Zootopia - directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore & Jared Bush
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K Simmons, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk, Shakira, Tommy Chong, Don Lake, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Kristen Bell
Screenplay: Jared Bush & Phil Johnston
Music Score by: Michael Giacchino
Cinematography: n/a
Edited by: Jeremy Milton & Fabienne Rawley
Running Time: 108 minutes
Rated: PG - Mild violence, some low level scary stuff for younger kids
From the very first teaser trailer I had "The Secret Life of Pets" pegged as potentially a massive, one billion dollar plus hit.
An animated movie about animals..... how could it not be huge - right?
Well how about an animated movie about animals who are cops?
"Zootopia" is such a movie and while we will have to wait and see if 'Pets' brings in the bucks this movie has already done it in a huge way.
More than $600,000,000 already and not looking like slowing down any time soon.
A beautifully animated and rendered movie about a bunny who moves to the big city to become a cop "Zootopia" sets up two major themes very early on.
There is the 'be whoever or whatever you want to be' angle with young rabbit Judy Hopps desperately wanting to be a police officer despite the fearful discouragement of her parents.
And also the don't judge a book by its cover theme.
In this case it is that predators are no longer the savage eaters of the meek and mild prey and should be accepted and given as much of a chance as everyone else (I won't mention the obvious flaw here in that predators are by design only doing what they are supposed to do)
I like that Judy is fighting against one of them all while inflicting the second on others.
You see she has been warned that foxes are the nastiest of all creatures and not to be trusted.
So of course she will immediately be thrust into a partnership with one as she takes on her first case - the case of the fourteen missing mammals.
Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy is spot on with her voice work.
She finds just the right amount of 'gee whiz!' for the innocent, super keen bunny cop.
Part of the mayors (a lion voiced by the great J.K Simmons) new diversity and inclusion policy that sees predators and prey, small and large all treated equally Judy is the new poster child - the first bunny cop.
She has all manner of inventive nicknames thrown at her - carrots, officer floppsy....
Many by new 'friend' street hustler Nick Wilde - a fox voiced by Jason Bateman.
An inspired choice in a cast full of such inspiration Bateman seemingly can't fail at being funny and he is indeed very, very funny here.
The early sequence where Nick's schemes are revealed is a highlight.
Credit to a smartly written script that not only provides the laughs at regular intervals but juggles the two major themes brilliantly well.
Sure, it often lacks subtlety - the character Gazelle voiced by Shakira is a very blunt instrument in delivering the 'can't we all just get over our differences' lark but when it is all this sweet natured and more importantly fun - who cares?
If it sounds like anathema to Donald Trump and his supporters you are probably not wrong.
In the present climate of building walls on the Mexican border and banning this group and that the timing of this film couldn't be better.
Whether you agree with the message or not there is no denying the topicality of what "Zootopia" is dealing in.
It's not all terribly serious issues though.
The filmmakers display a startling inventiveness in bringing the city of Zootopia to life.
It is a towering, bustling place populated by everything from mice to elephants.
The provisions that the city makes for the diverse sizes and requirements are often hilarious.
Small doors in trains for mice, smoothie delivery tubes that pop the cups up so that giraffes can reach their fresh beverages and an entire suburb entered via mouse door populated with- yes - mice.
There are also plentiful great decisions made with the characters.
The Police Chief (a typically commanding Idris Elba) is a buffalo, the desk sergeant is an effeminate leopard voiced by Nate Torrence (great in "She's Out Of My League") and a gangland thug named Mr Big turns out to be a teeny tiny mouse complete with Don Corleone voice.
As is usual for animated flicks much of the humour here comes from references to other films and pop culture icons and for every "Frozen" and "Tangled" and "Big Hero 6" reference there are two from the likes of "The Godfather" or current (and not so current) music.
Judy's iPod shows tracks from such artists as Fur Fighters, Fleetwood Yak and The Beagles!
There is plenty of humour here for the grown ups for sure.
I had a lot of fun with this film and found much to admire.
The trailers were smart to play up the DMV scene (that is Department of MAMMAL vehicles mind you) because this sequence is the comedy gem in this films crown.
The sloth animation and the cheeky, smug expressions on Nick's face and the exasperated impatience on Judy's are perfectly realised.
It really is a superb looking film and as much as the character design and animation shines it is the environments that impressed me.
In one ten minute sequence we go from a bustling city, to a lush jungle to a lakeside estate on a chilly night. The effects and the colour pallette are fantastic in all.
I was reminded of the massively underrated "Hoodwinked" - the first one not the terrible sequel.
It is a simple underdog story but like "Hoodwinked" the mystery investigation angle adds so much.
It does slow down ever so slightly around the half hour mark but this is a minor complaint.
"Zootopia" is a huge amount of fun for all ages and tastes.
I would imagine a second viewing will reveal even more references and in-jokes and there is a strong possibility that I will indeed see this again.
