Zootopia

It's a pretty crazy world we live in these days. 

For the next election of the most powerful person in the world our choices are limited to worse, worst, and downright unimaginable.

People from both political parties can rarely engage in discourse anymore without name calling or referring to ideas/beliefs as idiotic (I'm talking to both sides here so don't think you're immune).

There's rampant hatred for the police when 99% of those men and women are doing their jobs well, but then in instances of clear (often recorded) instances of police brutality we let them off free with nothing but a slap on the wrist. 

More people care about the Kardashians or Jenners more than they do about who they'll be voting for and why. 

Right wing Republicans stereotype the entire Islamic population as a terrorists (they aren't) and Left wing Liberals stereotype any Republicans as stupid/racist/sexist (they aren't). 

Yes, the world we live in these days is crazy. Sometimes it's far past the point of asking, "Can't we all just get along?" and more appropriate to wonder, "What went so wrong?"

Lola Bunny from Space Jam?!? That you?

Now that's a fair amount of doom and gloom and political ranting to start a movie review, but I sincerely hope that at least most of my readers felt called out there. We're all guilty of our notions. We're all guilty of our stereotypes, of our belief system, of our opinions. IGNORANCE is the combination of not educating one's self to learn more about what they don't know and always thinking that they are right despite that. 

Disney Animation Studios' latest, Zootopia, does its part to try and reteach us humans about a little thing called TOLERANCE in a film that is arguably more for the adults of today than it is for the kids, but yet as an animated film is still wildly imaginative, funny, and colorful. 

Effective in its sad, touching moments...

The first 20-30 minutes of Zootopia are movie magic. It sets up its premise and world right away and the audience automatically can see that it's a mirror of our own. The movie might be slightly overlong by 10-15 minutes, but that magic is mostly sustained throughout the rest of it. I was amazed, jaw hanging agape and all, as Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), rides the train into the huge city of Zootopia, complete with separate ecosystem areas. Part of this is because "Try Everything" by Shakira is a great toe-tapping song that perfectly fits the moment (not to mention probably the best animated theme song since "Everything is Awesome" in The LEGO Movie), but it's also because Judy's journey feels real and by this point we're already connected with her dedication to being a police officer, something that has never been done by a bunny before. Oh, and some incredible animation. 

As the story progresses, we're introduced to more characters but also a strikingly mature film. Children will love this one for all the normal reasons: laughter, colors, talking animals, etc. But adults will love it for the several, rather blunt, messages that it teaches their children and most likely reminds them of too. With the expanding cast of characters, Judy realizes that Zooptopia and the world in general, is not the utopia that she envisioned. There is racism (I guess that's what you'd call it?) between predators and prey where, despite thousands of years of evolving into a peaceful society, there is still a rift between them. Early on she meets a fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) whom, after a rough start, she quickly befriends. Wilde represents those who we are judgmental against and in a poignant reveal we learn why he is the way he is, leading us to another one of the film's lessons: don't forget to put yourself in people's shoes. As a duo, Goodwin and Bateman are pitch-perfect, and they bring these characters to life, but even more impressive for an animated film, they give them considerable depth. The rest of the voice cast does great, Idris Elba being another favorite of mine, but the show belongs to Judy and Nick who both grow significantly as characters by the time the credits roll.

How I feel sitting a table of people who don't lift ^^ Heyo!

A brilliantly hilarious scene  ^^

Taking a step back from the more adult themes and reasoning for a second, I'd be an idiot to not mention just how much fun Zootopia is. One of the more colorful films I've seen recently, it's also wickedly funny and witty most of the time. The sloth bit (originally featured in a hilarious trailer) is still the funniest part I think, but there are many other laughs to be had. Its world is equally as impressive and imaginative. It seems that the creators thought of everything from having a completely separate town for very small rodents, to having different sized exit doors on trains for different animals. The actual animation of all of this never ceased to amaze me with its complexity and detail. Judy herself has thousands of hair strands on her face and the world looks realistic even though its a cartoon. On a 4K HDTV, this would be one glorious Blu-ray.

This is a film where it's as important for children to see it as it is for adults, especially given what's going on in our country presently. Sometimes seeing things through the eyes of a child or even a cartoon can help us to realize just how stupid we've been based on our own ignorance. We're all guilty of it and if you deny that, you're just further proving my point. Luckily, along with several sermons, we also get a fantastic, highly enjoyable film out of it as well. 

CONS:

• A tad overlong which makes it hard for it to sustain its fantastic opening and middle
• Jokes here and there fall flat
• Preachy/on-the-nose at times. The movie best gets its messages across when they're hidden within the characters' actions and dialogue 

PROS:

• Its timeliness to our current day is borderline eerie, but the lessons (yes, plural) it teaches are fantastic and effective. There are real takeaways to be had here, for both children and adults. Mainly adults
• A fun story that should encourage children to do what they want and pursue what they'd like
• Great cast of characters with talented voice actors. Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman were perfectly cast as Judy and Nick
• Funny most of the time and downright hilarious in a few scenes
• Features some touching moments between characters
• "Try Everything" is a great, catchy song
• Colorful, original, and imaginative world that's just begging for more exploration
• Fantastic and detailed animation 
• Highly enjoyable, fun, and smart

Rath's Review Score: 9/10