Rating: 5/5 Stars
It seems that Disney has always had a mixed bag in regards to their own animated movies with which Pixar isn't associated. They had a pretty rough start with "Chicken Little", but ever since that horrific mishap, the movies have gradually improved. Unfortunately, neither "Bolt" nor "Tangled" got a lot of huge popularity; "Frozen" was what really put Disney's original animated movies on the map. This year they released their newest animated movie "Zootopia", which, from the trailers, looked like nothing special to me. The plot revolves around a bunny named Judy Hopps leaving her small town in hopes of becoming the first bunny cop (bunnies aren't really meant to be cops) and moving to Zootopia, a place where predators and prey live in harmony. However, she eventually meets a fox named Nick Wilde who is doing some shady stuff. These two eventually team up when Judy finds out about a conspiracy starting with an otter's husband disappearing. What her and Nick find out takes place over the whole movie, and Judy eventually learns about herself along the way.
This movie is nothing short of amazing. On surface level, it certainly looks like a movie just about two cute animals who are on an amazing adventure. But, much like any Pixar movie, "Zootopia" goes much deeper than meets the eye. This animated world is, in fact, a mirror to our modern society, and the things this movie talks about feel very timely. Racism is one idea it discusses. The animals in the show don't think Judy should be a cop because she is a bunny. Nick has a rather tragic backstory of trying to fit in with a scouting group but them rejecting him because he's a predator. Judy finds out that she herself stereotypes foxes and other predators. All of this is seriously deep stuff. But, it's handled with incredible grace in a way which adults can appreciate and kids can understand. Every animal in the movie is shown to go beyond their conventional stereotypes. A gruff ram can also lay down some jokes and be kind. A sloth can be fast (in a certain manner of speaking). And maybe, most importantly, the movie shows prey can be just as bad as predators. In the end, the movie encourages acceptance rather than judgement, so that equality can be reached. It was seriously clever the ways these issues were tackled throughout the movie.
The animation in this movie is stunning, and I'd say it goes right up there with any Pixar movie. All the animation makes you feel the grandeur of the world Disney has put us in, with Zootopia itself looking like a delightful place. All of the animals look vibrant, with all of the movements they make very fitting to their character traits. The characters in this movie are great as well. Kids will easily be able to attach to Judy, who is a very lovable protagonist. She is cute (obviously since she's a bunny), but she also has an interesting personality, one that everyone can get behind. You want her to succeed, and you become even happier for her when she realizes just achieving her dreams is too narrow. Nick Wilde is a great character as well, starting off as a little unlikable, but certainly getting more sympathetic as the movie goes on. He has plenty of jokes to make which will more appeal to adults, and they're all very clever. Bogo is absolutely hilarious as what starts out as the common gruff cop but transforms in something a lot more funny. Those are only a few of the interesting characters; all audiences will be able to find one character or another to like as all the main ones are so well-developed. The respective voice actors, particularly Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman, are great in giving even more personality to their characters.
"Zootopia" is practically a perfect movie. It leaves room for a lot of complex discussions about very timely issues, and I can see this movie being a perfect way to try to give kids an understandable comparison to the world they live in. Even parents can learn something from this film. This movie is just smart in everything that it does. The comedy is really great with jokes for adults and kids- there's a sloth scene which I won't go into too much detail about, but let me just say, I was cracking up. Every joke in that scene hit perfectly, and the payoff to the sloth's name "Flash" is marvelous. I couldn't recommend this movie more. In our modern culture, a movie teaching about love and acceptance of others without being overly preachy is really needed, and boy does this film deliver in just the right ways. "Zootopia" is fun, hilarious, fast-paced, likeable, and most of all, very smart. I beg you to watch what may be the best animated movie of the year, and certainly one of the best movies of the year!
No comments:
Post a Comment