Zootopia:
It's like a Utopia, but with... Ooooooh
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. It’s the moment no one was waiting for: I’m going to review a Disney movie. Oh my GOD, I’m excited. You see, Disney is a staple of many childhoods. Mine was definitely not an exception. I still remember the ad for Disney World that ran with the previews on my Lion King tape when I was young. The very word makes me recall my childhood in detail, remembering running in the backyard with cool grass under my feet and a shrill laugh emerging from me. It’s all nostalgic, as I’m sure today’s film, Zootopia, shall one day be nostalgic for the newest generation.
This nostalgia for Disney does bring up an issue I’d like to address beforehand, however: children’s movies. The problem with children’s movies as a concept is that many adults don’t understand why they matter. “It’s just a children’s movie” is one of the most frustrating phrases to a film critic, just a slightly more specific version of “it’s just a movie.” The thing is, the audience it’s aimed at doesn’t matter; film is an art form. That’s not to say that popcorn movies can’t be pure entertainment, but even that should provoke some thought. Captain America: Civil War challenged its audience with two opposing ideologies with valid points. Men in Black asks us to question our place in the universe. Star Wars: The Force Awakens even stands as a great example of questioning the concept of destiny. Remove that thought and all you end up with is a big pile of Transformers. So why is it we’re able to shrug off movies aimed at younger audiences as unimportant and acceptable if they’re trash? We should expect kids movies to be entertaining, regardless of who is watching. A kids movie should be held to the standards we set for more mature films with one slight change: They should be better. It should be a film so engaging that kids and parents can both watch and be entertained together. It’s not a babysitter; it’s an experience. If you want an example of this, Zootopia fits the bill.
Oh my God, let’s talk about how good Zootopia is. A film that centers on a world inhabited by civil and evolved animals, Zootopia follows the first bunny cop, Judy Hopps, as she enlists the help of con-artist and fox Nick Wilde to solve the mysterious case of a missing otter. It seems like a relatively straightforward story, but it quickly becomes an interesting story simple enough to keep a child watching but complex enough to fascinate an adult. A few of the twists and turns were somewhat out of nowhere, really disappointing me on that front. You expect at least a few small hints that the twist is coming, not to be suddenly thrown into the surprise. Even so, certain aspects that seem minor at first glance come back in incredibly complex manners on a regular basis. Basically, it’s like a modern cop show if the main character were also painfully adorable. Speaking of adorable, I’m typically not a fan of the “adorable” sort of joke in a film. A lot of the time, it winds up feeling rather manipulative in a conscious manner. When I go “aww,” I know that I’m being coerced into it by a writing team. It feels cheap and incredibly disengaging. Yeah, it’s cute, but why do I care? Here, however, most instances of “aww” were accompanied by laughter. That’s the type of feeling I want. I want to feel that the creators are getting an emotional reaction beyond “that’s cute.” By adding a healthy dose of comedy in with the adorable, I felt far more like the cute elements were meaningful. In fact, one instance of this was followed by a reveal that made me burst out laughing so hard that I actually had to back the movie up to realize what dialogue had immediately followed the reveal. Between the plot and writing, there’s really a lot for Zootopia to offer.
Animated movies are great for the stylistic elements and Zootopia shines in its presentation. Now, I could talk about shot composition and lighting, but that would be rather meaningless. In 3D animation, this can all be manipulated at will with ease. It’s perfect and, with a powerhouse like Disney behind it, it was always going to be perfect. Likewise, the sets were obviously treated with all the care you’d expect from a corporate giant Hell-bent on creating whimsy. Instead, let’s talk about character designs. You see, voices need to line up with characters to really give a sense of emersion to a world inhabited by talking animals. It’s absolutely perfect in this regard. Virtually no two animals, even of the same species, look the same unless that is the joke. Judy’s wide eyes and big smile fit her character perfectly as Ginnifer Goodwin gives her life through an expressive voice. Nick’s continual smirk seems to scream Jason Bateman’s slick tone. Idris Elba as a grumpy, by-the-books buffalo could not be more perfect. And Tommy Chong is a hippy yak. Tommy Chong is a hippy yak! Oh my God, it’s fantastic. You could not ask for better designs to fit the characters, nor better voice actors to fit the roles. But those voices would only be ok if it weren’t for an amazing sound track.
Time to gush about sound for a little while. The sound in Zootopia screams Disney at the top of its anthropomorphic lungs. The effects feel so realistic that there were moments where I was shocked at how well the effects turned out. They really showed off their imagination for creating effects in this movie, making me imagine sounds I’d never even thought of as worth imagining. I now know what I think an elephant doing yoga sounds like. And Disney nailed that sound in the actual movie! The soundtrack is also amazing and versatile. One moment you can hear a down-home country type of banjo plucking only to shift into a 1970’s cop theme before being thrown into a song as light-handed and mischievous as the grift being pulled on the street. Of course, there’s the recurring song of Try Everything by Shakira (Or Gazelle in the film). The song is standard flashy, uber-sleek, sugar-sweet pop music with rather straightforward lyrics. Even so, I have to give credit to the songwriters. Shakira’s accented singing actually evokes a strong sense of wonder and helps to make the world feel foreign and exciting. I’m not much for pop music, but the song worked wonders as a theme.
Ok, re-watch value for Zootopia is pretty clearly amazing. I’m a person who loves catching Easter eggs in films, spying the brief little inclusion of in-jokes and enjoying the hilarious little jokes animators throw in. There are animal parodies and puns everywhere in this film; a treasure-trove for a geek like me. From music puns for bands like Foo Fighters and Black Sabbath to movie parodies for Big Hero 6 and Frozen (The cover of which gleefully states “Non-infringing entertainment!”), I found myself constantly pausing the movie to get a good glimpse at what was flying by. And yet, I still know I must have missed dozens of instances of these jokes. Honestly, I can’t wait to watch it again. I even think the twists were choreographed several times in the beginning, making certain characters’ narratives twist a bit. While it’s not the richest in terms of replay value, Zootopia definitely is worth a few watches to catch everything.
Ok, before we break this down for a final (obvious) verdict, I want to talk about the message of the film. While kids movies tend to have morals, their subtlety can vary heavily. One film can have you feeling as though you were beaten in the face by morality while another can leave you searching through dozens of meanings for the one that fits best. Zootopia, to a degree, fits into the first. The film is clearly about discrimination and the evils thereof, as you can see in the first 15 minutes without even trying. However, what makes me want to talk about this morality is the manner in which it is approached. You see, the moral of the story is incredibly flexible. When you replace people with animals, the issues they face may stay the same but the ultimate meaning is a bit hidden. Are the different species meant to represent different races? Yes. What about different genders? Also yes. It’s a flexible allegory that can be interpreted situationally, really freeing up the message depending on what is most appropriate in the moment. This is the genius of animation. You can say everything and nothing all by a simple design choice and, in this regard, Zootopia is the prime example for that.
I love Zootopia. I genuinely think this is one of the greatest films of the last year. The animation style is beautiful, the characters are stunning, the plot is wonderful, the sound is amazing, and there are Easter eggs everywhere. While the moral can be a bit heavy-handed, it’s versatile enough that you never feel like it’s been beaten into your skull. Honestly, watch this. Watch it with your kids. Watch it with your significant other. Watch it alone. Just watch it. And be ready for a happy viewing.