diff --git a/plotly/matplotlylib/mplexporter/renderers/base.py b/plotly/matplotlylib/mplexporter/renderers/base.py
index fbb88197613..1455ccc8e8d 100644
--- a/plotly/matplotlylib/mplexporter/renderers/base.py
+++ b/plotly/matplotlylib/mplexporter/renderers/base.py
@@ -13,7 +13,11 @@
 class Renderer(object):
     @staticmethod
     def ax_zoomable(ax):
-        return bool(ax and ax.get_navigate())
+        # Return False if ax is None or falsy
+        if not ax:
+            return False
+        # get_navigate() is already a boolean
+        return ax.get_navigate()
 
     @staticmethod
     def ax_has_xgrid(ax):