Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Genre(s): Comedy/Drama Rated: PG (For some thematic elements, rude humor and action) |
I think it’s time to acknowledge that Disney is in a second
animation renaissance. It should have
hit me two years ago when “Frozen” was released, but only with the release of
“Zootopia” has it dawned on me that Disney has been producing films so good, of
such high caliber, that these are movies that children of this generation are
going to hold dear to their hearts the way my generation does with “The Lion
King” and “Beauty and the Beast.” It’s
not just that Disney is making huge strides in quality animation and 3D
effects, it’s that they have a new philosophy in their approach to animated
storytelling that has breathed new life into their stories. They are not only playing to their strengths
these days; they are playing with their formula in new and interesting ways.
A movie where anthropomorphic animals walk like humans, talk
like humans, and wear clothes like humans is nothing new. Disney has made two movies in this vein
before with “Robin Hood” and “Chicken Little.”
These are two movies I consider to be a couple of the studios weakest
films by a pretty wide margin. The
reason is because the animators seemed to feel that animals living in human
worlds without the humans was enough of a funny concept to make full movies out
of. It was not. There are plenty of shows on PBS that follow
this same concept, and those you can watch for free. “Zootopia” takes this concept and actually
does something with it.
The city of Zootopia may have an ideal name, but in practice
that only goes so far. As you are aware,
some animals just don’t get along in the real world, so in the fictional world
of Zootopia these animals don’t get along so much as they tolerate each other’s
existence. This is evident early on when
our protagonist Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) becomes the first bunny police officer
on the force. The other officers don’t really
make a big deal out of the fact that she’s a female, they just don’t think
small animals make for good officers when you have big rhinos and elephants in
the same room. Judy is determined to
prove her worth though, so she stakes her career on finding a missing otter in
hopes of getting more respect.
The problem is there is only one person who may be able to
provide a lead to the case, and that person is a fox named Nick (Jason
Bateman). Just like the real world,
foxes and rabbits are natural enemies in Zootopia, and this is the one animals
Judy’s parents told her to avoid at all costs.
Again though, there is only one lead to be found, he’s it, and now the
two just have to tolerate each other. As
the movie goes on the two have to face the prejudices they have about each
other and come to understand on why the feelings of hate run so deep. Judy was raised to distrust foxes because she
was taught that they are cunning and manipulative by her parents. Nick is every bit the hustler she was lead on
to believe, but he has his reasons for being the way he is, and those reasons
are rooting in his own racism.
One of the reasons “Zootopia” is such a fascinating film is
that it tackles a relevant topic in a form that is the most logical way to
explore it. While I do subscribe to the
theory that as a species humans have become more understanding of people who
are different, I also understand that racism is something that never completely
went away. It’s more passive aggressive
than it is open, but it is still there with some people. That this is a movie that tackles the timely
subject matter during an election year where Americans are known to be angry
and divisive on so many issues, this is almost perfect timing. In some ways, this is a movie that might
speak more to adults than to kids. It
takes a sensitive subject and manages to make a hopeful and fun movie out of
it.
This is also where I mention that oh so important Disney
formula the company has staked their empire on is here, but like “Frozen,” it
plays with the formula and tweaks it just enough to make it fresh. The animation is the most detailed I’ve seen
come from the studio, and unlike “The Good Dinosaur” from Pixar last year, the
characters and the backgrounds fit together seamlessly. There are even plenty of small jokes in the
background that will likely require multiple viewings to catch them all (my
favorite visual gags include iPhones that have a carrot logo with a bite taken
out of it and a DMV that is run entirely by sloths). In other words, “Zootopia” is the perfect
combination of film making, where writers and animators are both working at the
top of their game and combining the results perfectly.
Like “Frozen” and “Inside Out,” “Zootopia” is going to have the kind of word of mouth money can’t buy. Kids are going to be begging to see this again and again with their friends in tow. Adults may find themselves enjoying it more. There may be some initial trepidation admitting that at work the next day, but I think that will change sooner rather than later. The only disappointing thing about this is that there are many people who will look at the posters, think this looks too childish to be worth their time, and skip it altogether. Something tells me time will be very kind to this film, and it will be viewed as a classic very soon and will be discovered by people as a gem for many, many years. Like the characters in the movie though, there will be some issues getting past the look of the picture, which probably makes the themes of the movie all the more relevant.
