Zootopia

Score:  **** out of ***** (A-)

Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore
Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, et. al.
Running time:  108 minutes
Rated PG

Long Story Short:  Zootopia is yet another animal-based animated film, but it stands out among its peers due to a Pixar-like level of quality.  An odd couple bunny and fox, Judy and Nick, are a strong lead pair and appropriate voice actors are found throughout the cast.  It's also of the moment, with both Judy's empowerment and a broader racial allegory.  Highly recommended for families, it's also smart enough for adults of all kinds.


Despite historically being mortal enemies by the laws of nature, predator and prey live in harmony (and without the presence of pesky humans) in the world of Zootopia.  With this unifying situation, many of this world's denizens believe the other stereotypes of different species no longer matter; one of these is a bright, young, ambitious bunny named Judy (Goodwin).  Determined to make the world a better place, she works hard to overcome her diminutive size and graduate from the police academy. However, when she moves from her small hometown to the big city, she finds that the greater variety of species has not resulted in an equal open-mindedness.  Judy's first assignment is... meter maid.

Still, Judy believes that she can prove herself in her new home.  Staking her career with the police on a case of disappearing citizens, Judy enlists the help of a variety of characters, even con artist Nick (Bateman), a member of her species' worst enemy, the fox.  Biological barriers between species may have ended, but Judy finds that past differences die hard.

Zootopia does not have quite the A-list cast of other recent hit animated films, but the voice actors are well chosen.  In the lead is Judy the bunny, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin.  Not the most original character, Judy's combination of classic animated bunny cuteness with modern strong, determined femininity is still winning.  Goodwin's voice carries both of these qualities easily, and the animation brings this plucky heroine to life well, particularly her expressive eyes and ears.  Anyone familiar with Jason Bateman's work will find that he fits perfectly into the cynical yet very funny role of Nick the fox.  Nick serves as a great foil-turned-partner for Judy, an intriguing and entertaining part that still leaves the spotlight for her.  Idris Elba and J.K. Simmons are probably the most recognizable of the supporting cast, but my favorites are employees of the police department: Jenny Slate as an adorable-with-an-attitude sheep secretary, and Nate Torrence as a sloppy, obese cheetah with a good heart.

Zootopia is a well-made animated film with a surprising amount going on.  In fact, it's a considerable credit to the writers that it all plays nicely together without feeling forced or bloated.  There are three primary levels to the story itself.  It starts off with Judy's development: she's already a determined, bright spirit when we meet her and she achieves her lifelong goal quickly - but the rest of the movie is about the reality (and difficulty) of doing something with that.  This flows into her relationship with Nick; not only does this touch on bigger "race" issues, it works well as an odd couple.  Finally, about halfway through, a rather overt allegory for the Black Lives Matter issue comes around.  I wouldn't say it's at all forced, or particularly preachy, but admittedly it only works on the surface (a deeper comparison to the real life issues is problematic, to put it lightly).  With good pacing and dialogue that is clear enough for kids yet surprisingly live action-y, this apparent jumble fits seamlessly together.  Of course, this is still an animated film and while the pictures are busier than usual, they're very high quality.  It's also quite funny - not laugh out loud, but I was chuckling throughout.

***

Zootopia is one of the best non-Pixar animated films in years.  While it doesn't match that studio's top films, and the 99% RT rating is a little deceptive, the overall quality is very impressive.  Along with the quality, it has a Pixar-esque focus and maturity.  It isn't quite as clever as Pixar but still has some cool parts - my favorites being a (literally) sloth-run DMV and an entire Breaking Bad-referencing scene.  Judy and Nick are rock-solid leads with good chemistry and voice actors behind them; with the film's resounding critical and financial success I would be surprised if they didn't get a sequel, and that wouldn't be a bad thing.  My main quibbles - which are mostly due to inevitable comparisons to Pixar - are that I didn't feel a true spark of inspiration, more a series of components that happened to work well together; and some stretches are more obligatory than entertaining.  Still, it's a top quality animated film highly recommended for families, and most anyone else, too.



*By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48786765