For this entry, I'll be again looking at something Disney- related (I know it's becoming common on this blog, but I swear it's unintentional): Their most recent animated film, 'Zootopia.'
(Credit to my dear friend Angela for this pic; While walking through a Toys 'R Us and talking about doing this review, we stumbled upon this adorable set of plushes of characters from the movie, and figured it would make a good cover pic for the review)
For those unfamiliar with it, 'Zootopia' takes place in a fictional world in which humans do not exist, and animals (Mainly mammals, as they are the only kind seen in this) are able to talk, walk on two legs, wear clothes, and generally act like humans. Even "Predator" and "Prey" animals live together peacefully. Well, mostly peacefully (I'll get to that later).
The main character in 'Zootopia' is a plucky rabbit named Judy Hopps (Voice of 'Once Upon a Time' star Ginnifer Goodwyn). Although she comes from a very long line of carrot- farmers, she has much loftier and less conventional ambitions for her life; She is deeply committed to justice and protecting others, so she wants to become a police officer in the big and beautiful city of Zootopia. Although her training is hard at first, she keeps pushing and ends up excelling, becoming the first rabbit officer on Zootopia's police force, which is otherwise made up of much more physically imposing animals (i.e. tigers, rhinos). Still, it becomes clear that she is not taken seriously by the others on the force due to her species, and she is initially put on meter- maid duty.
This does not last long, however; There has been a series of mysterious disappearances, all of predatory animals. The most recent is an otter, whose desperate wife (Voice of Octavia Spencer, who won a well- deserved Oscar a few years ago for her performance in 'The Help') tugs at Judy's heart- strings, leading to her demanding that her superior, a no- nonsense cape buffalo named Chief Bogo (Voice of Idris Elba) promote her to a full officer so she can personally investigate the case, which no one else seems to want to look into. Bogo agrees, with a condition: If she can't solve the case within 48 hours, she must resign.
Upon looking into the case, she soon discovers that Nick Wilde (Voice of Jason Bateman), a fox con artist who Judy had clashed with earlier, is a witness who was with the missing otter shortly before he disappeared. She pressures Nick into reluctantly assisting in her investigation, which turns out to be much more complex than it initially appeared, involving a bizarre animal nudist colony, mafia ties, a sinister- looking lab, and a discovery that something is making the missing predator creatures go feral.
As is usually the case for my reviews, I'll start by talking about what I didn't like about 'Zootopia' to get it out of the way quickly, and there are very few. One main thing is that I was able to figure out a little too easily who the main villain behind everything would turn out to be. Disney has in its recent films seemed to have gone past its old formula of using villains who you can tell right away are evil (i.e. Ursula from 'The Little Mermaid,' Scar from 'The Lion King'), instead relying more on surprise villains who initially appear to be harmless and friendly but are revealed to be evil traitors around the film's climax (i.e. the surprise- baddies in 'Frozen' and 'Big Hero 6'). Such is most definitely the case in 'Zootopia,' and I was able to figure out who it was way before Judy and Nick did.
Also, though this is just a minor personal gripe for me, while we do see a VERY impressive amount of diversity in the animals featured in 'Zootopia,' I was a little dismayed that there weren't any primates in it (i.e. monkeys, apes). I understand why the filmmakers left them out, as they are a bit too similar to humans, but it still would have been nice to see an orangutan or a spider monkey show up in the movie.
Now that that's out of the way, man, I LOVED 'Zootopia'! It hit the bullseye in so many ways, and has become another Disney great!
First up is the story. 'Zootopia' has probably the most intelligent and complex plotline I've seen in a Disney movie in years. The story takes so many twists and turns, explores so many themes that are both deep and yet easy to understand, and hits so many emotional notes. What's more, as is typical for a "Cop" movie, it features some good action sequences, usually in the form of chase scenes through Zootopia's diverse environments.
It also features loads of humor, from animal- based puns and word plays (i.e. at one point, Judy uses her phone to have a video conversation with her parents using an app called "MawTime," another scene shows characters carrying shopping bags from a store called "Targoat") to slapstick to various parodies, including loads of nods to Disney's other movies if you know where to look. One comedic highlight in the film is a scene that's heavily touched on in the trailers: Judy and Nick go to the local DMV to quickly identify a car connected to the disappearance (Judy is, after all, on a short time limit to crack the case), only to discover that the DMV is staffed entirely by sloths who are incapable of doing anything fast. Even though the trailers showed a lot of what happens in this scene, there are still loads of VERY funny moments in this scene that didn't make the trailers.
Another strength to 'Zootopia' is definitely the animation. It features gorgeous CGI, with both the environments and the characters. The city of Zootopia is enormous, and has so many different areas of it. We see a rainforest section, an arctic section, a section for very small animals like mice and shrews (A very funny scene early on has Judy chasing a suspect through that neighborhood, in which SHE is suddenly the gigantic, intimidating animal for a change), and many others, all beautifully portrayed in great detail through the animation.
