Review of Zootopia (2016) by Jacob — 08 May 2016

Zootopia is the best Pixar film that Pixar never made. While the film could’ve easily been enjoyable just on the charm of animals and gags alone they didn’t do that. even the heartwarming investigation story in the first act is fine.

Instead, the film opted to use it to speak to harsh and cruel reality that never lets up and neither does the film. Piling cruelness upon the hero to a point that most films would stop. It’s this willingness to be honest and harsh that makes this film go above and beyond a kind of distance that I haven’t seen form an animated film since Toy Story 3.

Any gripes about the film’s conflict resolving too quickly or having too many reveals are issues that could easily be resolved with repeat viewings and knowing what’s happening. With Zootopia Disney have once-again surpassed themselves in the non-fairy tale CGI films.

With the track record continuing to be great as Disney’s films continue to improve and evolve the biggest concern is whether the next film will be as great as the last one. Disney’s biggest competition this year is themselves with Moana a musical the question now becomes can it be as great and timeless and classical.

This could be the year where Disney has two classics. I hope so because if its any indication Disney is still on top and has done it again and I am no longer looking forward to Finding Dory.