Utopia Zootopia.

Rating: 10/10 (18 August 2016)

With the 6 weeks Summer holidays still going on in the UK,I looked at the DVD charts for a movie that a friend could enjoy with her family. Hearing (but not getting a chance to see at the cinema) a lot of praise for Zootopia,I was pleased to discover that the movie has just come out on DVD,which led to me driving down to Zootopia.
The plot:
Growing up in rural Bunnyburrow is told that the only job she can do is carrot selling like the rest of her family.Fighting against expectations, Judy Hopps becomes a police officer,and goes to the big city:Zootopia. Being the first rabbit in the force,Hopps is given the low job of traffic warden.Whilst handing out tickets,Hopps unintentionally helps con artist Nick Wilde,and causes commotion in the city by going after a robber. Threatened with the sack,the head of police gives Hopps just 48 hours to solve a missing persons case.Examining a photo of the missing person,Hopps spots Wilde in the background.
View on the film:
Deciding to make Hopps the centre of attention in the middle of production (!) the screenplay by co-writer/(along with Jared Bush/Jim Reardon/Josie Trinidad/Phil Johnston & Jennifer Lee) directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore (who nods to his Simpsons past with a Godfather homage) pieces together an impressively strong,clever mystery! Keeping away from making things simplistic "for the kids" the writers craft Zootopia as a distinctive world,filled with well-meaning,heart on sleeve cops such as Hopps,and richly dodgy characters such as Wilde and the boo-hiss evil sheep. Keeping Hopps missing person case flowing with excellent twist and turns that keep the case to the top of the food chain,the writers also look at racial profiling in an intelligent, allegorical manner.
Avoiding any "TV movie of the week" vibes,the writers instead trust the viewer to interpret the message,as excellent buddy Comedy dialogue makes zebra crossings over the movie. Joining Hopps in Zootopia,the writers roll out an immaculately designed world,where every corner is covered in sight gags,and the fur/facial expressions on the characters is incredibly detailed. Joined by a growing Idris Elba and a slick J.K. Simmons, Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin bring Hopps and Wilde bursting to life,via bouncing one liners off each other with a real relish,and Goodwin also tearing off Hopps "goody two-shoes" with a strong shot of sass,as Hopps puts a winning ticket on Zootopia.