Strong story and excellent performances come together to make a touching movie

Rating: 8/10 (24 September 2016)

Overall: Zootopia has a very clear and prescient message about prejudice and racism from the outset. But, its story carries a positive tone, refusing to insult the intelligence of its viewers nor does it strive to underline its point. We experience the journey of these characters as they realize their actions can have an unintended impact on those around them, which gently calls upon the viewers to reflect on how they treat others. This is a powerful movie with a timely message that is supported by a smart script, engaging performances and good natured humor that combine to create one of the finest animated movies in recent years. 8/10 Detailed Breakdown: Story: Zootopia is anchored by clear, natural and logical motivations for Judy and Nick, where their journey to discovery is both beautiful and believable. What makes the story powerful is that the discussion about racism is not about overt displays of hatred or prejudice, rather the small actions that we might not even notice to be harmful. This makes the story much more relatable, as it gently calls our attention to these actions. When supported by genuinely good humor, creative sight gags, and heart wrenching backstories, you are left with a strong script that gives plenty of room for these characters to breathe. +4 Characters: This strong story really acts as a backdrop to these compelling characters. Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman breathe life into these characters, giving emotional and well rounded voical performances that avoid overwrought histrionics that can creep into animated movies. This is aided by nuanced and beautifully realized animated performances, that deftly balance anthropomorphization with allowing different animal characteristics to inform the performances. The result is fully fleshed out world that heightens the complex social structure in Zootopia without underlining the point. +3 Production Design: Every set, background and prop work together to weave a believable world that supports the action admirably. True, there are the obvious pun jokes that are the mainstay of movies such as this. But, the way the different biomes bring a different visual style to film, that play with climate or size in interesting ways, help to accentuate the humor. This gives rise to creative sight gags that have a purpose in the movie, helping to push the plot along in ways that are not obvious at the moment. The result is an artistic direction that is some of the subtly strongest animated design in the Disney tradition. +4 Sound: The score is typical Michael Giacchino, relying on a strong main theme and an understated use of leit motifs. Not a bombastic or massively memorable score, but it supported the action well.
Furthermore, the Foley track here was adequate as well. It accentuates the different biomes and characters, fleshing out the world. Overall, solid efforts from the music and sound departments. 0 Misc: This film represents the full return of Disney Animation to the forefront of animation innovation. While "Tangled" and "Frozen" were great animated films in their own right, they still fell in the princess category that has been the bread and butter Disney for the last 50 years. Here, we see the not inconsiderable animation talents that have been growing at the House of Mouse through the mid-00's finally married with some creative and challenging storytelling that falls outside of Disney's standard stable of stories. This has to be one of the strongest "message movies" released over the past 10 years or so, as it is easily accessible to a wide audience and has a strong message of inclusivity that doesn't result to condescension or blame pointing. A strong movie that deserves to stand with the Disney classics.