Review: Disney’s ‘Zootopia’ is a must place to visit
It has star voicing, a positive message and plenty of jokes
Animated film offers jokes, positive experience for moviegoers.
It’s a jungle out there when it comes to animated comedies with talking animals, though Disney is setting a seriously high bar with the expansive and often hilarious Zootopia.
Directed by Byron Howard ( Tangled) and Rich Moore ( Wreck-It Ralph), the oh-so-family-friendly movie ( out of four; rated PG; in theaters nationwide Friday) showcases the unlikely friendship of an ambitious bunny cop and a fox con artist while espousing themes of tolerance and diversity. Its earnest “You can be anything!” message is heavy-handedly clear, though
Zootopia works best as a funny romp that ingeniously imagines a landscape where hamsters can be businessmen and polar bears are the coolest bodyguards around.
Everyone in Bunnyburrow thinks she’s nuts for wanting to be a police officer instead of farming carrots, but Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) puts her best rabbit’s foot forward and graduates at the top of her class before being whisked away to downtown Zootopia. Her bullish buffalo boss Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), however, isn’t quite so sure of his rookie’s abilities, so Judy is assigned to be a meter maid — though she quickly is the best meter maid ever.
Judy finds a foil in Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a sly, smoothtalking dude who’s always looking for ways to get ahead in life, legal or otherwise. The appeal of Zootopia is that there’s a truce between predator and prey — so foxes aren’t just hunting rabbits willy-nilly — but when this status quo is threatened, Judy and Nick have to work together to solve the case.
With a landscape smartly shown during Judy’s train ride, Zootopia is a magnificently designed metropolis that’s a work of art in itself. The attention paid to detail on both a macro and micro level is top-notch: It’s impressive and adorable the way Judy’s nose twitches when trouble is afoot. (Just don’t call her “cute,” the very worst thing you can call a bunny.)
Jared Bush and Phil Johnston’s screenplay leans into questions of identity and choosing to be more than what people peg you as, which adult Disney fans have seen all too often and will most likely go over the littlest kids’ heads. The story is boosted instead by utilizing noir and crimedrama elements — Chinatown and The Godfather are two interesting inspirations — and cultural references like the Uber-esque “Zuber,” marketed as “migration at your fingertips.”
Bateman’s and Goodwin’s voices nicely capture their roles, but it’s the supporting players who often steal the attention. Pint-sized Mr. Big (Maurice LaMarche) is a funny mobster shrew who’s not to be trifled with, the doughnut-loving cheetah cop Clawhauser (Nate Torrence) is a hoot, Finnick (Tommy “Tiny” Lister) is a little fox whose rumbly voice belies his tiny stature, and the hippie yak Yax (Tommy Chong) runs a “naturalist” commune that freaks Judy out because no one’s wearing pants. Its colorful residents make
Zootopia a wondrous place to visit for two hours until you have to go back to real life, where Shakira isn’t a gazelle and law enforcement is a lot less furry.