Zootopia Review

7 out of 10

Cast:

Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps (voice)

Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde (voice)

Idris Elba as Chief Bogo (voice)

Jenny Slate as Bellwether (voice)

Nate Torrence as Clawhauser (voice)

Bonnie Hunt as Bonnie Hopps (voice)

Don Lake as Stu Hopps (voice)

Tommy Chong as Yax (voice)

J.K. Simmons as Mayor Lionheart (voice)

Octavia Spencer as Mrs. Otterton (voice)

Alan Tudyk as Duke Weaselton (voice)

Shakira as Gazelle (voice)

Raymond S. Persi as Flash (voice)

Zootopia Review:

On the surface, Zootopia is perfectly enjoyable, riffing on cop movies of the 1980s, featuring cute animals and full of witty humor. But dig a little deeper, and there is a wonderful moral and socially aware movie underneath, one that attempts (and sometimes falls short) to make our current racial and cultural issues more palatable and relevant to children and their families. Stories have been doing that since Aesop’s fox jumped to snatch some out-of-reach grapes, so there’s no shame in Disney doing the same thing. Zootopia, directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore with spark and tempo, succeeds in being wildly entertaining as well as informative, funny as well as culturally sensitive, but not cloyingly so. Some parents may consider Zootopia’s message to be delivered in a stealthy manner, but that’s a matter of perspective – we all want to live in a world where everyone gets along, and everyone overcomes their prejudices and suspicions to make it all work… don’t we? Perhaps children don’t have to worry about such things. Perhaps it is parents who need the lesson Zootopia provides more than their kids do.

It’s the candy coating that makes the medicine of Zootopia go down smooth – the animation is fantastic, with the spectacle and artistry we’ve come to expect from Disney Animation. The city of Zootopia – inhabited by both predator animals and prey animals, and yet somehow able to live together harmoniously – is visually stunning, both riffing on our reality as well as showing us something new. The animators have outdone themselves here, giving us animals that are believable and sight gags that warrant repeat viewings.

The voice talent is impressive as well, especially Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, the rabbit with aspirations of becoming the first police officer of her kind in Zootopia. Most of the police in Zootopia are larger in stature than Judy, like Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), and while Judy graduated top-honors from police academy, she’s just a little rabbit in a very large warren. Zootopia is populated by all kinds of animals, and a tiny rabbit doesn’t make much of an impression. Her naïve nature also doesn’t help, and when she gets grifted by clever fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), this starts Judy on a path to find some missing animals that seemingly “went savage” before disappearing. Even Mayor Lionheart (J.K. Simmons) is worried – Zootopia exists due to a delicate balance between predator and prey, both in a symbiotic relationship that benefits everyone. When that societal structure suddenly becomes threatened, Judy and Nick must get over their differences to figure out the mystery of the missing animals.

It may seem a little problematic to use the predator/prey relationship of cute Disney animals to attach a metaphor for modern race relations, especially in light of Ferguson, Treyvon Martin, and Black Lives Matter. It’s a simple analogy for a far more complex, weighty issue. But, like Aesop and the Parables, the simplest stories, stripping all pretense, can get closest to the heart of the matter. Zootopia is easy to understand, and its heart is true.  The message has been stated in many ways over the years, but the intrinsic truth of “Can’t we all just get along?” never changes. Judy Hopps wants to be a good cop. She may have her difficulties, but she wants to help people. One can’t help but juxtapose her struggle with the struggles of police officers everywhere – we all want to be good people, and we hope that those who take the solemn duty to protect and serve want the same.

But Zootopia also takes a simplistic approach when it correlates the animal predators with racial minorities. Obviously it’s the film’s way to use symbolism to frame the argument, making it easier for children to understand, but the problem is that it doesn’t quite work. Zootopia wants us to look beyond such titles, but it also establishes a world around the entire predator/prey relationship, and it can’t have it both ways. These are difficult, sophisticated themes to attach to a family movie, but it’s impressive and brave for Disney to even have this conversation at all. Zootopia could simply be about selling Happy Meals, but it’s a family movie that has something on its mind, and although sometimes it fails to impart these ideas in a concise manner, the fact that Disney is doing so at all is inspired and courageous. The best art comments and informs, and respect must be given to screenwriters Jared Bush and Phil Johnston for approaching these subjects with humor, sensitivity, and earnestness.

But Zootopia is at its best, oddly enough, when it becomes a cop movie. If Shane Black had ever written a Disney movie, it would be a lot like this. All that was missing was the Christmas setting. The relationship between Judy and Nick is endearing, funny, and genuine, and although it’s voiceover Goodwin and Bateman have a nice chemistry together. It even uses 1980s cop movie vernacular – from the rookie cop who discovers the big case, to the tough-as-nails police chief, to even the sly thief who secretly wants to do the right thing, Zootopia takes the cop movie tropes and makes them fun again. There are many laugh-out-loud moments in Zootopia, including a scene at the DMV that gets more hilarious the longer it goes. Rich Moore is no stranger to great comedy, having worked on “Futurama” and “The Simpsons,” and Byron Howard knows how to make Disney movies work, as he demonstrated with Tangled and Bolt.

The Disney animation wing seems to be doing remarkably well these days, and Zootopia is no exception.  Although sometimes it stumbles when dealing with intricate social issues, Zootopia gets far more right than it does wrong. If nothing else, Zootopia can open up some interesting and necessary conversations with the kids on the drive home, and that’s always a discussion worth having. Zootopia is entertaining, playful, charming, and challenging.