Zootopia

Zootopia is a not-so-subtle lesson in tolerance for the kids. A not-so-subtle reminder of existing bigotry for adults. What I mean by that is that the kids will love all the cute and cuddly animals with their quirky characters, celebrity voices, and stereotypical traits that match their species. The predators and prey intermingling without incident. This is the climate of Zootopia; a future world where diverse ecosystems connect into the urban city center. It’s a truly visionary look at what the world would be like if humans were animals. And animated.

Adults will recognize the dark tone of the film from the get-go. Racism, exclusion, inequality, and even some fox-bashing. The world on the screen is utopian because all animals can be whatever they want, even if that means being the first bunny police officer. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is our purple-eyed hero who has the distinct disadvantage of being born a small woodland creature. A rabbit’s place is on the carrot farm, not in the big city fighting crime with the alpha species. Silly Hobbs. The collective doubt around her feeds Judy’s desire and so she finds herself in a hostile workplace as the only prey species in the crime fighting business.

What unfolds next is a good old-fashioned caper that the kids will find pretty entertaining. It’s a suspenseful but predictable ride to find out whodunit before it’s too late as Hobbs teams with the sly fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). He really is a fox, so as two undersized, discriminated-against animals, they fight stereotypes to prove their rightful place in the animal kingdom. I know, right? Pretty heavy for a Disney cartoon.

I gleaned the humor where I could. Mostly from animals doing what animals do best. The sloths moving at a snail’s pace at the DMV, the relationship between the fox and rabbit. This may be an animated crime caper, but it’s also a buddy comedy. And a social justice lesson. And a cautionary tail (I mean tale). Idris Elba, JK Simmons, and Shakira lend their voices and names, but nobody really stands out in the sea of mammals.

Written and directed by veteran animators, there is nothing that jumps out at me as being great about this film, other than the teaser trailer scene of the sloth at the DMV. Bottom line is, it’s a cash cow. As I write this, projections are in the $70 million range for the weekend, which isn’t a bad haul. The animals are fun, but there are no characters that will resonate with kids in the future, and that’s something I always appreciate about this genre. You need an Olaf, or a Flounder, or Thumper. That would have really added something memorable. As I see it, the characters are all very one dimensional and there is nothing noticeably original about them. There was so much rich potential that could have added even more humor, but it didn’t go any deeper than necessary.
One legitimate complaint I have is the quality of the animation. I always notice that the industry darling Pixar tend to master the CGI and animation game, but you would think that a Disney film would benefit from some of that quality and innovation. There were numerous times when the transitions seemed a little sloppy and rushed, and I just wasn’t feeling like my keen eye was being challenged with grade-A quality animation.

I didn’t hate this film, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was really hoping to. Disney films are evolving with pop culture phenomena, and this is a perfect example as the writers clearly wanted the film to reflect the social climate. Unfortunately, I was kind of just hoping for, I don’t know, a Disney movie. The kids will love this regardless, and if you can set aside the deeper themes (which the writers do execute sharply by the way), you can definitely enjoy the cartoon animals running around like humans. 7/10.