much more sense, with Hopps' struggle to insert herself within the harsh world of reality serving as an important, and emotional story.

Voice
Longtime Disney fan, Ginnifer Goodwin, recalls receiving notifications about the role of a character in Zootopia during shooting of ABC's Once Upon a Time in Vancouver. Before even receiving information about the role or the script, Goodwin's love for Disney led to answering the offer with a resounding "yes", wanting to save the rest of the information for after her inclusion was legally blinded.

Personality
A rabbit with high optimism, Judy Hopps is an energy-driven achiever first and foremost. She has a strong belief that "anyone can be anything" due to the idealistic farm community she was raised in. However, due to bullying during her childhood, Judy dislikes prejudice and the subject of discrimination, but in a way that she is determined to prove others wrong about it. Judy wants to do what is right as well, and combining this with her beliefs is what made her eager to prove that she is a real cop ever since she was little. As an officer, she tries to retain this while still trying to help those in need.

Judy is clever and resourceful, which proves to be her greatest asset. She tarnishes the stereotype of a "dumb bunny", being intelligent enough to outsmart professional con artist Nick Wilde, several times. However, her sense of equality also leads her to being a subject of manipulation, herself, as she makes genuine effort to see passed stereotypes, prompting her to go against obvious logic at times; for example, her goal to avoid stereotyping foxes causes her to fall victim to a money-making scheme orchestrated by Nick Wilde. Upon realizing occasional obliviousness, however, Judy has a talent of getting the best of her manipulators in the end, by cunningly returning the favor with a taste of their own medicine, making her a force to be reckon with.

Judy's optimism and determination to be a police officer tends to lead her to be, at times, overzealous and impulsive. As a meter maid, she gave 201 tickets before noon just to show up Bogo's doubts about her, arrested a crook for stealing, even though meter maids can't arrest someone, which was disclosed from a furious Bogo, and had nearly gotten herself killed on multiple occasions during her first case.

Despite Judy's sense of morality about prejudice, she tends to have a mild fear of predators due to her bullying from childhood, so much that it manifests as unintentional prejudice itself; she even kept the fox repellent and nearly used it on Nick when he was angered by her unintentionally bigoted comments about predators. During a press conference, she theorized that the predators had gone wild because of their "biology" in their DNA. She also doesn't like being called cute; upon her first arrival at the police station, Clawhauser described her as such, but she considered it to be offensive if any animal, excluding rabbits, referred to a rabbit with such terms.

Being the cheerful, self-righteous, enthusiastic, and giving rabbit that she is, Judy cares for the well-being of others, her family, Mrs. Otterton's despair over the disappearance of her husband, and even Nick. During the chase in Little Rodentia, Judy intercepted every chance of danger for the small residents even when capturing Duke was on the line. She has a large heart, and although she tends to keep her emotions under control—and even under wraps—a majority of the time, she is capabale of expressing her true feelings in a genuine, powerful light. This is mostly seen with Nick, who's feelings and companionship she values highly, motivating her to prevent her own ambitions from harming others.

After the conspiracy was resolved, Judy achieves a larger sense of the world around her and the delicacy of society by how dangerous prejudice is, even when it is unintentional. No longer starry-eyed, she encourages others to stop discriminating and put in effort to try and make Zootopia a better place by accepting others, no matter what they are.

Physical appearance
Judy is a young rabbit with a lithe build and round face. She is covered in gray fur with a lighter shade on her underbelly up to her muzzle and on her paws. She has large purple eyes, a pink nose and ears, and long ears with black tips.

Judy owns three police uniforms: her uniform during her graduation, her meter maid uniform, and her rookie uniform. The initial uniform worn at the graduation was navy blue with sleeves, a high collar and pants with a gold chain and sewn ZPD patches on her shoulders. She also had a darker tie and a belt filled with various paraphernalia. After Nick graduated into a police officer, the uniform became her official ZPD outfit.

