Suite From Zootopia is the final track on the Zootopia soundtrack.
Musically, a suite is a series of distinct instrumental movements or sections with some element of unity, usually intended to be performed as a single unit. Michael Giacchino arranged the three most prominent themes of Zootopia into a single performance.
Development[]
Michael Giacchino as a soundtrack composer favors the use of motifs or themes that appear in his compositions. In Zootopia, there are three major melodic themes that appear throughout the movie that Giacchino weaves into many of the musical cues.
Giacchino has not formally named these themes so the labels used here reflect the general situations in which these themes appear.
- The Emotional Theme is played when a character is experiencing strong emotion. As the story has Judy as the focus character, this theme plays around her most of the time Since her story begins with her facing disappointment and hardship when she arrives at Zootopia, the theme first appears as a melancholy piece that plays when her dreams have been shaken. The theme is fully expressed as the sad piano piece of Track #8 - Not a Real Cop. However, when Judy gets the clue she needs to solve the Missing Mammals case, the Emotional Theme is re-orchestrated as a triumphant reprise as she goes speeding back to Zootopia. The reprise can be heard as the second half of Track #17 - A Bunny Can Go Savage.
- Nick's Theme is a jazzy, funky piece that plays when the characters (usually Nick) are being crafty, clever, or pulling a hustle. It forms the majority of Track #6 - Jumbo Pop Hustle (after the 20 second mark) and Track #7 - Walk and Stalk.
- Judy's Theme is lighter more hopeful piece that plays when dreams or idealism is involved (again mostly around Judy). It forms the majority of Track #5 - Foxy Fakeout because it plays when Judy thinks she has truly helped a father and son get a jumbo pop. It also opens Track #6 - Jumbo Pop Hustle before it shifts into Nick's Theme.
The Suite For Zootopia as it appears on the soundtrack is a collection of these three themes and arranged so it flows from one to another.
The suite opens with a melancholy version of the Emotional Theme which plays for awhile before shifting tone into a triumphant reprise. The suite returns to a softened version of the Emotional Theme and then spins off into a particularly percussive version of Nick's Theme which then flows into a exuberant Judy's Theme. The suite concludes with a simple version of the Emotional Theme but without the melancholy, to bring the composition to a close.
Role in the Film[]
The Suite from Zootopia is heard during the end credits in a modified form. The Suite as arranged by Michael Giacchino is not long enough to cover the entire credit sequence so extra music is included to cover the entire closing sequence.
It is unknown if Giacchino helped in creating this new arrangement of the music or whether the sound engineers and editors simply pulled together elements from Giacchino's other pieces as needed to form a workable composition.
Once Gazelle finishes "Try Everything" at the concert and the actual end credits begin, the music opens with a snippet from Track #4 - Ticket to Write. It then moves on to the opening of the Suite featuring the melancholy Emotional Theme shifting into the triumphant reprise.
It breaks away and fills in with a snippet of the chase music from Track #9 - Hopps Goes (after) the Weasel. Then it returns to the Suite picking up with Nick's Theme but inserts a short snippet of Track #12 - Mr. Big before returning to Nick's Theme.
From here, the Suite plays uninterrupted as originally composed. It moves on to Judy's Theme and when the final bars of the Emotional Theme play, "Created and Produced at Walt Disney Animation Studios" is scrolling off the screen.