RATING: 80 / 100
CONCLUSION: A funny, amazing looking film that delivers the laughs and the fun all while expertly juggling two hefty themes.
Screenplay: Jared Bush & Phil Johnston
Music Score by: Michael Giacchino
Cinematography: n/a
Edited by: Jeremy Milton & Fabienne Rawley
Running Time: 108 minutes
Rated: PG - Mild violence, some low level scary stuff for younger kids
From the very first teaser trailer I had "The Secret Life of Pets" pegged as potentially a massive, one billion dollar plus hit.
An animated movie about animals..... how could it not be huge - right?
Well how about an animated movie about animals who are cops?
"Zootopia" is such a movie and while we will have to wait and see if 'Pets' brings in the bucks this movie has already done it in a huge way.
More than $600,000,000 already and not looking like slowing down any time soon.
A beautifully animated and rendered movie about a bunny who moves to the big city to become a cop "Zootopia" sets up two major themes very early on.
There is the 'be whoever or whatever you want to be' angle with young rabbit Judy Hopps desperately wanting to be a police officer despite the fearful discouragement of her parents.
And also the don't judge a book by its cover theme.
In this case it is that predators are no longer the savage eaters of the meek and mild prey and should be accepted and given as much of a chance as everyone else (I won't mention the obvious flaw here in that predators are by design only doing what they are supposed to do)
I like that Judy is fighting against one of them all while inflicting the second on others.
You see she has been warned that foxes are the nastiest of all creatures and not to be trusted.
So of course she will immediately be thrust into a partnership with one as she takes on her first case - the case of the fourteen missing mammals.
Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy is spot on with her voice work.
She finds just the right amount of 'gee whiz!' for the innocent, super keen bunny cop.
Part of the mayors (a lion voiced by the great J.K Simmons) new diversity and inclusion policy that sees predators and prey, small and large all treated equally Judy is the new poster child - the first bunny cop.
She has all manner of inventive nicknames thrown at her - carrots, officer floppsy....
Many by new 'friend' street hustler Nick Wilde - a fox voiced by Jason Bateman.
An inspired choice in a cast full of such inspiration Bateman seemingly can't fail at being funny and he is indeed very, very funny here.
The early sequence where Nick's schemes are revealed is a highlight.
Credit to a smartly written script that not only provides the laughs at regular intervals but juggles the two major themes brilliantly well.
Sure, it often lacks subtlety - the character Gazelle voiced by Shakira is a very blunt instrument in delivering the 'can't we all just get over our differences' lark but when it is all this sweet natured and more importantly fun - who cares?
If it sounds like anathema to Donald Trump and his supporters you are probably not wrong.
In the present climate of building walls on the Mexican border and banning this group and that the timing of this film couldn't be better.
Whether you agree with the message or not there is no denying the topicality of what "Zootopia" is dealing in.
 |
| (l-r) Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Nate Torrence and Jenny Slate |
The filmmakers display a startling inventiveness in bringing the city of Zootopia to life.
It is a towering, bustling place populated by everything from mice to elephants.
The provisions that the city makes for the diverse sizes and requirements are often hilarious.
Small doors in trains for mice, smoothie delivery tubes that pop the cups up so that giraffes can reach their fresh beverages and an entire suburb entered via mouse door populated with- yes - mice.
There are also plentiful great decisions made with the characters.
The Police Chief (a typically commanding Idris Elba) is a buffalo, the desk sergeant is an effeminate leopard voiced by Nate Torrence (great in "She's Out Of My League") and a gangland thug named Mr Big turns out to be a teeny tiny mouse complete with Don Corleone voice.
As is usual for animated flicks much of the humour here comes from references to other films and pop culture icons and for every "Frozen" and "Tangled" and "Big Hero 6" reference there are two from the likes of "The Godfather" or current (and not so current) music.
Judy's iPod shows tracks from such artists as Fur Fighters, Fleetwood Yak and The Beagles!
There is plenty of humour here for the grown ups for sure.
 |
| Shakira, Bonnie Hunt & Don Lake, Raymond S Persi and J.K Simmons |
The trailers were smart to play up the DMV scene (that is Department of MAMMAL vehicles mind you) because this sequence is the comedy gem in this films crown.
The sloth animation and the cheeky, smug expressions on Nick's face and the exasperated impatience on Judy's are perfectly realised.
It really is a superb looking film and as much as the character design and animation shines it is the environments that impressed me.
In one ten minute sequence we go from a bustling city, to a lush jungle to a lakeside estate on a chilly night. The effects and the colour pallette are fantastic in all.
I was reminded of the massively underrated "Hoodwinked" - the first one not the terrible sequel.
It is a simple underdog story but like "Hoodwinked" the mystery investigation angle adds so much.
It does slow down ever so slightly around the half hour mark but this is a minor complaint.
"Zootopia" is a huge amount of fun for all ages and tastes.
I would imagine a second viewing will reveal even more references and in-jokes and there is a strong possibility that I will indeed see this again.
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