Her rookie uniform consisted of dark blue pants, a blue shirt, a kevlar vest and black coverings around her wrists and ankles. She also had metal kneepads on her pants and a black kevlar belt with a silver buckle. The unifom is made of neoprene, allowing Judy to work in different types of weather. Judy's meter maid outfit was worn over the aforementioned outfit and consisted of only an orange vest with neon yellow lines and a blue hat with a blue band that contained the meter maid emblem on it.

When working as a carrot farmer, Judy wore a red-striped pink flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves, and jeans, and wore a beige sun hat.

Role in the film
In the countryside community of Bunnyburrow, young Judy has dreamed of becoming a police officer in the city of Zootopia, where anyone can be anything. Her parents, Bonnie and Stu, try to dissuade Judy from following a risky goal and encourage her to become a carrot farmer with the family instead, though Judy explains her willingness to make the world a better place by becoming an officer, in spite of the fact that there has never been a bunny cop. As such, Judy claims she will just have to be the first bunny cop in order to fulfill her dream. At the farm fair, Judy confronts a young fox and local bully named Gideon Grey picking on prey children; Judy demands he give the kids their stolen tickets back. Gideon mocks the young rabbit, but gets kicked by Judy, prompting him to threaten and eventually claw Judy's cheek, claiming that she will never be a cop, or anything more than a "dumb bunny", because she is prey. Gideon leaves without knowing that she swiped the tickets from him, and after recovering, she stands tall and becomes inspired to prove Gideon wrong.

Fifteen years later, Judy joins the Zootopia Police Academy; at first struggling with the course demands, she gradually becomes stronger and graduates as valedictorian and the first rabbit officer for Zootopia's police, meeting Mayor Lionheart and his assistant, Dawn Bellwether during the ceremony. Because she was assigned to the department's first precinct, located at the center of the city, Judy prepares to move to Zootopia. Bonnie, Stu and the rest of her family all say their goodbyes to Judy at the train station. Bonnie and Stu reluctantly accept the path she is taking, but warn her of the dangers of predators in the city, particularly foxes. They give her a care package filled with various "anti-fox" products, just in case, though she only agrees to take one canister of fox repellent to keep her parents' worries at minimum.

In Zootopia, Judy finds a home in the Grand Pangolin Apartments, never minding its small size, undesirable wallpaper, and rowdy neighbors. Optimistic and excited to start her first day on the police force, Judy leaves home, ensuring to take her fox repellent as she departs. Upon entering the Zootopia Police Department, she finds a large number of animals on the force to be either predators or massive in size, including Officer Clawhauser. At muster, Chief Bogo disregards Judy's impressive academy record and places her on parking duty, not willing to acknowledge her as a real officer because of her species. Judy takes offense but nevertheless is determined to make the best of her new position. Thanks to her exceptional hearing, she is able to detect every meter on time, processing a planned 200 tickets by noon, plus one after running the meter to her own vehicle.

During her time at work, she spots a shady fox sidling into Jumbeaux's Café and follows him, suspicious of his motives. But she discovers that the fox simply brought his elephant-enthusiast son there to get a jumbo popsicle for his birthday, and is ashamed of her bigotry. However, the server Jerry Jumbeaux Jr. refuses to sell him an elephant-sized treat on account of his being a fox. Judy interrupts the argument by pointing out potential health violations, convincing Jerry to sell the popsicle to the foxes and even paying for it herself when the fox claims to have forgotten his wallet. The fox introduces himself as Nick Wilde and thanks Judy for helping him, with Judy admitting foxes should not be treated as sly or crooked. But while filing tickets in Sahara Square, she spots Nick melting the Jumbo pop down into "pawpsicles" with his son. Following them throughout the city, Judy discovers Nick's "son" to actually be a fully-grown accomplice named Finnick, who helps Nick sell the pawpsicles to lemmings before recycling the sticks as lumber to mice construction workers for an additional price. When Judy confronts Nick, he stumps her by revealing permits for his actions. He is quick to guess her fears and insecurities, warning her that Zootopia is not a paradise and predicting her inevitable failure and return home, because no one will ever take a small-town hick bunny cop seriously. As a self-assured Nick leaves the bunny in shock (and in wet cement), Judy returns to her apartment with her hopes of being accepted on the police force dented.

