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| Judy and Nick make the best cop duo since McNulty and Bunk. |
The Basics:
Who made it? Disney,
Byron Howard and Rich Moore (directors), Jared Bush and Phil Johnston
(screenplay)
Who’s in it? Animated
anthropomorphic animals, voices of: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba
(!), others
Synopsis: In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and
a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy. Watch the trailer.
Whoa. Zootopia is
fantastic. (And do not dismiss it just because it’s an animated “kids movie.”
It has a lot more to say than any movies I’ve seen come out this year). It has
all the basic elements you’d expect out of an animated Disney film: great humor
and animation, fun characters, and a good message. But it’s all the other stuff
that makes it a great film. For starters, it’s a fairly traditional
noir/detective story (and I love film noir), but obviously adapted to be
suitable for children (so, no overriding sense of bleakness/nihilist ending).
But it still has a solid mystery story filled with conspiracy and corruption,
and even takes a shot at idealized dreams/life (ya know, the sort of thing most
kids movies show). For a “kids movie,” it gives a very realistic view of real
life. It’s hard and complex, and there’s a good chance things don’t go your way
or when they do, it may bring unintended and negative consequences, but that
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make that dream a reality.
Oh, and Zootopia has A LOT to say about current societal issues, especially race. It presents a world where at times both the prey and predators can be viewed as minorities, allowing it to explore racial issues in society, without creating the mess that comes with trying to make a one-to-one comparison. In particular, Zootopia looks at how unfair and ungrounded prejudices and assumptions can have a negative impact, not just on the individual level, but at the full societal level.
Scene of the film: Hustler fox Nick tells Judy, a bunny cop (the two are the
heroes of the movie), about a very sad story from his childhood. He ends it by
saying “If the world’s only gonna see a fox as shifty and untrustworthy,
there’s no point in trying to be anything else.” (Yea, this ain’t just a “kids
movie”)
Watch it if you like: Disney movies, funny animated movies, animated movies with
cute animals, hard-boiled detective stories (I love that those two descriptors
can go back to back), film noir. It’s on Netflix, got watch it.
My Rating: 9/10
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