Yes, Animated Foxes Actually Are Kind of Hot

Every so often, I’ll have an intrusive thought of Zootopia’s Nick Wilde condescendingly saying to his co-star bunny Judy Hopps, “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.” Listen, if someone called me sweetheart, I normally wouldn’t swoon. But there’s something so fun about seeing Nick push Judy’s buttons during their first encounter—a textbook initial meeting of an enemies-to-lovers romance—that made me absolutely smitten. Others seem to have fallen prey to Nick, too, because there are endless viral fan edits of him on TikTok, one of which has 694K Likes and a handful of very NSFW comments.As much as I have a mind of my own, I can’t help but acknowledge that, to a degree, my unreasonable attraction to this charming green-eyed scammer is partly due to mainstream influence: Hollywood’s decades-long push of its Hot Fox Agenda.This scheme makes total sense. Foxes are sly creatures with adaptable natures that are fiercely independent. Plus, they’re very playful and incredibly smart. Sounds like a triple threat to me! Give these animated characters the voice of a real-life sexy person, like Glenn Powell—who is now playing Fox McCloud as of the recent Super Mario Galaxy Movie—and suddenly I am losing it. I mean, even in our modern language, like calling someone a “silver fox,” we reference these creatures to signal that someone’s attractive. So it’s only right that we pay homage to the originators, right?Animated foxes being sexy as hell isn’t new. The movies and TV execs in La La Land discovered that animated foxes can be hot decades ago. It all started back in 1973 when Disney’s film Robin Hood portrayed the title character as a fox. His nature to steal from the rich and give to the poor remained the same as the original story, but his personality showed off his wits and thoughtfulness, especially when it came to his love story with Maid Marian. His yearning for her became the standard for a lot of young women. In a Reddit community named “Lady Boner” (as if that didn’t tell you everything you needed to know), there was a thread where women were bonding over their crushes on Fox Robin Hood and how he was “the perfect mixture of gruff and gentle.” Trust me, I get it. That scene where he and Marian went for an evening stroll and he made her a flower ring? A lover boy if I ever did see one! It’s so good to know that I’m not the only one who’s been personally victimized by the Hot Fox Agenda.Then there’s Swiper the Fox from Dora the Explorer. He’s known to be more of a villain, but who doesn’t love a bad boy? Especially when he’s wearing a mysterious little mask that makes us question, What is he really hiding under there? as if he was channeling Zorro (without the swagger). Swiper even had his moments where he turned things around for a while; the only thing better than a hot villain is a hot villain with a redemption arc. And even though he was a terrible thief and chronically unsuccessful in his literal one job of stealing things—all thanks to the simple act of children shouting at their TV screens—he still showed a kind of “never give up” attitude that feels so refreshing nowadays compared to the many scrubs on dating apps.Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox was a double whammy. Not only did the ultimate silver fox, George Clooney, voice the lead character for the stop-motion animation, but Mr. Fox himself was a smoke show. Maybe it was the way he wore that marigold corduroy suit, or maybe it was how selfless and generous he was, but together, it was all hot as f*ck.Even in video games the foxes are irresistible! In the horror game series Five Nights at Freddy’s, Foxy the Pirate has made people want to run toward him instead of away. And if a mangled, robotic fox cosplaying as a pirate—hook hand and all—can have that amount of allure, then you know the foxes have reached peak desirability.It’s not like Hollywood is oblivious to what they’re pushing out; they’re so deep in their Hot Fox Agenda agenda, they’re adding the propaganda into scripts! For example, in season 11 of Bobs’ Burgers, Tina admits that she fell in love after seeing Mr. Foxtail in a magazine. “Is it bad to be attracted to a cartoon fox that you don't even know that well?” she asks. Absolutely not according to our book! But also, damn Hollywood maybe ease up a little?Zootopia is now set to return for a third movie, blessing us with even more Nick Wilde. While Nick’s former hustler lifestyle originally piqued my interest, it’s his softer side that really made me fall hard for him. When he interacts with Judy, and they seemingly fall in love with one another, he starts to open up, baring his flaws, emotions, and feelings for her, admitting, “No one else in the world matters more to me than you do.”As someone who connects with Judy’s kinder, optimistic, and hard-working nature, seeing her fall for Nick, all while putting their differences aside, makes me want my own Fixer Upper Fox. Since I am nothing but another casualty of the Hot Fox Agenda, I’m confident that I’ll be able to spot them soon. And when I do, I’ll have Hollywood to thank for it.