The animation for the characters looks great, too. We see such a tremendous variety to the animals featured in 'Zootopia,' and each of them is captured perfectly by the animators in terms of things like their appearance, their size in relation to other animals, and the ways they move.
A main strength to 'Zootopia,' as in most Disney movies, is without a doubt the characters. Judy Hopps is a truly wonderful heroine. She has dreams and goals, and is determined to beat any odds to achieve them. Not only does she not let herself be fazed by others who underestimate her, it actually drives her to push even harder to prove just how wrong they are about her. She's brave, compassionate, clever, and has a heart of gold, and Ginnifer Goodwyn's voice acting fits those qualities perfectly. She makes an awesome role model for the kids who are 'Zootopia''s primary audience, and for adults as well.
The other major hero in the film, Nick Wilde, is a fantastic character too. He's sly, shifty, and cynical yet charming (As you'd imagine an anthropomorphic fox to be), and has a lot of great, funny lines. At the same time, we find he's much deeper as a character than that. Halfway through the film, we learn about a truly heartbreaking experience he had as a kid which shaped his less- than- sunny worldview. He and Judy play off each other brilliantly. They're such opposites in so many different ways (She's a rabbit and he's a fox, she's a cop and he's a con artist who probably has a pretty lengthy rap sheet, she's an optimist and he's a pessimist, etc.), yet they still end up having quite a bit in common, and their interactions provide many of the film's highlights.
'Zootopia' has a lot of great supporting characters, too. From the pompous Mayor Lionheart (Take a guess what species he is), to his friendly sheep assistant Dawn Bellwether, to the head DMV sloth "Flash," to Judy's overprotective parents and many others. One who's a TON of fun to watch is Mr. Big, a tiny arctic shrew mafia boss who perfectly channels Don Corleone from 'The Godfather.' Also, although she plays a rather small role, the missing otter's wife is a deeply touching and immensely sympathetic character, partly due to Octavia Spencer's great job as her voice. You can really feel her fear and desperation whenever we see her.
'Zootopia' isn't a musical, but it does have one song that sticks out in it, called "Try Everything." It's performed by an animal pop star character named Gazelle (Take a wild guess what she is), voiced by real- life pop star Shakira. Although I'm normally not really into Shakira (Though 'Waka Waka' was catchy), I have to admit "Try Everything" is an awesome song. It has a great beat, inspirational lyrics, and tied perfectly into the film's theme of pursuing your dreams and never giving up. In that sense, it makes a great anthem for Judy. Here's the video for it. In addition to featuring the song, it also shows some great clips from the movie and its characters. Enjoy!
The second, and MUCH more important message to 'Zootopia' deals with tolerance. I talked a little about how many of the characters greatly underestimate Judy because she's a rabbit and they think that makes her unsuitable to be a cop, but it goes much deeper than that. As I said earlier, in the city of Zootopia, predator animals and prey animals live together mostly in peace, but we quickly find there can be a lot of mistrust and even prejudice or flat- out bigotry between the groups. We see all the different forms that prejudice can take, whether we're aware of it or not (i.e. Early in the film, one of Judy's friendly coworkers refers to her as "Cute," but she points out that's only a term bunnies can use for each other; it's considered offensive when another creature describes them that way), how even otherwise good people can demonstrate prejudice against certain groups without meaning to, how destructive hate can be, and how some who may have sinister intentions can cruelly and cynically exploit those differences for their own gain.
This is an incredibly valuable lesson to learn, especially today, with our current political climate seeming to openly encourage people of all sides, beliefs, and races to turn against each other along minor, skin- deep (At times literally) differences. Jesus's parable of the Good Samaritan was about showing kindness to those who are different, and being a neighbor to them, especially in need. The Bible stresses that blind prejudice and hate have no place among those who walk with Jesus. Galatians 3:28 says that "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Going along with that, Acts 10:34- 35 says that "So Peter opened his mouth and said, 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.'" In God's eyes, we truly are all the same, and the Gospel and the salvation it brings are free for both Jews and Gentiles, both men and women, and people of all nations and cultures to accept. Because of that, we who are Christians shouldn't focus on our petty differences (And we definitely shouldn't use them as an excuse to try and justify prejudice and bigotry against those who aren't like us), but instead look at each other as fellow children of God.
And, so, those are my thoughts on 'Zootopia.' A wonderful film, a great addition to the Disney library, and one which I can't speak highly enough of. Go out and see it ASAP, if you haven't already.
That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I should be back soon, as I have a couple ideas already for future entries. Until then, God bless you all!
