ZOOTOPIA (PG)
Released by Walt Disney Pictures
Reviewed by Adam Mast
With ZOOTOPIA, Walt Disney Pictures has created an animated feature with surprisingly heady themes. Animals make for great allegory (read “Animal Farm”) and this colorful movie covers everything from racism to accepting one’s self for who they are. For all its heady elements though, ZOOTOPIA is hopeful and optimistic, and it suggests that chasing one’s dream is a good thing. We can be anything we want to be.
Against all odds, Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) has never let the fact that she’s a bunny keep her from realizing her goal of joining the police force. But after leaving the confines of her little home town and moving to Zootopia–a big city where a large assortment of various types of animals live together in perfect harmony (or do they?)–Hopps soon realizes that the world is even more complicated than she ever could have imagined.
ZOOTOPIA weaves its noir-inspired tale around a mystery involving a strange series of attacks at the hands of several reputable animals who have suddenly reverted back to their savage roots. How and why? That’s what Hopps sets out to find out. With the aid of sly fox, Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman), this determined and undeniably ambitious bunny sets out to prove that things aren’t as black and white as they might seem at the surface.
ZOOTOPIA has a lot to say and it doesn’t shy away from saying it. With its breaking down of stereotypes and a collection of good and not-so-good characters on both sides of the fence, there are times when this film might remind one of the very polarizing Best Picture Oscar winner CRASH. Granted, this is an animated feature from Disney so take that observation very lightly.
It should be also be noted that in addition to tackling real life issues head on and providing a surprising dramatic punch, ZOOTOPIA is still very much a cartoon. And a very clever one at that. Whether it be poking fun at many of our terrible experiences at the DMV (in this case, the notoriously slow moving Department of Motor Vehicles is staffed by a handful of adorable sloths) or creatively unloading more winning pop culture references than a SHREK movie (the winks at THE GODFATHER and “Breaking Bad” are particularly hilarious), ZOOTOPIA has enough upstairs to engage the adults in the audience all while serving up the right blend of action, cute gags, and colorful animation to appease the youngsters in attendance as well.
From a technical standpoint, ZOOTOPIA fires on all cylinders. It’s beautifully animated offering up well defined characters and gorgeously realized animal habitats (a big city designed for rodents and a dark and misty rainforest, just to name two). The vocal work is spot on, too! Goodwin is cute and tenacious as Hopps while Bateman’s sarcasm and dry wit prove to be a perfect fit for Wilde.
Some are proclaiming that ZOOTOPIA is Disney’s best animated feature in years (obviously, that excludes notable works of Pixar like INSIDE OUT) and while it is to be commended and applauded for its lively nature and for thinking outside the box, there are times when it is a tad unfocussed and a little overwrought. Still, ZOOTOPIA is well worth seeing in a theater and it’s sure to provoke some meaningful and much-needed conversations between parents and their children.
