The Fox and the Hare

Rating: 8/10 (10 March 2016)

Once upon a time, predatory animals were either the sinister villains or the square-jawed heroes of Disney Animated films, with the cuddly animals ("prey" if I'd go further) being either comic relief or the central protagonist. With "Zootopia", where anthropomorphic mammals live and breathe in a bustling metropolis ala humans (with nary a homo sapien in sight), the tables have turned - cuddly animals such as our heroine, a rabbit cop named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) has shifted into figures of empowerment and inspiration, while big predatory animals have become either the cute ones - as seen in an overweight man-child cheetah cop who obsesses over a famous pop star while on desk duty - or a mischievous comic relief as per con-artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman).
Wilde is the archetypal wily fox – there's not a word that he says that isn't cynical or sarcastic. Although the character is animated, this is essentially Bateman being his laid-back self, which strongly anchors this film down to earth. Wilde provides a pleasant foil against Goodwin's Hopps, who is eager to do good (not unlike co- director Rich Moore's "Wreck-It Ralph") and make Zootopia a better place, but constantly finds her naiveté not only challenged by Wilde's put- downs, but also by her own parents' over-protectiveness and even the Zootopia police chief, a bison (voiced by Idris Elba) and caricature of the stereotypical cop-movie chief, who bluntly tells Hopps that being a cop "isn't some fairy tale with songs and dance. Let it go."
Indeed, "Zootopia" is not the usual Disney fare – the similarity ends with the talking animals, extremely likable characters and rapid- fire humor – I lost it in numerous scenes, particularly an adorable riff on "The Godfather" – that will entertain kids and adults alike. What we have here is essentially a buddy cop movie (think "48 Hrs", "Rush Hour", "Lethal Weapon") that skirts into noir territory at times - where one's a do-gooder cop and the other's a rebel, and they both team up to stop a bigger threat towards the city, bonding in the process. The Disney version, at least. Spoilers ahead.
How this leads into a political conspiracy involving a plot to segregate the prey from predators, I will not reveal. Here Disney makes a bold move, not only subverting their decades-old predator/prey animal tropes, but not-so-subtly confronting the media blitz against race-induced crimes. I am instantly reminded of the American media who gobble up any news involving multi-racial crimes and subsequent controversies with law enforcement, with no qualms given to either side of the fence to express their proper opinion. Howard and Moore, along with their writers, remarkably handle their material sensibly and level-headedness – and with Disney's lesson of the movie – about acceptance and unity, delivered with care.
This could be one of the year's best films.