Zootopia In-Depth Review
This is the paper I kept procrastinating and tweeting about!
For over a century humans have been dazzled by cinema. In the budding years of the filmmaking industry, televisions were not easily affordable for middle class families. Soon televisions became more affordable, and TV shows started to pour out of the tiny screens. Years later it seems almost everyone has at least one television set, and on the off chance they don't they can always pull up a movie or TV show from their smartphone or tablet. With smartphone usage on the rise, less and less people are subscribing to cable. More movies are made year after year. Some are awful, some are beautiful and poetic, and some are in the middle.
In order for a film to be great it must have well-written characters. When a person goes to the cinema they go to get away from life. When they see a character they relate to, that can make them appreciate the film even more. People like funny characters as well, but a character can be funny and be relatable. Even if the character only has one scene an audience member can relate to it will make that person love the film more.
A film needs to have a theme of friendship or romance to be considered a good film. Every great film has at least a theme of friendship or romance in it. This would be true even if the main character shies away from the friendship. Sometimes a film is great, because its shows a friendship forming into a romance, like Elio and Oliver in Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name. Judy and Nick's friendship in Zootopia is an example of a great friendship. When we see the character has a friend or lover it makes the film sweet, even if its bleak, we know the characters will always have each other's backs. When one of the friends is killed off or the lover leaves, this makes their passing all the more emotional to the audience. ("Call Me By Your Name" 2017.)
For thousands of years humans have had stories. History is literally the story of our time on earth. Whether we've written down our own fictional ideas, written about others, or about ourselves humans have been writing for years. A film must have a good story to be considered great. Some of the best films may even portray the story of the climate of the world at the time they were released. Zootopia and Jordan Peele's directorial debut Get Out are great examples of the current attitude with prejudice in our country. When people see a story with a twist we walk out shocked, our minds try to figure out what just happened. It makes them feel good.
Zootopia is a 2016 crime/animation film directed by Bryon Howard and Rich Moore. It features a stellar cast: Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde, Idris Elba as Chief Bogo, Jenny Slate as Bellwether, J.K. Simmons as Mayor Lionheart, and Octavia Spencer as Mrs. Otterton. Zootopia is the sixth-highest grossing animated film of all time and garnered both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best animated feature. ("Zootopia 2016")
Zootopia tells the story of Judy Hopps a bunny from a rural town who fulfills her dream of moving to the bustling city of Zootopia to be the ZPD's first rabbit officer, only to find she's assigned parking duty again and again by her superior officer. On duty she is conned by Nick Wilde, a fox. She later unlawfully arrests a citizens and as her superior officer is reprimanding her Mrs. Otterton walks in claiming her husband was lost. Judy takes on the case and her superior gives her 48 hours to solve it or she is off the police force. Judy then coerces Nick into helping her and the two set out to solve why Mrs. Otterton's husband and several other mammals are missing.
All the missing mammals are predators, predators make up about 10% of the population of Zootopia. Things start to become clear as Judy and Nick stumble upon a facility housing all the missing mammals, they had all went back to their savage states. Judy and Nick see the Mayor walking around the facility and report him. The mayor is arrested and Judy is made to be the hero. When asked why all the predators are going savage she believes it because its based on their nature. This brings a rift to her and Nick's friendship. Later, Judy figures out who the villain really was and locks her up. ('Zootopia')
The plot of Zootopia was socially aware and thrilling. It keeps kids entertained and gives the adults something to enjoy that's more than dumb jokes.
Zootopia was praised by critics as it currently holds a ninety-eight percent on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. Their consensus: "The brilliantly well-rounded Zootopia offers a thoughtful, inclusive message that's as rich and timely as its sumptuously state-of-the-art animation -- all while remaining fast and funny enough to keep younger viewers entertained." Metacritic gave Zootopia 78 out of 100 or generally favorable reviews, and audiences loved the film. ("Zootopia")
Zootopia takes a lot from classic hollywood. The whole film is very fantasy-based. It follows a linear plot and has a happy ending. The narrative isn't necessarily predictable, but it doesn't have a huge gritty twist. The film as a whole is very strong. Zootopia's strength comes from its vibrant animation and message. The film's emotional level peaked when the audience caught a glimpse of Nick being bullied. Zootopia's only weakness is Shakira's "Try Everything" the dance sequence at the end seems to undermine the seriousness of the story.
Judy Hopps is definitely the hero of Zootopia. We see her hero's journey as she starts out as a carrot farmer dreaming to move to Zootopia and be a cop. We see her move their overcome trials in training and get passed on as a "token" bunny. She is given 48 hours to solve a case or she will be off the force. She enlists Nick Wilde for help and together they not only solve the case, but make Zootopia better, and find a much bigger culprit. (Zootopia)
Zootopia defies genre stereotypes by being both a noir thriller and a children's story. Those are two genres that usually don't mix well. This makes the film all the more intriguing. Adults and children alike can enjoy the animation while also taking in the thrilling plot that seems to be lacking from many animated features today. What makes the film style even more interesting is that it manages to stay in the confines of a PG rating while still having a noir thriller plot. Michael Giacchino's soundtrack pairs perfectly with the film immersing you in the joys and tribulations of the characters.
