refreshingly modern

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2017)

Disney does it again. Another follow-your-dreams story featuring a protagonist resisting the voice of society, discovering who she is, and otherwise inspiring young audiences to do the same: to follow their dreams, to go after their ideals and desires, no matter the obstacle. For if you don't give up, and trust in your friends, you will surely succeed.
Judy Hopps is a rabbit who aspires to be a policewoman, despite her parents' fear of the bigger, more predator-filled world out there in Zootopia and the absence of rabbit policemen. Unlike other Disney films, however, rather than end with the dream/identity being fulfilled, Zootopia goes beyond that and thrusts Judy into reality. Of course, being Disney, you know the good guys will triumph and everyone will be happy in the end and the bad guy turns out to be someone you've already met, you know, the usual stuff, BUT STILL, I like how Judy's dream of becoming a policewoman doesn't end there, and the plot entails a touching friendship and a message of social equality rather than the mere dream archetype. The utopia of Zootopia turns out to be darker in hue than Judy ever imagined.
Zootopia is a land of mammals, predator and prey, who coexist and live as civilized beings. They're basically human but in animal form, and Disney brilliantly illustrates such a setting according to each animal's natural characteristics -- like how the streets run with multiple sizes of cars for, say, lemmings and tigers, or how the city is made up of districts for each habitat, etc. Another significant difference between Zootopia and previous Disney films is the incorporation of modern technology, such as smartphones. Watching Zootopia, you really feel like you're watching humans, just humans who look like animals on the outside. But they're human. Long ago, when the docile denizens of Zootopia were like the animals of our world -- that is, members of a natural food chain -- they decided to unite, and become civilized. In the same way, we humans have advanced in civilization and our ideals of toleration. As time passes, more and more do we see unyielding support for civil rights, first blacks, then women, now LGBT. As fellow human beings and fellow social animals, it is in our innate capacity to love and tolerate.
And being Disney, the soundtrack and songs are amazing and catchy; the puns and references to popular culture are prevalent and hilarious; and the characters are well-developed and memorable. In addition, Zootopia astounded me with the quality of its animation. The studio has certainly improved since the days of Snow White.
Like the featured song, "Try Everything," when you fall, you can get up and try again. Our world may not be a utopia. In fact, it is far from one. But there is beauty and wonder still, and hope, and friendship, and love. Why not give it your all?