Before seeing Disney’s latest movie Zootopia, I didn’t really have any expectations for it. I honestly hadn’t heard much about it compared to Moana, which is coming out in November this year. But being the Disney geek that I am, I was still planning on seeing it ASAP. Let me just say, this movie did not disappoint.
The Bad
Let’s get this out of the way quick. There is really not a lot that I have wrong with this movie because I honestly loved it. The only complaint I found myself making at the end is about how long it took to get going. It starts kinda slow, but once it gets going….buckle in.
The Good
Even from the opening scene you could tell the animation was incredibly detailed. They really did an incredible job animating every like hair of fur on all the characters. Another thing you get a sense of very early on is how each character’s mannerisms are meant to match with the stereotypical characteristics of the animals that they are. Kind of a messy sentence, I know, but a couple of examples of that are: Nick Wilde the fox is a smooth talker whose facial expressions often make you think that he knows things that he isn’t telling you, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps are pretty silly and talk significantly faster than most other characters. And those are just the mannerisms!
This film does an excellent job of subliminally attacking a real issue in the United States in a light and completely watchable way. The issue it addresses is racism and tolerance. For example, Nick Wilde is stereotyped as being untrustworthy because he is a fox. Of course, it isn’t fair to judge someone before getting to know them but in this case Nick Wilde actually lived up to that stereotype when he meets Judy Hopps. He explains that he kind of just grew up learning that foxes are expected to be that way so he is just a con man because that is where he fits in to society. As the movie progresses we see that Judy begins to realize the issue that is judging people based on what is in their blood. I think Disney does a great job getting their message across especially because of the controversy behind the gender, age, race, and cultural stereotypes that there older movies have been accused of.
Aside from those deeper meanings, this movie is honestly one of the funnier movies I have seen in a while. There were several occasions when I found myself laughing out loud. Whether it was a clever remark, a Disney easter egg, or some situational comedy, Zootopia is filled with complex characters that the audience immediately falls in love with. To go along with the comedy, the multilayered plot line is more than enough to satisfy even the pickiest of movie critics. I would say this is a must watch for all ages and the best Disney movie since Tangled.
The Rating
I gave this movie a 5 on my flixster account just because I thought it was better than a 4.5 and there is no in between. However, since I can do whatever I want on this platform I will take a couple of percentage points off just because of how it took about 10-15 minutes for the movie to really get me engaged. 4.8/5
Perry The Cinema Psycho 
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