– By Cate Marquis –
Disney’s animated “Zootopia” pairs rabbit and fox in comedy-adventure in animal diversity utopia
“Zootopia” is that perfect kind of kid’s movie, an animated comedy that works for both grown-ups and young audiences, while offering a message that parent can feel comfortable with for their children. It is also Disney’s best film since “Frozen,” with terrific animation, likable characters and the added bonus of not being a very funny comedy that is not a musical.
In this world, predator and prey species have learned to live peacefully side-by-side, after a discovery that gives meat-eaters another (unspecified) food source. Still, tensions remain between predators and prey, particularly between rabbits and foxes in the rural farm community where young rabbit Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) lives with her carrot-farmer parents. But Judy has a radical dream for a rabbit, to become a police officer in the big city of Zootopia, a modern metropolis where all species live in harmony. As she says, “In Zootopia, anyone can be anything.”
With districts for animals from various climates, from Tundratown to Sahara Square, and neighborhoods scaled for animals from mouse to giraffe, Zootopia is a model of diversity and accomodation that looks like heaven to country girl Judy. Despite everyone’s expectations for a rabbit, Judy finishes officer training top of her class and lands a job with the Zootopia police force, the first of her species to do so. In fact, she is the first small mammal to join the police, where the herbivores on the force are all large animals like elephants. Zootopia’s Mayor Lionheart (J.K. Simmons), a lion looking to showcase his support of prey-rights for voters, sees the new hire as a public relations coup but gruff police chief Bogo (Idris Elba), a water buffalo, sees her as more of a new headache. Rookie Judy is determined to show what she can do, which might be hard in her first assignment, giving out parking tickets.
Ambitious Judy sets out to be show she can succeed, even if it is writing more parking tickets than anyone. On her rounds, she encounters Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a con-artist fox who hips up the naive rabbit to the less-ideal reality beneath Zootopia’s seemingly- perfect surface. The two wind up unlikely partners on a case where Judy must find a missing otter and then uncovers a disturbing development that can disrupt Zootopia’s peaceful diversity.
At its heart, “Zootopia” is a buddy movie, with two species that are natural enemies – idealistic, naive, unstoppable rabbit Judy and cynical, wise-cracking, street-wise fox Nick. The mystery/police detective story lets the writers mint some comic gold for the adults, packed with over-kid’s-heads references to film noir, “The Godfather” and even “Breaking Bad,” as well as some gentle joking about politicians and political correctness The kids get slapstick comedy, wisecracks, spirited chases, and a schoolyard bully getting out-smarted. Comic characters voiced by Tommy Chong, Octavia Spencer, Bonnie Hunt, and others add to the fun, particularly Nate Torrence as donut-loving leopard police front desk employee Clawhauser.
One of the funniest scenes was used in the movie’s trailer, where Nick takes Judy to the Department of Motor Vehicles to run a license plate number. The office is staffed by sloths, who move at a different pace than hyperactive Judy, offering a hilarious demonstration of how timing is everything in comedy.
For its mystery tale/buddy movie, “Zootopia” creates a beautiful visual world, filled with nice touches such as doors in the train that are scaled for different sized animals ranging from big ones for elephants and tiny ones for lemmings, demonstrating equal accommodations. Co-directors Byron Howard (“Tangled,” “Bolt”) and Rich Moore (“Wreck-It Ralph,” “The Simpsons”) certainly have the goods and experience in both comedy and visual storytelling. The film’s diversity message is pretty heavy-handed, which will irritate some viewers and delight others, and includes a pop singer character Giselle, voiced by Shakira.
“Zootopia” offers a lot of sly humor fun for adults, a good action-filled comedy for kids, some terrific animation, and a positive underlying message with which parents can feel comfortable.
© Cate Marquis
