Zootopia

This kind of film is perfect for Disney. I would argue that the studio dominates the animated anthropomorphic animal genre. In past movies in this genre however, anthropomorphic animals have either been portrayed in the natural world or in a universe that is still evocative of the human world. The city of Zootopia is special because it is more suited for mammals than other cinematic cities inhabited by talking animals. I applaud the characters and creativity of this film but I also felt that "Zootopia" was too assertive with its themes and its climax lacked the sophistication that was present throughout the rest of the movie. This film was a huge financial success, earning just over a billion dollars at the box office. As a Disney fan, it is hard to be upset about that.

John Lasseter apparently was very excited about the idea of a city made especially for animals when co-director Byron Howard (who was also co-director on "Tangled") pitched it to him. Howard wanted to go down the same road as Disney's own "Robin Hood" and I could tell that from the trailers. I also see similarities between "Zootopia" and Warner Brothers' "Cats Don't Dance". Sharing directorial duties with Howard is Rich Moore, who directed "Wreck-It Ralph". I was hoping for a slightly funnier film to be honest from these two filmmakers and but after multiple viewings, it is funny enough I guess. There were some self-referential moments such as one line from Chief Bogo but unfortunately, many of the best jokes were spoiled in the trailers. Thanfully, as the years pass however, the scenes included in the trailers will blend back into the movie as a whole. Despite these small shortcomings, "Zootopia" makes up for it with its level of creativity. The city reminds me a lot of Disneyland with its creative districts and also feels like the Emerald City or any place where dreams are advertized to come true. We get a great introduction to the city as Judy rides the train from Bunnyburrow. Other great scenes include the chase in Little Rodentia and the Arctic shrew wedding. There were also some cinematography choices that were utilized to create the illustion of realism. There are light imperfections on the "lens" of the camera when Judy discovers that all 14 missing mammals are in the lab. My favorite though is the "still" shot of the fox repellent by Judy's headphones. If you look closely, the shot is not perfectly still as if it is being filmed by a real-life Steadicam. The design of the city of Zootopia is also a metaphor for the prejudices that exist within. The animals live and work together but they are still segregated into various climate districts. I may be looking too much into this however because you try asking a camel to live in Tundratown. This brings me to an aspect of "Zootopia" that distracted me from fully enjoying the movie the first time I saw it. In one sentence: "Zootopia" is overly preachy with its themes of intolerance and discrimination. The city is too much of a mirror of our own society as even elephants judge small predators. Animals may live together in "peace and harmony" on the outside but just like in real life, there are problems. We watch movies to escape from the real world, not to be constantly reminded of the negativity of it. I'm not saying we should hide from our problems but I feel that a message is more powerful when it has to be discovered or when it is taught subconsciously. Take "Aladdin" for example. In that film, you have three characters that disguise themselves in hopes of a better life. Only when the protagonist forgoes the disguise and acts genuinely does he prove victorious. That message didn't come to me overnight but from the moment I saw "Aladdin" as a child, I could feel the power and importance of that subtle theme. While "Zootopia" has a very important message, it could have been employed in a more subtle and traditional way as Judy realizes that natural-born adversaries can work together. There is also a danger of the theme of "Zootopia" being interpreted in ways not intended by the filmmakers. This happened with "Frozen". Anyone could walk away from this movie feeling that he or she is a victim of discrimination. The movie starts out with bunnies suffering from preconceptions. This changes to include sheep and other prey animals as the story progresses. Suddenly however, predators become the target as they are in the minority, which does emulate actual zoology (compare the populations of mice and cats in any location). Predators are also judged to be inherently dangerous. The point is that anyone can be the subject of ridicule. The danger with this theme is that those suffering from ridicule can become bitter towards the entire world like Magneto from the "X-men" franchise. Victims of evil can become evil themselves if we are not careful. Racism has become a breading ground for supremacists for example. The good news is that "Zootopia" addresses the possible misinterpretation of the theme in the climax. The end of the movie however is not without its cinematic problems. The twist at the end was defiantly a surprise but a plot twist works best when it precedes the climax as opposed to occurring during the climax. "Big Hero 6" and "Toy Story 2" did it right for example. "Cars 2" was able to get away with it because there was more than one villain. I always favor lots of screen time with the bad guy and the ultimate villain in "Zootopia" only had the climatic scene in which to provide drama. Another problem with the climax is that it was too foreseeable because of how it was set up. Animation filmmakers these days don't give enough credit to their audiences. Would the climax of "Monsters Inc." been better if Sulley had separated Waternoose from the CDA in an obvious way as opposed to what appeared to be an accident? Sulley fooled the audience as well as the villain. The trick is to let the audience in on part of the characters' plan (like when Mike comes out from behind the door with Boo's disguise) but keep the audience partly in the dark so that you can surprize both the antaongist and the audience at the same time. Judy and Nick could have pulled off the same magic but the plot points ended up being too obvious. The filmmakers shouldn't have shown the blueberries in the museum and the carrot pen should also have been used more sparingly throughout the film. Even though the rest of the movie had the audience guessing, the climax fell short in doing so. In fact, I was really impressed by the film's screenplay until the climax because we don't need a detailed explanation of what happened. I did however love the final gag in the movie.

