Zootopia (2016) movie review

I’ve seen people and critics saying all over the internet that Zootopia is the “best Disney animated movie since The Lion King”. I, however, disagree. I personally think that it’s leaps and bounds better than The Lion King ever was!

Zootopia is Disney’s latest animated film, starring Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman, set in a world populated by civilized animals. This movie honestly took by surprise. I was surprised not only by how good it is, but by how unexpectedly deep and meaningful it turned out to be.

The main character is a rabbit named Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin. As a kid, she dreamed of one day being a police officer so she could do good and make the world a better place. However, in this world, no bunny has ever been a cop. Cops here are typically huge, burly, strong mammals, like bears or rhinos or elephants. Despite nobody taking her seriously, she doesn’t give up on her dream. She pushes on, becoming better and better, until she’s the top of her class at the police academy and becomes the first ever bunny cop in Zootopia. The city Zootopia itself is a very nice looking and imaginative place. All the animals have special districts that suit their habitats, special cars and buildings to accommodate their size, things like that.

During Judy’s first couple days as a cop, she gets assigned (more or less) a missing persons case, and in order to solve it in time, she gets the help of a sly, slick fox named Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman. The chemistry between Nick and Judy is quite honestly some of the best that I’ve seen in any movie. I love the way these two interact with each other. Their banter is hilarious, perfectly written, and you feel the connection and friendship between these two characters.

The side characters are lovable as well. Each character in this movie is perfectly written, perfectly developed, and they don’t feel just like cartoon animals in a human-like society. They feel like real characters and I loved all of them! Aside from Judy and Nick, my favorite character was the gruff and angry police chief of Zootopia voiced by Idris Elba. He was great in each scene he was in, and I also can’t wait to hear Elba’s voice work for Shere Khan in the upcoming movie, The Jungle Book.

The animation is beautiful. It’s fluid, colorful and vibrant, the characters’ expressions are great, and the environments are huge and awesome to look at. This is one of the best looking Disney animated films to date. I’m not exaggerating. The soundtrack was also very, very well done! Especially Shakira’s Try Everything, that’s featured in the film. I love that song, and it fits so well in the movie itself.

But what makes Zootopia so truly great is the story, for several reasons. Firstly, it doesn’t feel like a cartoon for kids that’s just ‘entertaining’ for its runtime. It is a fully fleshed out movie with a perfectly written plot, and its main goal is to tell this story, and I wish more movies in general would do that. The plot is primarily a crime mystery/drama, and it genuinely feels like one.

Secondly, the story touches on a lot of social issues that we humans deal with in our own world every day. This is the part that surprised me. I’ll put it plainly: Zootopia is, in essence, a social commentary for racism, prejudice, stereotypes, and touches on other issues like corruption and even drugs. This Disney movie with all these cute, fuzzy animals in this animal world is an metaphor/allegory for racism and drugs. The racism issue is especially prevalent all throughout the film. This isn’t, however, some childish and annoying PSA that airs after your child’s saturday morning cartoons. Zootopia handles these issues so perfectly, executes its story so perfectly, and is written so perfectly that it doesn’t feel contrived or overdone or pretentious or oddly out of place. Everything in this movie feels real. Real emotions, real conflict, real everything.

I cannot say it enough- Zootopia is one of Disney’s best movies. This is a movie that your kids will not only love, but learn something from as well. This was deep, emotional, meaningful, powerful, and I loved every second of it! It’s truly a great film. Lovable characters, fantastic voice work, inspiring story, nice musical score, and an actual meaning to top it off. I’ve seen and reviewed some good movies on this blog, but Zootopia has to be one of the best I’ve seen in my more than two years of doing this. It’s one of my new favorite movies of all time.

I cannot express enough how much I love Zootopia. It is (and pardon me for using this word for the hundredth time)… perfect. I love it. The friend I saw it with loved it. Kids will love it. Parents will love it. Humans with hearts and souls will love it. It’s fun and has a great message for all. I implore you to see this movie in theaters! You will not be disappointed!

FINAL RATING: 50 / 50

STORY: 5 / 5

VOICE ACTING: 5 / 5

CHARACTERS: 5 / 5

ANIMATION: 5 / 5

DRAMEDY: 5 / 5

SOUNDTRACK: 5 / 5

TONE: 5 / 5

ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5

REWATCH VALUE: 5 / 5

OWNING VALUE: 5 / 5

The world needed this movie. Children and even adults need this movie so they can understand how and why racism and prejudice is wrong and hurtful. It’s a great message for humans in general. When this movie comes out on Blu-Ray, I will get it immediately and I will cherish it as my new personal favorite animated film of all time. Not just my favorite Disney film, but favorite animated film. Heck, this is easily one of my newest favorite movies of all time. I love it too much to deny that. Please, go see this movie in theaters. I again promise you won’t be disappointed.