A rare gem everyone can enjoy; not quite perfect, but enjoyable

Rating: 7/10 (12 July 2016)

Zootopia is one of the highest grossing animated films of 2016, and for the right reasons. It has unique characters, a clever plot which explores important themes, and stunning animation. It seems people are not seeing the movie for what it is; something that may not necessarily be suited for young children, with themes that should be portrayed in films for an older audience. Regardless, this is a terrific film that the entire family can enjoy, and deserves praise for this.
The film revolves around a young rabbit called Judy, who has from a young age aspired to be a police officer. And, from a young age, she has faced adversity in the form of racial prejudice; well, translated into the animal kingdom. This racial prejudice is the key theme of the film, explored through different species of animals rather than different races.
To Judy, living in the country on her parents' farm, Zootopia is a far-off city where ''anyone can be anything''. These dreams are completely dashed away when she is accepted into the Zootopia Police Force. Here, she faces discrimination from all corners, including mainly officers at the police department and her boss Chief Bogo, a mean, apathetic buffalo. This comes from the stereotype (another key theme of the film) that rabbits are ''dumb''.
Her dreams are almost shattered when Chief Bogo threatens to fire her (for a silly reason), giving her one chance to solve a missing animal case.
Teaming up with Nick, a fox con-artist, the pair begin an adventure that changes Zootopia and its prejudice forever.
The movie is to be applauded for the impressive way it explores discrimination. Never before has an animated film so stunningly explored these themes in a way that leaves viewers thinking about its meaning long after watching the movie. How it does this is simple; reiterating through Nick and Judy, both victims of prejudice, the harsh stereotypes that are employed by Zootopians. Through Judy, we are able to empathise with her as her experiences unfold. Through Nick, we are able to see how, bullied at a young age via stereotypical discrimination, his life was shaped.
In Zootopia, predators are the minority seen as dangerous. Clearly this fear is just another stereotype that is explored cleverly, attempting to show how fear based on stereotypes is commonly unsubstantiated.
The characters are unique in this film too. From Judy's protective parents who early on blatantly state how they are happy because they gave up on their dreams, to the resilient and studious Judy herself, Nick the seemingly sly con-artist who really represents far more, the Chief who is an obvious biased and the assistant mayor who is apparently under-appreciated by the mayor himself, although she ends up representing far more than just that.
Zootopia features amazing animation, which truly brings to life the characters. In a movie featuring animals this is a necessity and Zootopia definitely fulfills this criterion.
But every movie has its flaws. As great as Zootopia is, there are certain aspects that are underestimated in their influence. For example, the film is clearly scary at times. While not obvious at first, certain scenes featuring the ''savage'' animals have the potential to frighten the younger viewers. This is probably a little paranoid, but remembering that this is a kids movie it is important to note.
Even more noticeable is the plot. Sure, an adult could follow it with ease. But children are going to have difficulty understanding what is happening. Certain plot developments will not make sense; more so than other animated films because this is a detective story. Of course, for the most part children do not understand plots regardless of their complexity, and thankfully, while not teeming with it, the film does have humour that will entertain the kids.
Prejudice within the film is arguably its best feature. However, at the same time it has its flaws, namely that it is explored rather brutally; the Chief is quite rude to Judy, the Fox bully at the start is mean (''you think you will ever be more than just a stupid carrot-farming dumb bunny?''), and Nick's flashback is somewhat graphic. Although these are all eventually resolved, it seems its exploration was harsh.
You see, the truth of the matter is that Zootopia is a complex film. It explores themes that usually do not form a part of animated films, through a typical partner-cop detective story, with scenes that may appear in a horror movie filmed as live-action. To the most part it succeeds at exploring prejudice, however its detective story can be confusing at times, and as for the savage scenes, it's clear after a second look that they may appear frightening. Again, perhaps that's paranoid to think, but still.
Push this all aside, and Zootopia is a great film. The reason it has been received so well is because it is a film that both kids and adults can thoroughly enjoy, a rarer combination nowadays. It is to be praised for how well it handles prejudicial themes, stereotypes and discrimination, alongside its clever, witty characters that really allow viewers to connect, and quality animation which truly brings the film to life.
Zootopia is one of those rare gems that the entire family will be entertained by. Although it does have its flaws, it is definitely up there with the other high rating animated films, both commercially and critically.