The next day, Judy continues to do her job, but is increasingly depressed as she only succeeds in aggravating animals with parking tickets. As she dejectedly asserts to herself that she is a real cop, she is alerted to a crime courtesy of Duke Weaselton, who had robbed a nearby food store. Ecstatic, she removes her meter maid garb and pursues Weaselton, taking the chase into Little Rodentia. She apprehends the crook with a donut sign, saving a young female shrew in the process, and delivers him to the ZPD office. Upon her arrival, a furious Bogo grills her on abandoning her post, insisting that a meter maid is all she is qualified to be. Just then, Mrs. Otterton arrives at Bogo's office, desperately seeking someone to search for her missing husband Emmitt; Judy volunteers for the challenge, much to Mrs. Otterton's joy. Bogo, outraged, fires Judy, but a brief talk with Bellwether forces him to assign Judy the case. He makes a deal that she solve the case in 48 hours, or else she will resign.

As Clawhauser provides Judy with the case file on Otterton, Judy discovers that Emmitt had bought a pawpsicle from Nick on the day of his disappearance and seeks out the fox for questioning. Nick refuses to cooperate, however, wanting to continue with his latest hustle as he brags about the amount of money he makes off of such schemes, unknowingly admitting to tax evasion while doing so, which Judy slyly records on her Carrot Pen with a recording function. Judy then blackmails Nick into aiding her on the case or be subject to five years jail time, to which Wilde begrudgingly abides to.

Nick brings Judy to the last place he saw Emmitt, the Mystic Springs Oasis, which to Judy's horror and discomfort is a naturalist club. The receptionist, Yax, mentions that Emmitt was last seen jumping into a limousine and provides the plate number. Because she lacks the authority to run a plate, Nick takes Judy to the Department of Mammal Vehicles, to seek the assistance of his friend Flash. To Judy's dismay, Flash and his co-workers are all sloths. After some frustration with the sloth's slow nature, worsened by Nick telling Flash a joke, they obtain the plate number, identifying which company the limo belonged to. Upon stepping out of the DMV, Judy is dismayed to find that night has already fallen.

The pair locate the motorpool where the limo was parked. But to Judy's annoyance it is locked, and she lacks a warrant to search the place. Believing his debt to her paid, Nick asks for the recording, but Judy casually tosses her pen over the fence, tricking Nick into climbing over and thus giving himself a trespassing violation for additional blackmail, also providing Judy "probable cause" to search the premises. When they locate the limo, they discover the back compartment riddled with claw marks. Nick soon realizes that the limo belongs to Mr. Big, Tundratown's biggest crime boss. Before they can escape, a pair of polar bear henchmen find and takes them directly to Mr. Big, whom Judy discovers is an arctic shrew. When Mr. Big addresses Judy, Nick tries to prevent her from revealing that she is a cop, but she directly accuses Big of being behind Emmitt's disappearance. Scorned, Mr. Big orders the pair to be "iced", but before the polar bears can drop them into a pool of ice water, his daughter Fru Fru―the same shrew Judy saved the previous day―arrives and recognizes Judy. Fru Fru tells her father of Judy's deeds, resulting in Big sparing Judy and Nick's lives. In gratitude, Mr. Big kisses Judy on both cheeks, establishing an alliance, and invites her and Nick to Fru Fru's wedding reception.

