Review of Zootopia (2016) by Jocey D — 10 Feb 2017

Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin lend their voices in Disney's Zootopia. Zootopia is an area where all animals are able to live together in harmony. Goodwin is Judy Hoops, a young rabbit that has aspirations to be a cop. She is of course ridiculed as rabbits are typical farmers that are not aggressive. She aims high and graduates from school only to become stereotyped again by her Water buffalo boss (Idris Elba) who makes her become a meter maid. To demonstrate that she can offer more to the force, she takes on a missing otter case and agrees to solve the case within 48 hours or quit.

With few leads and evidence, she has no choice but to have a cunning fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) help her even though foxes are known for being mischievous and untrustworthy. As she investigates the case, she finds there is a strange occurrence where historical predators are becoming savage again. The She adds this mystery to the case and hopes to return Zootopia and make it safe for all animals again.

Zootopia is above average animated film. The film offers enough humor for adults and the animation will likely dazzle young audiences alike. Many jokes rely on animals being stereotyped such as sloths for being slow and foxes being cunning. Bateman does a good job providing his sense of humor that will be appreciated by fans of his. Puns such as we need to address the elephant in the room, and there being a literal elephant in the room are also scattered throughout the film. Various films such as the Godfather are also parodied. The film does not have as clever or an original premise such as some of the other Pixar films. The concept of a bunch of different animals together seemed all too similar to the many Madagascar films made. As with many Disney films there is an overall good message to leave with the audience, and this one is to always believe in yourself and dreams, and to not judge a book (or an animal) by its cover. The film is well animated, but does not dazzle or leave one in awe. Although there is nothing particularly wrong or glaring with Zootopia, in the sea of animated films that are becoming more and more popular, Disney's Zootopia does not stand out as much as I had hoped. The film is a general crowd pleaser that does not take much risk and simply tries to entertain and that's not always a bad thing.

-2.9.2017.