(Photo courtesy zootopia.com)

By Tyler Chavez – Staff Reporter

“How about we make a film where animals have their own society and there are no humans?” The trope has been beaten to death. There are hundreds of films, cartoons, and comics where the entire premise falls on animals having their own society. And yet, we haven’t gotten sick of it. Not many are good, but it always manages to crawl back into our media. So what sets Disney’s “Zootopia” apart from the others? Why has this film received so much critical and commercial success despite having such a simple premise? Is it just the Disney touch, or does Zootopia have some deep story and message to tell us?

Starring Ginnifer Goodwin (“Once Upon a Time”, “Big Love”, “He’s Just Not That Into You”) as Judy Hopps, Jason Bateman (“Horrible Bosses” “Arrested Development” “Paul”) as Nick Wilde, and Idris Elba (“Thor”, “Beasts of No Nation”, “Luther”) as Chief Bogo, “Zootopia” tells the story of a young, bunny officer named Judy Hopps. Hopps is special because she is the first bunny officer in the city of Zootopia. But once on the job, she discovers all that glitters is not golden and is stuck as a meter maid. It’s not until she meets a wise-cracking, con artist fox named Nick Wilde that she uncovers a conspiracy concerning the city’s carnivore population. The two go off on a crazy adventure to discover what is causing the carnivores to go “wild” and attack others.

Right from the start viewers will notice how amazing this film looks. The city of Zootopia is gleaming, bright, colorful, and filled with life. The animals are cute and the size differences add diversity and a more realistic look. Those larger, heavier creatures like the rhinos move slower and tower over the faster, smaller animals. Indeed, the layout of the city also reflects this. Beyond the urban zone are regions for cold, deserts, rain forests, and even a section just for rodents that is part of a good chase scene. The layout of the city is well-thought and detailed. It’s not just animals of similar sizes living in a uniform sized city, it’s animals of natural, realistic shapes and sizes in a city that compensates for the various sizes with its architecture.

The humor in this film is also done extremely well. Animal gags are easy to do but that also makes them hard to master; but “Zootopia” delivers a number of different jokes with animal gags and smart writing. The scene with the sloths running the DMV is still hilarious and laugh out loud funny despite being shown countless times in trailers. Typically, scenes shown in trailers do not have the same effect in the movie, but that scene still cracks me up. The writing also shines through to add more laughs. Instead of depending on just animal puns and such, the writing is smart, well delivered, and funny.

The bigger attraction about the film is its message. “Zootopia” delivers an honest, home-hitting message on anti-racism and our modern society. In this world, carnivores no longer hunt down herbivores (what they eat now is never answered), but some animals still hold old preconceptions about their fellow creatures. Carnivores are seen as savage, wild, and unpredictable dangers. Small animals are seen as weak and timid. Even more so, once some carnivores are caught attacking, the majority herbivore population become scared and retaliated by having mass arrests of carnivores, firing them, not trusting them, and pinning them all as savages. The message also adds a layer of complexity to the characters, particularly Nick Wilde. Nick was attacked and bullied because he is a carnivore, and that abuse led to him choosing and living the life he does. It can also be seen in the herbivores once they gain up on carnivores. We see how they still hold onto old prejudices and discriminate against carnivores because they fear for their safety. It’s not hard to tell that this message is supposed to represent what we as a society are facing today: racial prejudices still creeping in, blaming an entire culture for the acts of a few, and mass arrests of a minority population. The metaphor is not subtle, but it’s so effective and so powerful.

Watching “Zootopia” and realizing the metaphor actually made me emotional. Seeing a message about modern racism told so powerfully and so straight to the point was amazing to me. One major criticism of modern children’s films is that none of them have messages or morals. They’re just jokes, no story, no lesson to learn, just jokes. “Zootopia” shuts that stereotype down. The message it has is one that we all need to be reminded of today. And this is just the surface without dwelling into the metaphors for police brutality and profiling and drug addiction.  

While the message of this film carries it a long way, the plot does leave something to be desired. The biggest problem is the obvious plot hole. This is a society where carnivores and herbivores live equally, but the question of what carnivores now eat is never brought up. Is it synthetic meat? Have they switched to a different diet? This question could have been a central point of the plot, and it’s a very important detail to leave out, but it is instead tossed aside and not even used for a joke. This isn’t enough to really bring down the film and its quality, but it was still an annoying detail that stayed in the back of my mind throughout the film.

“Zootopia” is a film that can truly be liked by anyone. Children will appreciate the bright visuals, cute characters, visual gags, and the thrilling story. Also, children will pick up on the metaphor this movie tells. Kids are smarter than people think; they’re aware of things going on in the world around them and they absorb the media they watch. Adults will still get a kick out of the social commentary, deep, relatable story, and funny writing. “Zootopia” has already beaten “Frozen” with an astonishing $73.7 million opening weekend. The film still has that Disney charm, while proving that the studio can tell a modern story with a modern message. Only Disney can create an animated film with such a powerful, relevant message. If this is the future of Disney and animated kids films, than the future is very bright.

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars