Thanks to my frazzled life as a coffee-veined college student, it took me nearly three months to see Disney’s latest animated film, “Zootopia.” And it was well worth the wait. In an attempt to organize my jumbled mind, I divided my review into six short parts. So, here we go:
Plot: My brother and I both thought the same thing about “Zootopia,” which is that the film was excellently storyboarded. The movie segments the scenes so there is a coherent cause-and-effect progression, adding to the dimension of unraveling the overarching mystery. One of the things I like about “Zootopia” is that each scene can be explained in a short, simple sentence. For example: “In this scene, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde get attacked by a wild jaguar” or “At a top-secret laboratory, Judy and Nick discover the reason behind the disappearing animals.” The biggest weakness in the plot is that it tends to rely on situations of convenience or coincidence, especially when it comes to unmasking clues or evidence. The most noticeable moment was when the relationship between Judy and Fru Fru, the mob boss’s daughter, is revealed.
Characters: The screenplay and voice-acting of “Zootopia” go a long way toward building characters that make the audience believe in the world the film is trying to portray. Though there a large variety of characters in the movie, the film manages to find a good balance while still allowing Judy and Nick take center stage. The relationship that develops between Judy and Nick feels realistic and natural; Judy’s optimistic persistence and Nick’s street-smart suaveness complement each other perfectly. My only complaint about the characters, in general, was that I didn’t see my favorite animal, the Giant Panda, though I suppose it might be that even in a fantasy world, pandas are still, sadly, endangered.
Visuals: I remember when “Tangled” was released one of the production problems the animators talked about a lot was designing Rapunzel’s hair to make the length and texture look and feel realistic. Jump forward six years to “Zootopia,” where every character’s fur holds a different level of proportion, movement, and texture. To me, “Zootopia” doesn’t have the jaw-dropping cityscape of “Big Hero 6,” but the character designs might be unrivaled.
Humor: “Zootopia,” like many films starring anthropomorphic animals, bases its humor primarily on expectations of animal behavior and distinctions. And for the most part, it works very well. The sloths at the DMV are so accurate it’s painful, and the lemmings all buying one of Nick’s popsicles is hilarious. Also, I really felt a special connection with Judy when she was told to sit in her chair at the police station and the only thing visible of her were her long bunny ears sticking out from behind the desk. The one scene that I felt didn’t work as well as the others within the context of the film’s plot was the scene at the nudist club because it was an extended joke that only served to give Judy a license plate number.
Overall: “Zootopia” continues Disney’s recent string of animated successes by tackling relevant issues of stereotyping and racial prejudices in a very unique way. Both the plot and the characters work together to put forward a film that captures the struggle to discover one’s self-importance and persevere when everything seems to be working against you.
Rating: 3.5 stars / A-
