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The Godfather of the Bride is the fourth episode of Zootopia+.
Transcript[]
For a full transcript of The Godfather of the Bride, click here.
Characters[]
- Mr. Big - an Arctic shrew
- Fru Fru - an Arctic shrew
- Fru Fru's husband - an Arctic shrew
- Grandmama - an Arctic shrew
- Morty - an Arctic shrew
- Big family - Arctic shrews
- Rhino Boss - a rhino
- Koslov - a polar bear
- Mr. Big's Mafia - polar bears
Synopsis[]
A touching tale about the powerful arctic shrew known as Mr. Big revisits Fru Fru’s big day when he delivers a revelatory father-of-the-bride speech. Taking guests back in time to his days as Mr. Small, a new immigrant to Zootopia, he imparts the wisdom he gained then about the importance of friends, family and community.
Plot[]
During the wedding reception of Fru Fru and her husband, Mr. Big gives a wedding speech about his youth. He and his Grandmama left The Old Country (which was simply across a large puddle in the street) in "19??", and entered Zootopia to start work in their own bakery. Between traffic that had no regard for the small mammals and a Rhino gangster and his thugs shaking down the neighborhood, Mr. Big found it difficult to make deliveries, so Grandmama got him a bike and their trustworthiness grew within the community. Mr. Big soon noticed that some Polar Bear neighbors were over-heating, and he buys one of their cubs, Koslov, an ice cream cone. In return, Koslov helps with his deliveries and Mr. Big continues to gain allies.
A Rhino gangster soon begins to trash the neighborhood and when Koslov is threatened, Mr. Big stands up to the boss and the residents literally ice the rhino by having him fall into an ice factory. Soon, Mr. Big takes over the neighborhood, appointing Koslov as his right hand and works to improve the community by creating and founding the Little Rodentia area of Zootopia.
Mr. Big finishes his story by telling Fru Fru that "Family makes you rich. The friends you choose... that makes them family. And with these things you'll never feel small". He then turns to Fru Fru's husband to warn that if he ever hurts his little girl, he's as good as iced, before concluding with a toast.
Overlap with Zootopia[]
This is one of the few episodes that does not feature Judy or Nick at all. The episode takes place at Fru Fru's wedding reception and the first 40 seconds or so features scenes of the reception that were also seen in the film. The timeline implies that Judy and Nick are brought in to talk about Mr. Otterton after Mr. Big gives his speech to his daughter and the reception dinner is winding down.
Observations[]
This episode is a touching tale of a father's speech to his daughter on her wedding day and the point of the speech is about the importance of family, friends and community not historical accuracy.
Mr. Big even begins his tale by saying it was set in "Nineteen twenty mumble mumble... doesn't matter" which warns the audience that Mr. Big will be conveying things as he remembers them which may not be how they actually occurred. It is implied to have taken place in the 20th century.
Situations like Grandmama and young Big coming to start a bakery in the new world; finding Zootopia not as accommodating to small mammals; encountering neighborhood thuggery; the success of the bakery; throwing out the Rhino boss; Mr. Big's own rise to power; and the building of Little Rodentia are all events that Mr. Big likely experienced.
However, things like the "treacherous journey" from the old country being shown as crossing a puddle in the street that could be walked around, or a statue of liberty being present when they arrive, or the shift of panicked neighbors suddenly working together as a well-rehearsed unit when taking down the Rhino boss are all clearly stylized additions to the story and should be taken with a grain of salt.
The episode also features two characters being "iced" and the end result is the standard cartoon trope of showing the character encased in a block of ice, yet clearly still alive because their eyes are moving. The Rhino boss is fully encased in ice from head to toe while Morty's head and hands are left uncovered. This is a change from the film where when Mr. Big, who was a deliberate pastiche of Don Corleone from The Godfather, called for a character to be "iced" was understood to be a euphemism indicating a character was going to be put to death.
There was vehemence when he gave the command to "Ice 'em" and the threatened character responded with considerable fear and panic at being targeted so. In this episode the end result is watered down from a death sentence to something that simply causes immobilization until the ice melts.
Trivia[]
- The episode's title and title font is a reference to the fact that Mr. Big was always intended to be a parody of The Godfather as well as a reference to The Father of the Bride.
- The episode also pay homage to The Godfather Part II which covers the early life of Vito Corleone.
- This episode reveals how Little Rodentia was founded in Zootopia.
- In the Zootopia+ episode The Real Rodents of Little Rodentia, Tru Tru warns about inviting cousin Morty to the wedding because he can't handle his cheese. The first problem Mr. Big encounters upon his arrival is Morty who is drunkenly prattling on about the selection of cheeses and is quickly dealt with by Koslov.
- Mr. Big's quote, "Picture it. The Old Country." is a reference to the "Picture it. Sicily." running gag in The Golden Girls.
- As Mr. Big recounts the building of Little Rodentia, we see a rodent version of the famous 1932 photograph "Lunch atop a Skyscraper".
Gallery[]
The Godfather of the Bride/Gallery.
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