Zootopia is beloved by critics, acclaimed for its incredible animation, great characters, and intriguing storyline. Another reason many critics love Zootopia is the film's underlying message on prejudice. Bryon Howard and Rich Moore's masterpiece speaks to multiple levels of prejudice, and makes many people see how simple assumptions based on society's perception of certain people, can hurt those same people. For example: One of the main characters Nick Wilde (a fox) says: "...If the world's only going to see a fox as shifty and untrustworthy, there's no point in trying to be anything else." This was after Nick remembers being excluded from Cub Scouts for no reason save he was a predator. He lives by the stereotypes of foxes in Zootopia, but another fox does not. Gideon Grey bullied Judy as a child and said it was based on the fact he was a predator. Years later he becomes a friend of Judy's family and sells pies. Its easily visible how this stereotype hurt Nick when we see him as a cub (child) being muzzled and bullied for no reason other than he was a fox. It goes to demonstrate how society can assume just because you're a certain race, gender, religion, or sexuality that you are below others (African-Americans) or that your threatening them much like islamophobia (Eric Goldman).
Lately, children's films have incorporated adult jokes that fly over the children's heads to make the parents enjoy the film more. While Zootopia does contain a couple of hilarious innuendos, the reason not only kids like it was its message. Bryon Howard and Rich Moore decided to do more than just create a fun kids flick with a couple bits of adult humor, they created a great underlying message, that can spark conversation from children all the way up to fellow adults. ("Zootopia and Racism").
What's interesting about film representation in the film is the city of Zootopia is so diverse. Women and men seem to be equal throughout the film, but race representation is shown by different animals species. They vary from character to character. You could argue Nick represents African American and Islamic stereotypes: He's shifty and people dislike him with no provocation. At the same time you could argue Judy represents women fighting for equal rights in the workplace: She strives to be taken seriously. Judy also makes a quip that could be comparable to how society is okay with African-Americans using slurs, but not other ethnicity. When people see the allegories for different stereotypes represented by animals, after a second watch of the film they'll begin to see how diverse it really is, just like our nation and world. Stephanie Zacharek writing for TIME Magazine says: "...the movie's overarching message to humans is an obvious one--people of all races need to learn to live in harmony". Zacharek is correct that Zootopia is about racism, but the film can also represent women's rights as I previously stated. (Stephanie Zacharek.)
In an interview with Slashfilm directors Bryon Howard and Rich Moore said they had originally pitched Zootopia to the chief creative officer of Pixar John Lasseter, as a James Bond spoof with anthropomorphic animals. The story developed with Nick Wilde as the main character. The original dark turn when all predators had to wear collars for identification. Eventually, the film became a bit more happy than that, but it still had the visual flair and message the directors wanted. (Peter Sciretta)
Zootopia's plot deftly blends social commentary, amazing animation, humor, and thrills to create an incredible experience. The animators didn't let the fact the characters were animals hinder them. They added in adorably realistic sight gags like Nick's ears being relaxed, but not all the way back. Just like a real fox may do when docile. When he's scared they go straight up and they move around when he's listening to people in the room, like any canine or vulpine. Judy's ears do the same, this makes the film cute to children and adults and to animal lovers all the more realistic
Not only does Zootopia succeed as a good film it succeeds as being a masterwork of animation with a good message, about fighting prejudice of all kinds. 
Works Cited
All Time Worldwide Animated Box Office. Nash Information Services, Accessed 16 January 2018 www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/worldwide/all-movies/cumulative/all-time-animated
"Call Me By Your Name (2017)." IMDb, nd. Accessed 18 January 2018
Eric Goldman. Zootopia Review. IGN, 2/29/16, IGN.com, Accessed 9 January 2018 www.ign.com/articles/zootopia-review
"Nick Wilde/Quotes." Zootopia Wiki, Wikia. Accessed 9 January 2018 zootopia.wikia.com/wiki/Nick_Wilde/Quotes
Stephanie Zacharek. Review: Zootopia Gives the Old Teachable Moment a Jolt of Life. Time Magazine, 3/4/16, Accessed 18 January 2018
"Zootopia and Racism." YouTube, uploaded by SuperCarlinBrothers, 22 March 2016, Accessed 9 January 2018 www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKCA_LDOLGo
"Zootopia (2016)." IMDb, nd. Accessed 16 January 2018. www.imdb.com/title/tt2948356/
"Zootopia." Zootopia (2016) - Rotten Tomatoes, 8 Jan. 2018, Accessed 16 January 2018 www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zootopia/.
"Zootopia" Zootopia Wiki, Wikia. Accessed 18 January 2018
Zootopia. Directed by Bryan Howard and Rich Moore, performances by Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Ginnifer Goodwin, J.K. Simmons, Shakira, Jenny Slate, and Octavia Spencer, Walt Disney Pictures, 2016.