Zootopia is not out of reach - but don't assume too much...

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2020)

"You probably didn't know, but a bunny can call another bunny 'cute,' but when other animals do it, it's a little..." inappropriate? condescending? presumptuous? This is now the privilege of insider vs. outsider is transformed from the real world into the animated world of Judy Hopps as she experiences prejudice and "species profiling" in a society where everyone is supposed to be beyond that.
In Zootopia, enlightened predators and prey live harmoniously and safely. They recognized the animal instincts that were keeping them in the pre-stone-age, and have evolved socially into a perfect world. Animals still retain all of the funny, quirky, and (forgive me) cute qualities that we in the real world have come to love and expect. This is where many of the sight and personality gags come from that propel the viewer in to understanding and even accepting the premise. These animals may be woke, but they still do the darndest things. However, the society of this animal kingdom is a utopia of equality and acceptance. Or so they say.
Unlike a live action film where acting, lighting, camera work, and sets create the visual experience, in an animated movie, every pixel of every frame requires composition and creation. The production work on this movie rises to the highest standards available to date. Consider the panoramic wide angle shots of the lead character travelling from her small farming community to the big city. From phenomenal camera angles to extensive detail in the natural surfaces of fur, leaves, sand and snow, to the masterfully generated emotional detail on the face of a bunny, this scene astounds the viewer with a super-reality that makes fantastical sense.
The 9-person writing staff led by Byron Howard begins with the standard police procedural (with Idiris Elba voicing the hard-boiled Chief Bogo), adds the typical "unlikely" character (in this case a bunny cop voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), includes the villain with a heart of gold (Jason Bateman as the fox, Nick Wilde), and then mixes it all up with the deep seated distrust of "the other" to show the audience that it takes a lot more than government regulation for us all to just get along.
A viewer might argue that the movie depends upon the audience buying into the very stereotypes that are being decried. You are expected to "get" that the mayor with his condescending attitude and thirst for power is best represented by a lion; that the police chief with his arrogant indifference to other perspectives or individual potential is best represented by a stoically arrogant water buffalo; that the slower than slow government workers at the Department of Motor Vehicles are literally giant sloths; that a new age health spa stoner is best represented by a llama (instead of a koala?). But it is only when we are lulled into acknowledging the simple fact that there is more than "just a hint of truth to animal stereotypes" that the most surprising plot twists can have their strongest effects.
We have all seen saccharine animated films where the ant saves the colony, or the bully toy learns to play nice, or the bee starts a labor union (or something like that). This animated feature does not insult our intelligence, but it doesn't preach either. It takes a real world issue that has life for death implications and amplifies it to the degree that it is impossible to ignore, then reveals how it is really much more complicated than we simple humans really understand.
For some good fun at the expense of our animal friends, some thoughtful experimentation into social criticism, and some incredible visual production, you can't do much better than Zootopia.