Zootopia Movie Review

Zootopia (2016)

Buy Zootopia on Amazon Video

Written by: Byron Howard & Rich Moore & Jared Bush & Jim Reardon & Josie Trinidad & Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee (story by), Jared Bush & Phil Johnston (screenplay), Dan Fogelman (additional story material- uncredited)
Directed by: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush (co-director)
Starring:  Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, JK Simmons, Alan Tudyk, Shakira
Rated: PG

Plot:
In this animated feature a rookie cop bunny and con artist fox work together to uncover a mystery plaguing their city.

Verdict:
This is excellent, with a great message. It's a commentary on the detriments of stereotyping and assuming the worst of people, or in this case animals. Clever writing, sharp jokes, and touching moments bolster a film that's more than just a kid's movie.
Watch it.

Review:
This movie has a great set up. It's not Pixar level, but it's solid. Judy Hopps was bullied as a kid and manages to go to the police academy. Her struggles and later triumph create a great moment.

It's an interesting sub-text with the foxes. They are mistreated and discriminated against because people assume the stereotype is true. It's less than subtle. Where the bullying Nick suffered as a kid led him to embrace his stereotype, the same abuses spurned Judy to defy hers. Just because she's small, doesn't mean she can't perform her job.

The sizes of the animals are strange. While the animals are anthropomorphic and bipedal, their sizes still correlate to their realistic sizes... sometimes. Judy is easily the smallest animal, but then we see a sheep and otter smaller than her. It's just weird to vary the sizes to such a degree seemingly for realism and then have a few outliers. The differing sizes does provide the chance to create cities of various size.

Judy is treated as a token bunny that's on the police force just for diversity. Based just on her appearance the chief assumes she can't do the job and relegates her to being a meter maid. She intervenes when Nick faces discrimination, but later discovers he's not completely honest. It's important to separate his mistreatment from his scam. One has nothing to do with the other. While Judy feels betrayed, she uses Nick's connections to help her find a missing otter.

The writing is often clever, though overwrought at times. The implication of negative effects of stereotyping are overt, and that provides for a good message that's done well. This is a great movie with many very touch moments and great jokes.