During the wedding reception, Mr. Big explains that Emmitt was his florist, who was coming to tell him something important but, en route, suddenly went savage and attacked his chauffeur Manchas, a black jaguar. Judy and Nick go to see him at his home in the Rainforest District. Manchas mentions "Night Howlers" were responsible for the attack on him before he too goes savage and chases the pair. Judy calls for backup as they reach a gondola dropoff. Before Manchas can reach Nick, Judy cuffs Manchas as the duo escape. Falling from the rainforest trees, the pair become entangled in a series of vines as Bogo and reinforcements arrive. Judy leads Bogo to Manchas, insisting that the case is bigger than she thought, only to find no trace of the black jaguar. Bogo demands Judy to resign, and she nearly does, but Nick takes a stand, scolding ZPD for deliberately setting Judy up to fail and insisting that she still has ten hours to solve the case. As the pair leave the Rainforest District on a gondola, Judy thanks Nick for his support. Nick confesses that he was ganged and muzzled by prey animals as a child because of his species and resolved to live out the "sly fox" stereotype so as to never be hurt that way again, explaining his sympathy for the repressed and underestimated. Judy expresses her belief that Nick is more than what society labels him as, and her attitude towards him softens.

While riding the gondola, Nick soon realizes that the traffic cameras may have captured how Manchas disappeared, and the pair consult Assistant Mayor Bellwether, who had earlier promised to help Judy. Reviewing the footage, they learn that a pair of wolves, whom Judy assumes to be the "night howlers", captured Manchas and trace their truck to the Cliffside Asylum. As they infiltrate the facility after distracting the guards with a howl, they find all the missing predators, all having gone savage. The duo then discover Mayor Lionheart to be keeping the savage predators imprisoned and their existence concealed from Bogo to prevent public panic. Judy uses her phone camera to record Lionheart's admission, but their presence is given away by an inconvenient call from her parents. As Lionheart summons the wolf guards, Judy uses a toilet to flush herself and Nick to the outside. With her evidence intact, Judy calls ZPD, who raid the asylum and arrest Lionheart. Judy reads Lionheart his rights, and is unsympathetic when he claims to have simply been trying to keep the city safe.

A press conference is held centering the events of Judy's success. While preparing for her interview, Judy offers Nick a chance to join the ZPD, stating that she would like to have him as a partner. Nick is notably touched by this, but when it comes time for Judy to speak, she falls under pressure and describes the savaged mammals' condition a case of "biology", claiming they may be reverting to their natural instincts. As the crowd goes into a confused panic, Bellwether assists Judy off the stage, where she is confronted by an offended Nick. Judy tries to justify her words by declaring that predators are naturally savage, unlike prey such as bunnies, deeming Nick the exception, as he wasn't like "them"; this only furthers Nick's anger. As the confrontation heats, Judy starts to feel threatened, instinctively reaching for her canister of fox repellent and confirming her bigotry against foxes. Nick returns the fully filled ZPD application and storms off. Judy tries to chase after him to reconcile, but a crowd of press blocks her path.

As time goes on, more cases of predators going savage begin sprouting across Zootopia with no known cause or cure, resulting in fear and discrimination against predators from the prey population. As Judy watches the tension she set in motion, she declines to become the public face of the ZPD despite Mayor Bellwether's request, saying that even though it is what she has always wanted, her attempts to make the world a better place had only broken and divided it. Broken-hearted, she resigns from the force.

Judy returns home to Bunnyburrow and rejoins the family business as a carrot farmer, just as Nick had predicted when they first met. One day, she meets a much more mature Gideon, who has since partnered with her parents. Subsequently, Judy notices a plant her parents had been growing to protect their crops. As Stu explains that the plants cause severe psychotropic effects on mammals, Gideon also reveals that the plants are colloquially called "Night Howlers". Realizing these must be the cause of the savage outbreaks, Judy takes her father's truck and returns to Zootopia. With help from Finnick, Judy tracks down Nick and reveals this new information, but Nick rebuffs her. As Judy becomes visibly upset, tearfully apologizing and condemning herself as "just a dumb bunny" for her words and actions, Nick opens up and forgives and comforts her, playfully playing back her apology on the carrot pen two times. Their friendship is reconciled and their investigation is renewed.

