Cliffside Asylum is a major location in the 2016 Disney animated feature film, Zootopia.
Background[]
The asylum is apparently functioned within an abandoned, closed-off hospital. When a number of predators mysteriously fell under a savage infection, Mayor Lionheart took advantage of the space by using it as a base for incarceration, while doctors search for a cure. Madge Honey Badger was the lead medic in this situation, and the area was heavily guarded by a pack of high-security timber wolves.
The asylum is located out of town, accessed through a tunnel departing from the Rainforest District and entering Tundratown. It is based on a portion of land along the rushing waters of a waterfall.
​Role in the film[]
After subduing Mr. Manchas after he went savage, Judy tells Chief Bogo and the other ZPD officers that the missing mammals case is bigger than she thought. When she tries to confirm this by showing them the savage Mr. Manchas, Manchas has mysteriously disappeared. When Bogo demanded Judy hand in her badge for failing a mission, Nick stands up to Bogo by telling her that she has another 10 hours to solve the case. When he's done, he and Judy board the gondola. After a brief conversation, Judy and Nick realize that they can figure out what happened to Manchas if they look at the traffic cameras.
The two consult Assistant Mayor Bellwether, who allows them access to Zootopia's traffic camera system. When the two were swinging on a vine below the bridge after falling off, two wolves drove up to the gondola port, and trapped Mr. Manchas in a net, where they threw him into their van and drove off. The two then follow the van's movement, where they are seen driving on a road that leads out of town. They follow this road, and end up at Cliffside Asylum.
The two enter the building and there, they discover savage predators enclosed in separate rooms. Judy briefly counts all the predators present, and realizes that there are 14, the exact same number of predators missing that Bogo stated. When they confirm this, the main entrance to the room is opening, forcing Judy and Nick to hide in an empty room. The one who entered turns out to be Mayor Lionheart, who is asking Dr. Madge Honey Badger if she found a way to cure the savage animals. Judy pulls out her phone and records the conversation between the two. It appears that Lionheart is imprisoning these animals because should word of the situation get out, there would be citywide panic all over, and his position as mayor could be broken. When Honey Badger asks him what Bogo knows about this, Lionheart tells her that Bogo knows nothing about it and intends to keep it that way.
At that exact moment, Judy's phone rings. Lionheart and Honey Badger hear this and realize that someone is hiding in the room; the two then leave, and Honey Badger tells security to sweep the area. The moment she closes the door, the alarm begins blaring, and the door to the room Judy and Nick are hiding in automatically locks, trapping the two inside. When security arrives, Nick proclaims that they're dead, but Judy has an idea. As security runs in holding their tranquilizing guns, they notice a toilet flushing. It is revealed that Judy and Nick used the toilet's large size to escape and they fall down the waterfall. Judy, who put her phone in a plastic bag, says that they need to inform Bogo about this.
Once informed about the situation, Bogo and the ZPD raid the asylum, arresting Lionheart because of Judy's assumption that he only cares about his job. Honey Badger is also arrested. The savage predators that were in the asylum were taken out and placed into other hospitals.
It is unknown what happened to the asylum after this, but it is presumed that it was permanently shut down.
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