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.



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Deadpool

Score:  **** out of ***** (B+)

Directed by Tim Miller
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin and Ed Skrein
Running time:  108 minutes
Rated R

Long Story Short:  Deadpool is the newest hit superhero film, led by Ryan Reynolds, the actor who campaigned for the foul-mouthed outsider character.  The R-rating is not just for show - this is significantly bloodier, and has a crude sense of humor altogether new to the genre.  To my tastes, both of these were done quite well.  The story is bare-bones origin fare, making way for Deadpool's unique personality to dominate.  A polarizing film in terms of audience; choose for yourself.


Wade Wilson (Reynolds) is living the low life... and while he may not love it, it pays well.  A mercenary in New York, Wilson frequents an underground organization that connects him with clients who need various dirty work to be done.  One day he meets a special woman, Vanessa (Baccarin), and they enjoy a happy relationship for awhile - until Wilson is suddenly faced with a terminal illness.  Resigned to his fate at first, Wilson eventually succumbs to a dubious offer from a strange man to save him.  He turns up at a run down, makeshift medical facility where he learns that the "treatment" will either spur his body to fight off the cancer - or kill him.  Seeing no other choice, Wilson goes ahead with it.

Wilson survives the brutal experience and comes out of it with extraordinary new power, but a completely disfigured body.  Despite having undertaken the treatment for Vanessa's sake, he finds he cannot face (literally) her, and instead his thoughts turn to revenge on his cruel "savior".  With great power comes great responsibility... but some interpret that differently than others.

Deadpool has a somewhat limited cast, but it is good and features a strong performance from the lead.  That role is Ryan Reynolds' title character, a sarcastic, self-aware super-but-not-so-heroic dude.  Apparently Reynolds has tried to get this character his own movie for quite some time, and it turns out that he suits the character pretty darn well himself.  He seems right at home with the bone-deep sarcasm, and so it feels neither forced nor over-the-top; mostly, it is pretty amusing.  The particular tone and pitch of his voice is even appropriate, particularly when he dons his full body- and face-covering red suit; the dissonance caused by what you expect from a costumed hero (Spider-Man, for instance) and the voice you hear and what it says is a genre game-changer itself.  We don't get much deeper into Wilson than this humorously cynical attitude, though.

The villain of the film, Ajax (played by Skrein) is not a stand out, but he's just fine.  With a very asshole-y leer, he is easy to root against, but the writers wisely shape him more as a goon than a supervillain.  The love interest Vanessa, played by Morena Baccarin, is pretty generic, not much to say other than the not-your-average-superhero fact that she's a stripper.  A few lesser-known X-Men are in this, and are played up for their stereotypes - the hulking but noble Colossus, and young, punkish Warhead.  Finally, the best supporting role is certainly T.J. Miller as Weasel, Wilson's friend from his mercenary days.  Weasel is perhaps even funnier than Wilson, and is twice as dry in doing so.

Deadpool is another in a rapidly growing segment of superhero films that is moving away from the traditional earnest/save-the-world style (e.g. Superman).  This film subverts the genre in three main ways:  R-rated humor, language and violence, self-awareness and a not-so-heroic protagonist.  These elements serve as the backbone of the film, an introduction to the colorful, charismatic title character; the story itself is pretty standard origins fare, whose stakes are much more personal than wide-scale.  To me, the humor worked, typically at chuckle-level but there are several laugh out loud moments as well.  Most of the self-awareness is amusing, and fits in well with the tone of the film despite consisting of, literally, asides.  The way this affects the opening credits is probably the best part of it.  The violence is also acceptable, although even I squirmed a few times (oxygen deprivation and a skewering).  The key set piece, a shoot-out on the freeway, actually sets up right at the start (Deadpool isn't chronological).  As it unfolds, it features impressive and creative choreography, and also symbolizes Deadpool's violent, humorous style effectively.  The narrative itself is underwhelming and the climax lukewarm, but again the focus is Deadpool himself, and this generally works well, particularly since the film wraps up well short of two hours.

***

Deadpool is of high enough quality to settle into the second-tier of superhero films, a genre that has developed consistently high quality overall (granted, this is coming from a fan of the genre).  Films like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man paved the way for Deadpool, in fact building a strong appetite for funny, non-traditional superheroes and their stories.  While this first Deadpool film doesn't really suggest any specific, intriguing directions for sequel(s), it does a great job of introducing him so I can imagine a variety of even well-worn scenarios could get fresh, even thought-provoking takes in this world.  Ryan Reynolds capably commands the cynical, foul-mouthed yet fun lead and holds your attention throughout; I wouldn't want a sequel to focus so exclusively on him again, but he is a perfectly good lead.  Finally, remember once again:  this is significantly more violent than other superhero films, and way more crude and potty-mouthed than its genre peers.  If you don't think it's for you, you're probably right.  If that "warning" sounds appealing to you, then definitely give it a try.




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