"Zootopia" - Review

If Only We Were Quite So Defined

It sounds like the animators at Disney have had enough. They have boldly put their foots down. The year's most challenging film may in fact be one that stars a cute talking bunny cop. Disney Animation Studio's latest film is Zootopia, which is a CG animated film in the new tradition of Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph. This may be their best CG film to date. This is a crime film about the beauty of cultural diversity, the dangers of racial and gender stereotyping, crime syndicates, political corruption, and drug trafficking. Yes, I am still talking about Zootopia. The best part of all of this is that it is still light and full of exciting set pieces and humor perfectly suited for families and their children. Zootopia is an absolute treat of animation brilliance that has more on its mind than the sweet friendship at its core. Listen up you politicians. You seem to not be able to get this right. Leave it to a Disney animated film to finally lay the cards out on the table as clearly as possible and then drop the mic.

The movie uses a wonderfully intelligent conceit through its use of bright and colorful anthropomorphic animals to represent the title city's different cultures and races. It this world lives Judy Hopps, a bunny who lives in the country and wants to become a cop, which is immediately looked down upon by her entire community. "There are just no bunny cops." Never the less, she puts in the work and becomes valedictorian in police academy and gets immediately stationed in the heart of the city, just to become a parking meter attendant. There is a really nice feminist subtext here about how women are the victims of stereotyping and discrimination in the work place, just adding to the rich thematic substance of this script. While Judy is on patrol, she meets con-fox Nick Wilde and after a rough introduction, the two team up to investigate the disappearances of multiple predator originated mammals. Suffice to say, the discover more than they bargained for and the complete stability of their society comes into threat when certain species start to be seen as dangerous and different. There are some wonderful homages to The Godfather and Chinatown, to name just a few, that are perfectly implanted for the adults but brought to a level that children will absolutely devour. And consume this they should because there are some really lovely messages at the core of this film that is going to be informative and important for young minds, as well as some of the adults who need a lesson in unity and diversity.

Toward the beginning of the film, Judy Hopps is about to start her first day on the job. Before she left home, her mother hands her a bottle of "fox repellent spray" that she can keep on her belt. Before Judy leaves her apartment, she looks at the bottle on her table and walks out. Nervously she comes back in and decides to take it with her. This can becomes a symbol throughout the film as she anxiously keeps her hand to it, as a human cop would to a gun, and without spoiling too much this comes to an extremely effecting climax for Judy and her new friend Nick. The film had already had a pretty strong context involving racial stereotypes, but this brief scene perfectly illustrated how social anxiety and fear of others can be a part of even the most well-meaning of people. It is not a conscious choice. It is socially implemented through time and it is hard to shake. It was after this scene that I knew that this was going to not just be a fun Disney movie, but an important film that is desperately needed in today's world. There is a problem and it cannot be ignored or put aside any longer.

I will also avoid spoiler heavy discussion on what is essentially the third act of the film, but it was a surprising development of the plot and frighteningly poignant. The real conflict of the film becomes something much bigger than any of the characters anticipate, but is sadly too reminiscent of our world. This leads to a subplot that tackles even more heavy subject matter (like the formerly mentioned drug trafficking) that I found to be incredibly well written and implemented. I did not expect the story to be so witty and involving. It turned out to be a better crime film than last week's Triple 9 which is almost too shocking for me to write. Your children will love these characters and you will be surprised by just how smart the writing is and how clever the humor is that balances the subject matter out. Two scenes in particular where the characters visit places full of wacky characters representing very real places are absolutely hysterical. I believe you will know which ones I am talking about.

The rest that I have to say about the film is exactly what you should expect. The animation is lush and gorgeous. They use the idea of having different neighborhoods to accommodate different species of animals to experiment with different kinds of architecture and color that keeps the film varied visually and it is all beautiful. The voice cast assembled here is phenomenal. The leads, Gennifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman, are given some great banter together and more than one surprisingly effecting scenes between the two that are emotional and genuinely touching. This is a character pairing that I would love to see explored in sequels. I want to see more of this world and I want to know what good these two can bring to it.

This is an exceptional animated film, one that I only hold back from a perfect score due to a bit too much exposition in the first few scenes and some very obvious moments are far as some of the jokes in the first half. Thankfully the humor never resorts to fart and poop jokes and always stays on a high brow level. None of my complaints are at all deal breakers however. I believe everyone should see this film, not just families. It is absolutely delightful, immaculately animated, and not afraid to deal with incredibly important topics that need attention right now. The plot is also intelligent and often surprising in which directions it goes in, even to a movie veteran like me. This is one of Disney's absolute best and timely films.

Also, I spotted you Breaking Bad Easter egg. You are awesome and you definitely scored some points with me. 

Grade: A.

Note: I did see the movie in 3D. Though my young siblings who came with me thought the glasses were a bit much, the 3D in the film was well handled and gave the city some nice depth, as well as a few fun moments during action sequences where characters bounce toward the audience. It is not an essential way to see the movie, but if you pay extra for it you will not be disappointed.

 Zootopia is now playing in 2D and 3D in theaters everywhere.