100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 42: Zootopia

Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Adventure/ Comedy/ Action
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Alan Tudyk, J.K. Simmons, Jenny Slate, Bonnie Hunt, Shakira, Octavia Spencer

Description: In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny (Ginnifer Goodwin) cop and a cynical con artist fox (Jason Bateman) must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Review: In the animation “Zootopia” all animals act like humans. Hamsters wear suits, giraffes play volleyball, elephants run ice salons. It’s a sure thing that many fun things are going to happen in “Zootopia”. The city is divided in different climate areas and it looks like an utopia for animals.
The central character is Judy Hopps, a sweet and naïve small town rabbit that is excited to explore the world. Her dream is to become the first bunny cop of Zootopia. But everyone around her isn’t that happy with that dream. They rather want her to help on the carrot farm of her parents. But Judy is determined. In the intro, we see how she finishes police academy and becomes a cop.
While all her cop colleagues get exciting cases, Judy is stuck with parking duty. But Judy doesn’t let that hold her back. When Judy meets the sly fox Nick, who is a con artist, she accidentaly gets involved in a major conspiracy. Judy is forced to work with Nick to unravel this mystery.
“Zootopia” is an easy to watch animation, it’s a modern fable where typical animal charactaristics are enhanced (the brave lion, the sly fox, the scared rabbit, the gentle sheep). But these clichés are broken when nothing is at it seems. You think you know what to expect, but then you don’t. This is where “Zootopia” seperates itself from other Disney animations. There are pretty complex themes in this film, like racism and the interaction between the media and politics. It’s actually a huge enhancement of human society.
This doesn’t mean the film gets heavy, because it’s still a Disney animation. And it is mostly a happy film that is well balanced. The animations are gorgeous, detailed, creative and there is so much to discover and explore.
Off course there is a moral. You should chase your dreams and anyone can do whatever they want. But this film is made for younger viewers, so it’s forgivable. The film is filled with amazing characters. I just love Judy Hopps and I’m so happy to finally see a rabbit character shine again in an animation. Nick is also a great character and the interaction between Judy and Nick is fantastic. The funniest scene is the one with the sloths, because sloths are awesome!
“Zootopia” is definintely a film that can be enjoyed by everyone. And everyone will love it!

Rating: 4,5/ 5