Zootopia (2016)

Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore

Story: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jennifer Lee, Jared Bush, Josie Trinidad, Phil Johnston, Jim Reardon

Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate

Music: Michael Giacchino

Time: 108 minutes

Bottom-line: Scintillating and wonderfully made!

In terms of creativity, Zootopia is one of the best films I have come across. Set in a world populated by anthropomorphic animals, Zootopia, this is a story that tries to inspire the viewers to try everything and become what they choose to be. The cast includes Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, J.K Simmons and Shakira.

Judy Hopps (Goodwin), a bunny from the rural town, Bunnyburrow, travels to Zootopia, hoping to become the first bunny police officer. She becomes the valedictorian of the police academy, but she is assigned to parking duty on her first day. She encounters a fox, Nick Wilde (Bateman), who turns out to be a con artist, illegally selling popsicles. Judy requests the Chief to assign her the duty of a “real cop”, but her zeal is not appreciated at all. Her chance arrives when an otter raises a complaint regarding her missing husband, and Judy makes a deal with the Chief that she’ll solve the case in 48 hours, else resign. Judy links the disappearance to the fox, and forces him to assist her on the case. What she learns along the way is that the “missing animal” case proves to be a scandal far larger and scarier than her expectations…

 

Judy, Nick, along with Lionheart, Chief Bogo, Officer Clawhauser,
and Yax

The highlight of the film is that portrayal of animals. All of them are shown to behave and act like humans, but more importantly, they also live up to the stereotypes we associate with those animals. The bunny is agile and active, but considered by everyone else as too weak to become a cop; the fox is sly and cunning; the sheep is being taken advantage of by everyone; the lion is the ruler of the city; the sloths are ultra-slow in everything they do… and the best part is that all these fit in beautifully with the story. These add to the humour, with loads of contributions from the smartly written dialogues.

My favourite scene from the film

There are also references to The Godfather and even to other Disney films along the way. The scene where Judy and Nick meet the sloth is the best part of Zootopia, and their encounter with Mr. Big, the Arctic shrew, is a close second best, as well as the investigation they conduct at the yoga class! The message, as I said, is summarised by Shakira’s song Try Everything – no one can tell you what to become or do; it is all about what we put our hearts and minds to.

The animation is also superb. The characters are adorable, and the expressions – and the way the stereotypes are portrayed – vocal work are near-perfect. There is no way you cannot love the film; it has everything to entertain people of all ages, and it’s visually dazzling. This is certainly one of the best (if not the best) pictures of 2016.

My rating: 5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%