Versatile Disney Takes On PC Culture

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2016)

Ever since the turn of the 2010s, Walt Disney Animation Studios has been skyrocketing than ever before with great momentum. From an aspiring restaurateur who became a frog, a princess with long magical hair, a bad guy wanting to be good, a tale of two sisters, and even a troubled boy with his inflatable robot companion. For their latest flick called Zootopia, it's an intriguing caper comedy that not only spoofs the buddy-cop detective formula or noir like in 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but also tackles the themes that exist in PC (politically correct) culture. In this day and age, political correctness has been ongoing with the media exploiting the misunderstandings and atrocities happening in current events such as injustice and discrimination. Thinking back on the old 1946 Disney film Song of the South featuring characters Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit, that's where PC is finally drawn into this movie's characters and "species-ism" is tested.
Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses, Paul) voices con artist, street smart fox Nick Wilde as he makes a living in the animal-inhabited metropolis hustling various individuals. At the same time rural rabbit Judy Hopps (voiced by Once Upon A Time's Ginnifer Goodwin) has just arrived in the big city to begin her first day as the first rabbit officer. Although swift, skilled, and able to hold out on her own, fellow officers don't exactly see her capable of reaching their ranks. It's up to both natural enemies to work together when a crime is committed in the seemingly blissful Zootopia, while at the same time learning that they're not so different from each other.
I have to say that in the studio's current Revival Era, the animators have really stepped it up a notch by exploring a PC-coated world completely devoid of all humans and where anthropomorphic animals dominate compared to childhood Disney classics I remembered in the 90s. I'm aware that this "human-less" concept has been done before for many decades during Walt Disney's lifetime and even after his passing, but it looks like nearly everything actually stands out from spoofed product placements to the current trends of music, technology, fashion, and lifestyle. Disney's 1973 movie Robin Hood helped open that door when adding animals in place of the usual human characters, but this time more attention to detail from the largest to the tiniest in the architectural designs looking like a cross between Times Square and Dubai (heck, even a hint of San Fransokyo). And then there's its inhabitants; they are what makes this entire movie look appealing, inviting, relatable, and immersive. Gazelle's (Shakira) song "Try Everything" was also pretty entrancing to my ears. Disney easter eggs are also pleasing to keep a look out for (try finding some!)
To conclude, although the movie does slightly ride off its rails in some scenes involving the lack of exploring further into the other regions that connect to the big city and a concept of an individual who is ostracized based on who they are or what they look like is vaguely similar to 2012's Wreck-It Ralph; it recovers with a thoughtful moral about the big city with real-life social issues and stereotypes being overwhelming and even troubling sometimes. But it's really about finding your true potential and not letting naysayers get the better of you. This isn't just some kids' movie, there's thematic material adults may relate to as well. I can already predict Oscar nods awaiting, too. Go see it and find out for yourself.