Sunday, March 6, 2016

Zootopia Review

I never would have thought Disney would make a movie that focused on racial/gender profiling, but I'm glad they have proved me wrong!

This movie follows a rabbit named Judy Hopps as she follows her dream to become a cop in Zootopia. When she arrives, she's not taken seriously by anyone and is assigned to be a meter maid. Eventually she find herself in the middle of a huge conspiracy that threatens the society. With the help of a charming, roguish fox named Nick Wilde, Judy is determined to solve the case.

I know it's still early in the year, but I'll say it anyway: This is the best movie of 2016. Not since The Great Mouse Detective have we seen an animal-based mystery movie from Disney which succeeds so well in all aspects--plot, characters, and animation.

In many ways the film was reminiscent of the style and humor of the classic Looney Tunes, which is of a more sophisticated adult humor and not the crass, lowbrow humor that is regrettably rampant in many movies today.

I love Judy and Nick. I think they have great chemistry with each other and are extremely relatable, which is essential in connection with the audience. I especially loved how in any other movie, Nick would simply be a two dimensional character just for laughs. But here, he's both funny and deep; we see his backstory and learn his motivations.

Some of the things I really enjoyed were the times that they intentionally made fun of other popular Disney movies. It was refreshing to see that even Disney can make fun of themselves.

As I mentioned, the humor is very clean, even though there are plenty of things that only adults will understand. These elements are not rude or inappropriate,  but they're simply jokes mostly adults will get.

The serious theme that this movie covers is racial profiling. The story has points at which it is wondered if predators are becoming more savage and hurting others due to their "nature." They were subtle, but the similarity between this theme and real life situations with officers, etc. is definitely present. It was wise of Disney to execute this theme with animals, so as to avoid the risk of seeming preachy; the result is the themes are not shoved down the throats of the audience while enjoying the plot.

So, yeah. This is an amazing movie and 100% succeeds on all counts. Go see it! Other movies have a lot to live up to. 

Next time: 10 Cloverfield Lane.

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