Zootropolis – Review
First off, let’s address the elephant in the room – it’s Zootropolis in Europe, Zootopia in the U.S. However, it really doesn’t matter what you call it, because Disney has knocked it out of the park once again.
The story is of a small but strong-willed bunny rabbit Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and her burning desire to become a Police Officer in the mammal-packed city of Zootropolis, a richly-woven world made up of several, different ecological systems, from chilly Tundra Town to rural Bunnyburrow, where prey and natural predators share an uneasy truce to live side-by-side in unnatural harmony. Encouraged by her parents from an early age to forget her dreams and settle into a life of carrot-farming mediocrity, the early story is a testament to hard-work and determination in not giving-up on your dreams.
Judy about to leave Bunnyburrow for Zootropolis
Once in the employment of the Zootropolis P.D. Judy soon finds out that the job isn’t everything she dreamed it would be. Sneered at by her considerably larger fellow Officers and ignored by the gruff Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) she is busted down to parking duty, but determined to prove herself she is soon embroiled in a case involving usually placid animals mysteriously turning ravenous. Before you can say “mis-matched buddy comedy”, Judy soon finds herself in an un-easy partnership of convenience with Nick Wilde, a slippery, wheeler-dealing, Arthur Daley-esque Fox, smoothly voiced by Jason Bateman. The pair are soon racing through the city, through a series of well-paced set pieces that aren’t afraid to take comedy pot-shots at the natural tendencies of different species. One very funny early set piece in particular sees Judy pursuing a “Weaselly” suspect through a town populated by a variety of mini-mammals. Said suspect is voiced by Alan Tudyk, his fourth consecutive animated Disney role. The Beavers working in construction and the Sloths working at the D.M.V. also bring the funny.
Foxy Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman.
Although the plot is a little predictable to anyone who’s seen an episode of Law and Order, it doesn’t matter at all when the characters are this well-executed. Judy is an energetic ball of floppy-eared enthusiasm; Nick, uncanny resemblance to Disney’s own Robin Hood aside, a charming, rascally con-artist, but audience favourite was definitely Officer Clawhauser voiced by Nate Torrence, a pudgy, donut-loving Cheetah who mans the front-desk of the Zootropolis P.D. His endearing infatuation with Pop-star Gazelle (voiced by Pop-star Shakira) getting the majority of the laughs whenever he was on screen.
Officer Clawhauser, voiced by Nate Torrence.
As the mystery deepens, the plot starts to get very topical and, much like George Orwell used animals symbolically to tell a story of communism and social inequality, so directors Rich Moore (Tangled, Bolt), Byron Howard (Wreck it Ralph) and co-director Jared Bush (Big Hero 6) use the animals as a political metaphor to tell a rhetorical tale of racial profiling and prejudices. Not usually themes you encounter in a Disney animated feature, they hit very close to home in the current climate. I would add too, that due to the moments where some of the animals revert back to their natural, ravenous tendencies, there are one or two scary moments in the movie that may be a bit much for very young children.
To be honest, I don’t know who enjoyed this film more, my children or me (me, definitely me). The script had some great laugh-out-loud moments, including a dig at Disney’s own musical back-catalogue and a brilliant Godfather pastiche that totally went over the heads of the kids, but had all the Dads laughing. There’s a raft of visual gags and in-jokes in the background so keep your eyes peeled. Disney really seem to be pushing the quality of their animation with each consecutive feature they release, the animation here is exceptional. Also it should be noted that the world design is fantastic and it’s a testament to the directors that they managed to keep the story so focused with such a large world begging to be explored. I’m not usually a fan of animated sequels (except for exceptional exceptions like Toy Story and the How to Train your Dragon franchises) but I would happily take a trip back to Zootropolis.
Zootropolis is on general release Friday 25th March.