Review! Zootopia

Zootopia (2016) Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush. Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba. IMDB says “In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a fugitive con artist fox and a rookie bunny cop must work together to uncover a conspiracy.”



Zootopia is weird. I sit here nearly four days after having seen the film and that’s the best I got. It’s weird. It’s not a comedic film so much as it is an animated drama with some humor lightly sprinkled in. You could say the same about Inside Out, but Inside Out is heartfelt and relatable to all ages. Zootopia is not. Zootopia stumbles through a story that I still can’t discern whether it was meant for kids or adults. There are some serious and questionably dark moments that are reminiscent of a Don Bluth movie. To see them in a big Disney film just feels out of place. I’m getting ahead of myself.

Zootopia is about Judy Hopps, a bunny voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) who decides that she’s going to grow up and be a cop in the big city. Her parents tell her that she can’t do it, but that doesn’t stop her. An uplifting montage later and she’s a cop in the big city. But nobody takes her seriously and she’s put on meter maid duty. Rather than let that get her down, she decides she’s going to be the best meter maid. On her first day, she comes across Nick Wilde, a sly fox voiced by Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Horrible Bosses) Turns out, the fox is a bit of a con man and has some skills that Judy finds useful. She ends up enlisting his help to solve a missing animals case. The film becomes a typical buddy cop drama mixed in with some whodunit mystery. Along the way we meet all kinds of characters voiced by Idris Ilba, Jenny Slate, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Octavia Spencer, Tommy Chong, J.K. Simmons, Alan Tudyk, Nate Torrence, and many others. The voice acting is great and the animation is stellar. It’s insane how detailed and high end animation is getting. It blurs the line between real and make believe in startling ways. I can say without a doubt this is Disney’s most impressive film on a technical level.

When it comes to the story though, it’s all over the place. There are moments that feel like a kids movie and there are others that feel like an animated film for adults. The moments that are for kids are filled with positive messages that tell us no matter who you are, where you come from, or what your background is, you can become anything. They don’t do it through song and dance numbers (there aren’t any in the films, lame) but they do it by showing Judy Hopps tackle challenge after challenge and not giving up. That’s a great message for kids. Of course it’s a great message for kids. But when you start mixing in these painfully obvious social and political undertones, the message becomes confusing. Topics ranging from drug use to racism to mental health are covered in bizarre ways that, I want to get into to, but if I did, I’d be spoiling plot elements.

I’m not saying kids films shouldn’t handle these topics, but maybe this story and setting were a poor choice for an outlet. Some of the winks and nods that are for the parents shouldn’t be in the film. Period. The film references The Godfather and Breaking Bad in the weirdest ways. It’s almost uncomfortable. I heard more audible commotion from parents than I heard laughter from the kids in attendance. The highlight of the film was already given away in an early trailer. If you saw the DMV sloth scene and expected more hilarity in the movie, then you’ll be disappointed: because that’s it. I’d wait and rent this one. I don’t see kids wanting to watch this on an endless loop. BUT, If you decide to catch it in theatres, you can skip the 3D. There’s nothing special here.

FTS SCORE: 66%