Zootopia
“Life’s a bit messy.”
The hero, true of heart but lacking experience, sets out from humble beginnings to chase what is deemed an impossible dream in the big, exciting new world. Their optimism is crushed by those who say it cannot be done, that the hero is too small, too soft, and that the real world will crush their spirit. The hero learns that life outside of their small home town can be ugly, that evil can be stronger than the virtues they culminated back home, and that the call to be a hero is riddled with grey areas and moral ambiguities which they must face before ultimately proving they can accomplish their dreams with the very assets others said would be their downfall. Did I just describe The Lord of the Rings? Star Wars? Every sports movie ever made? It’s a trick question, because, yes, I did. But I’m specifically talking about Zootopia, the latest contender in Disney Animation’s campaign to bring their classical templates of fairy tale storytelling and anthropomorphized animals into modern day social commentary and self-awareness.
In the world of Zootopia, humans never existed and animals have evolved from their primitive predator vs prey model to a peaceful existence where the lamb and the lion work and live side by side. Our hometown hero is Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), who dreams from a young age of being the first rabbit police officer in the great mammalian metropolis of Zootopia. Hard work, determination, and a thick skin against the naysayers give her the opportunity, but Police Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) puts her on meter maid duty for the foreseeable future. It comes as no surprise that the other cops, gigantic rhinos and fierce tigers, do not think that Judy can last in the police force due to her size (and possibly her gender). Judy is luckily given the opportunity to prove herself as she becomes entangled in a mystery regarding predatory animals who are reverting back to their primitive, savage ways.
Zootopia dives straight into these heavy issues of discrimination and prejudice from the get go, with young Judy’s speech in the school play about how far animals have come and how, in Zootopia, anyone can be anything they want. Her optimistic monologue is quickly countered by a troubling bullying scene in which she is told to remember her place in the all-but-extinct food chain by a brutish pre-teen fox. She sticks to her guns, but seeds of distrust are planted in her. They filter into her adult career in the city, where, despite her idealizing insistence to her parents that not all foxes are bad, she is instantly suspicious of one when she catches him slyly smiling. That fox is Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), who will be caught up in the mystery and forced to work alongside Judy to crack the case.
Zootopia is about to become one of the most debated animated movies in recent memory because its stances on racism, profiling, discrimination, and social injustice are pushed so far out into the forefront that they cannot be considered subtext. They are the text, and the story about the animals comes second, as the generic mystery plot attests. This is admirable in concept, to address such issues in a way that has a very succinct visual metaphor which is easily understood by children. The problem is that Zootopia is an adult film masquerading as a children’s movie. Its subject matter is not necessarily inappropriate for its younger viewers, but its decision to see the world less in terms of absolute moral truths and acknowledge the grey areas all around may go over their heads. This necessitates an adult reading of the film, which is somewhat unfortunate since the allegory through which the film communicates its ideas crumbles slightly under advanced scrutiny.
Zootopia almost randomly bounces back and forth across the line of subverting expectations and embracing cliché, a practice Disney has already been utilizing in Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph. Because of the subject matter however, the filmmakers’ intent can seem muddled. Take for instance the movie’s upfront idea that anyone can be anything that they want. Through hard work we witness Judy reach her dream, and she will (surprise!) become a great cop who inspires hope and change within the Zootopia PD. Conversely, there is the DMV, a government department run entirely by hilariously slow sloths. This section of the movie is still quite funny, even after being overplayed in the film’s marketing campaign. But is there a reason for condemning the embracing of clichés in Judy’s case only to make it a running gag for another set of characters? I do not accuse the filmmakers of being mean-spirited or even necessarily negating their own idealistic points. This type of duality is what makes Zootopia an interesting entry in family films, but without a firm level of control over what stereotypes we embrace and which ones we should cast away, the overall hopeful message of Zootopia becomes a well-intentioned mess (which is understandable with 7 writers with a story credit and 3 different directors).
The reason these are issues which hold the movie back from greatness is because it is by far the boldest “soapbox” movie Disney has released in a long time. Where Frozen(a movie with similar problems regarding command and execution of themes) likewise confronted adult social issues, it juggled them safely behind its classic fairy tale aesthetic and punctuated the adult-oriented messages with moments of true greatness. There is no “Let It Go” in Zootopia, it doesn’t have a moment equivalent to Wreck-It Ralph’s self-sacrificing mantra. What works in it is usually quite good, such as Nick’s method for eking out a living conning ice cream parlors and the relationship that develops between he and Judy. They have several speeches that make the movie worth seeing on their own, which dissect important ideas about why it is difficult to stand up and fight against the stereotypes associated with you, or about hoping to be anything more than what you were born into. These are great moments, but they may lack that magical and undefinable spark that will carry through the ages. Time will tell.
So why, with so many aggravating story problems, is Zootopia still a fairly good movie that is worth seeing? As expected, the animation is top notch, with magnificent character designs which inhabit an amazing world. Zootopia is a city with all manner of sectors to meet its citizens’ needs, from the frozen streets of Tundra Town to the canopy condos of the Rainforest District. Though the mystery plot is straightforward and predictable, it gets a pass for leading us through these unique neighborhoods. I’d go to a sequel just to see more of the city, maybe even introduce some reptile characters the next time around? The movie is also pretty funny, making jokes about leopards whose life’s ambition is to become actuaries alongside an endless barrage of clever sight gags involving scale (a foot chase through the tiny rodent district is a highlight). This also comes with a grain of salt, as several other gags are painfully awkward and unfunny, such as the continuous assault of in-your-face yoga poses in a naturalist (aka nude) commune and the movie’s on-again, off-again mediocre parody of The Godfather.
But, of course, the best reasons to see Zootopia are Judy and Nick. They’re fantastic characters imbued with tremendous personality thanks to the talents of Goodwin and Bateman. The machinations of the plot are stolen from any buddy cop movie, but the interactions between Nick and Judy imbue it with genuine heart and true emotion, truly earning that eventual turn from enemies to friends that of course must happen. The rest of the supporting cast are not as interesting as the world they inhabit, but most of them are good for at least a couple of jokes and a nice speech in the third act.
Zootopia is a complicated movie to sort out, primarily because of the platform from which it is preached. Had this been a more straightforward adult film, it would quickly be dismissed as well-worn territory and mediocre at best. But because kids are being “tricked” into thinking they’re getting a standard talking animal movie, uproar is about to set in, one side claiming it’s a masterpiece and the other that Disney has gone too far. This is understandable (and cross-talk never hurt anybody), and it’s fine by me. Though I rate Zootopia only fairly good at best, this is still the kind of movie I like to walk into, something unexpected and ambitious. It just so happens that this time around the ambition didn’t quite muster up to delivering a complete and well-told story. That’s OK, because I’ll still take this over a generic anthropomorphized film any day of the week. Seriously, have you seen Planes?
3 stars.