Even though "Zootopia" had problems with its story, the characters created for the film were great. I enjoyed the chemistry between Judy and Nick as the story moves forward. I also love the way that Judy compels Nick to help her in her case. It is pretty awesome. The filmmakers did a great job with establishing a protagonist that we can sympathize with and root for. Contrast helps to pull this off. In some other "talking animal" animated films, the scale of the characters is off. On Disney's "Robin Hood" for example, a wolf is just as large as a bear. There appear to be no scale inaccuracies with "Zootopia" and this helps the story because Judy has to deal with a work environment where chairs and desks are too big for her. This makes her a very genuine underdog as well as how hard she tries to accomplish her dream. Her animation and cute design also creates empathy (I am aware that it is apparently wrong to call a bunny "cute" if I am not a bunny). As with any protagonist however, Judy has to experience character growth. She has preconceptions about predators but she is more on her way to overcoming them than the rest of Zootopia as evidenced in the ice cream parlor when she scolds herself for judging Nick. You can't really blame her for judging predators though because of what happened in her childhood with Gideon Grey. Her parents also feed this inherent fear. You also can't blame Judy too much for offending Nick because it was accidental. Under pressure during the press conference, she quotes Mayor Lionheart and Dr. Madge Honey Badger instead of expressing her own views. The scene under the bridge between Nick and Judy is the most dramatic in the film thanks to the vocal performance of Ginnifer Goodwin and the animation. This moment somewhat reminds me of the scene in "Finding Nemo" when Dory pleads for Marlin not to leave. Nick reminds me a lot of Flynn Rider and this is probably due to Byron Howard's direction. Just as Flynn tried to use Rapuzel's fear against her in order to get his prize back, Nick tries to use Judy's ideals against her in order to get off the hook. Another comparison with "Tangled" is that we eventually come to see why Nick chose the life he did. This isn't Goodwin's first time doing voice work and it shows. Jason Bateman is more famous than Goodwin but I can tell he was not cast as Nick because of his fame; he was cast because he has the persona to bring Nick to life and he did just that. A big shout out goes to Idris Elba as Bogo. He plays the antagonist and the victim of manipulation quite well. His best moment is the aforementioned self-referential line in his office with Judy. It wasn't until my third viewing of the film that I comprehended the full irony of the line. It went completely over my head previously because Elba says "so let it go" in staccato. He was in six movies released in 2016 including "The Jungle Book", "Finding Dory" and "Star Trek Beyond" so it is obvious that he is talented. Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons not only creates a performance that reminds you of Jameson from the "Spider-Man" trilogy but uses a voice that is different from Kai in "Kung Fu Panda 3", which was released shortly before "Zootopia". It was great to hear Octavia Spencer, an Oscar winner herself, in this movie. Her character's eyes are reflective of hers I think. Duke Weaselton is played by the same actor who voiced the Duke of Weselton in "Frozen": Alan Tudyk. The voice he uses in this film is obviously an impersonation of Steve Buscemi. Tudyk is becoming the Stan Lee or John Ratzenberger of Walt Disney Animation Studios because he has voiced a character in every film that the studio has produced since "Wreck-It Ralph". My favorite cameo in the movie though is Peter Mansbridge, who is a news anchor icon in Canada along with Lloyd Robertson. I have to wonder though if the filmmakers were expecting a performance from Mansbridge reminiscent of Rutt and Tuke from "Brother Bear". What North American audiences may not know is that this character is not present in international versions of the film. For the Australian release for example, a koala is the co-anchor of the news. Another favorite character of mine in "Zootopia" is Mr. Big. Maurice LaMarche is a very talented voice actor and his "Godfather" impersonation is spot on. Finally, Kristen Bell (the voice of Princess Anna) plays Priscilla in the DMV.

"Zootopia" was released well before the summer blockbuster season but was nevertheless widely successful. It won both the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Considering its theme and timely release amidst what was happening in the world at the time, it's not a surprise the film won those awards. I also wanted it to win but mostly because of the level of creativity and originality featured in "Zootopia". The box office earnings for "Zootopia" exceeded expectations as it became the highest grossing original film except for "Avatar". That is very impressive for a March release considering that "Avatar" was released during the winter blockbuster season. "Zootopia" is an imaginative film with many exceptional cinematic aspects such as its characters but the show wasn't perfect. It could have ended in a more entertaining way and its message felt forced upon the audience. While I have my criticisms concerning this film, my opinions about a movie have been known to change once time has passed and after multiple viewings. This is happening to my opinion of this movie because it is entertaining every time.

4 Stars