Recalling that Duke Weaselton had been stealing a bunch of Night Howler bulbs when she first arrested him, Judy and Nick confront him, demanding to know who he was stealing for. When he refuses to cooperate, they take him to Mr. Big, who threatens to ice him unless he told them what they wanted to know. During the interrogation, Mr. Big designates Judy the godmother of his future grandchild, whom Fru Fru was planning on naming Judy in her honor.

Using Weaselton's information, the pair track down a sheep named Doug, who is cultivating and weaponizing Night Howlers in an abandoned subway car. They eavesdrop on Doug, who mentions on the phone that he was responsible for Emmitt and Manchas going savage by shooting them with a dart gun. As two more sheep arrive, Judy takes the opportunity to steal the subway car, hoping to get the evidence to ZPD. As the rams give chase, they spot an oncoming train about to collide with them, so Judy knocks a sheep onto a track switch, diverting the car onto a different track. Unfortunately, the car is going too fast, forcing the pair to abandon ship, resulting in it crashing and bursting into flames. However, Nick reveals that he stole the case containing the dart gun and the Night Howler toxin.

As they cut through the Natural History Museum to get to the ZPD, the pair run into Bellwether, who insists on taking the evidence. Realizing she is the mastermind of the conspiracy, Judy and Nick try to flee, but Judy accidentally cuts her leg on a tusk display. As Bellwether and her ram henchmen close in, the pair use a stuffed bunny as a decoy as they run for the exit, only to be knocked into a pit by a ram. Bellwether then shoots the dart gun at Nick, causing him to apparently go savage, and frames a call for help to the ZPD. While trying to evade Nick, Judy asks Bellwether why she is doing this. Bellwether elaborates on her plan to divide predator and prey so the latter, the majority, can take over Zootopia. When it seems like Nick is about to eat Judy, it turns out it was all an act; they had secretly swapped the dart gun's ammo with blueberries from Judy's farm. With Bellwether's monologue recorded on Judy's carrot pen, the ZPD arrive and arrest her and her accomplices.

Months later, the savaged predators have been successfully cured thanks to Judy, who is present at a hospital witnessing the reunion between Mr. and Mrs. Otterton, the latter thanking Judy for her help. Meanwhile, Judy is reinstated into the ZPD, and is present at Nick's police graduation ceremony, where she gives a rousing speech reflecting her experiences and matured viewpoints. She also takes the honor of badging Nick, exchanges salutes with him to officially welcome him into the force as the first fox officer, and later takes him on as her partner. During their first muster together, Bogo seemingly relegates them to parking duty as a jest referencing their past history, before assigning the pair to hunt down a street racer zipping through Savanna Central. As they roll out on their first assignment, Judy admits to Nick that she loves him. Just then, they find and apprehend the racer and, to Judy's shock, discover he is none other than Flash.

During the credits Judy and Nick, along with most the Zootopia populace, dance at a concert performance of "Try Everything" by Gazelle.

Disney INFINITY 3.0
Judy's figure was released on March 1, 2016 as a playable character in the Toy Box mode, alongside Nick.

Some of her attacks includes her special ability: "Sleep Enforcement", which allows her to use her tranquilizer gun that momentarily put enemies to sleep. For melee attacks, Judy has "Super Sensitive Hearing", which allows her to sense and repel enemies to an exceptional degree. "Rabbit Kick" has Judy leap and kick an enemy with powerful force. Other abilities include enhanced speed and jumping action.

