Zootropolis also known as Zootopia depending on your region, is Disney animations throwback to the animals wearing clothes classic robin hood, and is the best example of why Disney is a juggernaut of the animated film industry.
Zootropolis is the story of Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) a young bunny cop who takes on the case of a lifetime with a race against the clock while having to work alongside Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) a sly con-fox all taking place in the animal ruled city Zootropolis.
While the story is nothing to ride home about in terms of its originality, Byron Howard again does his trademark plot set up having "protagonists are considered enemies of each other cat and dog in Bolt; princess and thief in Tangled.
And now a fox, and rabbit in Zootropolis", this creates an odd dynamic between Judy and Nick to start off, but slowly over time each gain respect for one another.
As they understand that both have been through similar hurdles in the past, and the film has some well-paced plot twists and references to past cinema, one scene, in particular.
Being a mockery of The Godfather, the scene really prides itself on being its own take on it and using only visual references over story beats.
Zootropolis is easily one of the most interesting and downright gorgeous locations ever crafted in an animated film to date, from the different sized shops to equate the smallest mouse to the biggest elephant.
To the distinct districts the film early on shows and the cultural references throughout the film, a banana on the back of phones referencing apple, and an entire scene early on as Judy uses a close replicate of an iPod filled with references to artists and bands such as Guns N’ Rodents or Fur Fighters. Clearly it is years of current and past culture that has helped develop this films world and story.
While there is nothing special about the more technical nitty gritty film aspects such as camera work and editing, the soundtrack composed by Michael Giacchino is a show stealer, from the bubbly tunes of the city streets.
To the intense beats of the many chase scenes found in the film stand out tracks being "In the Nick of Time" and "A Bunny Can Go Savage" being some of the highlights pieces from the film's OST. I urge anyone interested in Soundtracks to media to give these two in particular a listen.
However, with all the fancy Disney animation and family friendly humour, I was surprised on how blatant and expertly crafted the bigger picture was in the underbelly of the film's world was, with so many different animals roaming Zootropolis, predators, and prey, the film tackles some very real world issues we see today in the world.
Racism/Discrimination is a big part of Zootropolis but it's handled in such a way that you really must commend the writers on what they accomplished, we are shown this throughout the film, the use of stereotypes for the animals is a simple yet effective way of showing the two sides of predator and prey. From the get go, Judy is told that there are no bunny cops for a good reason, she is told what she can and can’t do because of what she is a single rabbit.
While Nick gets a scene devoted to his backstory showing how he was bullied just as much as Judy, and this one of the most potent moments of the film.
For the reasons briefly noted throughout this review I couldn’t recommend Zootropolis more, not only as a family film but a must watch, as the message told in this film and the way its portrayed by Actors Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin is nothing short of astounding.
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