Judy also has an exclusive Toy Box story, which intertwines with the exclusive Toy Box story of Nick Wilde, entitled Judy Hopps: Hot on the Case. In the story, a mysterious antagonist has stolen the Jumbo pops of Jerry Jumbeaux, leading Judy to hit the streets for investigation. She soon finds a suspicious car, and a chase follows. She eventually learns the criminal's plans, finds their base, and teams up with Nick to end the case. Judy's Toy Box story can be downloaded by accessing the "Developer's Pick" menu, under "Community Content".

Judy also has the costume-changing "Meter Maid Judy" power disc, which dons her character model in her meter maid outfit when activated.

Disney Parks
Judy made her live debut at the red carpet premiere of Zootopia on February 17, 2016, alongside Nick.

Disneyland
In California, Judy and Nick will begin making appearances on Hollywood Boulevard at Disney California Adventure.

Walt Disney World Resort
In Florida, both Judy and Nick made their theme park debut at Disney's Animal Kingdom, at the Harambe Village Marketplace, for meet-and-greet sessions during a promotional event for Zootopia.

Beginning spring of 2016, Judy will appear alongside Nick during the ''Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It!'' Street Party at the Magic Kingdom.

Nick Wilde
After discovering Nick's reputation as a con artist, having been a pawn in one of his schemes, Judy grew a dislike towards the fox, and his bitter attitudes towards the world, and herself. She took pleasure in getting her revenge by using his own ego against him and simultaneously blackmailing him into aiding her in the Otterton case, showing the two were bitter enemies at the start. Despite her annoyance with his cynicism and wise-cracks, Judy was intentionally responsible for saving Nick's life throughout their first adventure, and when this is brought up by Nick himself, she simply reasons it to be part of her job as an officer showing that, despite their unhealthy history at the time, she was above treating him recklessly. She was also able to unabashedly commend the fox when his own intelligence greatly assisted their case, giving credit where it was due in spite of everything.

This is repaid once Nick, after witnessing the bigotry Judy faces at the hands of her "peers", stands up for the rabbit and becomes a willing accomplice in her goal to not only find Otterton, but prove herself to Bogo. Once Nick explains his history, and the reasoning behind his own bitterness, Judy's views and opinions on the fox change drastically, and the two start to form a meaningful relationship built on mutual trust and understanding.

Her friendship with Nick was responsible for opening Judy's eyes to reality, showing that the world is not a perfect place where everyone gets along, and that prejudice is something that effects everyone, in ways you may not expect, making it all the more important to call out bigotry and make real effort to right the wrongs that it causes. Judy was able to fully admit this to Nick after she, herself, performed acts of prejudice, being more concerned with proving her care for him than labeling herself progressive, exemplifying the strength of their relationship.

By the epilogue, Judy and Nick's relationship was shown to be healthier and stronger than ever. The two are seen regularly spending time with one another, both during work and after hours, and although they share mutual respect, they still partake in rounds of playful banter, innocently echoing their former rivalry. By this point in time, Judy willingly admits that she loves Nick; sentiments that seem to be returned.

Chief Bogo
Chief Bogo was immediately against Judy upon her inception into his precinct, apparently feeling her induction was forced upon him, coupled with the fact that he strongly believed bunnies to be incapable of handling police work. He treated her harshly as a result of this, assigning her to mediocre tasks and using her faults as excuses to fire her. When he was forced to assign her with the case of the missing Emmitt Otterton, he gave her a near impossible window of time to do so, allowing her two days to solve a case that he and his entire force had been unable to crack in two weeks, by that point, with the consequences of facing resignation.

Judy generally treated Bogo with respect in spite of all of this, though she made it clear numerous times that she joined the force to work diligently and make the world a better place, unaccepting of the light duties she had been assigned to due to her species. With both herself and Bogo being extremely strong-willed and stubborn, they shared a tense relationship for a good while. However, after Judy proved herself by uncovering all missing mammals, Bogo's respect was fully earned, as he immediately began to treat his newest recruit with the utmost respect from that moment forward, going as far as to vocally view her as the greatest example of what a "good cop" can and should be.

Bonnie and Stu Hopps
Despite their dated views on the world, and especially predators, Judy shares a loving relationship with her parents, who often go out of their way to ensure their daughter is happy, and above all, safe. Judy has shown discomfort with their clingy nature, and unwillingness to exceed expectations (notably with their reservations towards Judy becoming the first rabbit officer for the ZPD), but their words of discouragement have never gotten to her, and the two eventually come around to accepting, as well as supporting their daughter's strong will, though they still strive to ensure she's safe at all times.

Though her independence and confidence leads her to ignore their pessimism, Judy was still unwilling to admit to her parents that her first day on the force was less than stellar, valuing their opinions enough to the point where she was embarrassed to admit that she had been relegated to parking duty on her first day.

Over time, Judy's optimism and courageous spirit would positively influence her parents to the point where they, themselves, became optimists who stood by their daughter's side when she was at her lowest point, exclaiming their admiration for her willingness to try in spite of the odds against her. They would also become more accepting towards predators, going as far as to establish a partnership with Gideon Grey, admitting that they wouldn't have done so if not for Judy's progressive world views. Upon learning this, Judy came to respect her parents all the more.

Gideon Grey
"Hey, Judy, I just like to say I'm sorry for the way I behaved in my youth. I had lot of self doubt, and it manifested itself in a form of unchecked rage and aggression. I was a major jerk."

- Gideon apologizing to Judy for his behavior 15 years ago

Gideon Grey was Judy's childhood bully, and one of the major influences on her persistent nature and refusal to accept prejudice and underestimation. As children, Judy's goodwill and Gideon's superiority complex led to a lethal confrontation during a community fair; one that would have Judy develop a hidden fear and distrust towards foxes. Even as an adult, despite claiming that Gideon was simply a "jerk who happened to be a fox", their past history would lead Judy—a considerably progressive individual—to become prejudiced herself, going as far as to carrying around fox repellent on her first day at work.

Years after their last confrontation, Judy and Gideon crossed paths once more, and the latter was shown to have matured significantly. He immediately apologized to Judy for his cruel behavior, explaining that, as a child, he suffered from self-doubt that manifested itself into unchecked rage and aggression. Judy bears no ill will, nor did she show any hesitation in approaching her former tormentor, and the two have apparently made amends. Gideon was even unknowingly helpful in Judy's mission to crack a case that had been plaguing Zootopia, by the time of their reunion.

Mr. Big
Judy hypocritically judged Mr. Big solely on his species when they first encountered one another, with the former viewing Big as a non-threat, despite his reputation, in response to his size. She nevertheless accused him of being a serious suspect in Otterton's disappearance, based on her evidence, and immediately marked him as an enemy, only to regret such a decision when Big proved his power by nearly having her killed. However, their relationship took a major turn when it was revealed that Judy had saved Fru Fru the previous day. This action put Big in Judy's debt, and he immediately returned the favor by providing useful information on Otterton's disappearance.

Over time, Mr. Big's fondness for Judy continued to grow; she became a welcomed member of his extended family, being appointed as the godmother of Fru Fru's expected daughter, and was also granted protection, support, and hospitality by Big and his mafia, evidenced by their immediate assistance in interrogating Duke Weaselton to help solve Judy's case, providing her with comfort and refreshments as they did so.

Trivia

 * Her voice actress Ginnifer Goodwin finished recording her voice on September 11, 2015.
 * Judy's last name, Hopps, is a play on the word "hop".
 * Judy's nose twitches whenever she is nervous or scared.
 * Judy's ears drop whenever she is sad or depressed.
 * Judy's foot thumps rapidly whenever she is angry or frustrated.
 * Byron Howard confirmed that the names between Judy and the character Officer Judy Hoffs from  was an unintentional coincidence.
 * During renovations of the Walt Disney Animation Studios building, beginning in 2014, Judy was one of the character silhouettes featured on the wall mural.