Heartfelt film with a strong positive message for both children and adults

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2016)

Disney has been on a winning streak lately, releasing great animated movies like Wreck-it Ralph, Frozen and Big Hero 6. The studio manages to add another gem to its line-up with Zootopia: a great film that tells a heartfelt story, while intelligently covering some delicate themes.
The film follows the endeavors of Judy Hopps, a rabbit who wants to be a police officer in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. The twist is that all animals are sized like they are in the real world. Being a small rabbit, Judy is often confronted with difficulties while trying to fulfill her dream, but she never gives up. After graduating at the top of her class, she ends up in the metropolis of Zootopia, where she is tasked with parking duty. Of course, Judy is not satisfied with this trivial activity. Thanks to her determination she manages to get assigned to a disappearance case. Since she does not get any help from the police force, she ends up trying to crack the case with a wayward fox named Nick.
The story unfolds itself to be a heartfelt journey through some visually stunning environments. Zootopia is divided into several districts, including a desert, a rain forest and a snowy suburb. This ensures the movie never looks boring, as Judy and Nick travel through different parts of the city to solve their case. A lot of time was put into developing the city and all its details. The rain forest district, for example, stays humid thanks to an abundance of sprayers, ensuring the inhabitants feel right at home.
While going through their journey, both Judy and Nick learn a lot about themselves and the world around them. Their characters are very well developed and undergo a logical and heartfelt evolution. This is where the movie really shines in my opinion, as it touches on some very delicate issues such as race and discrimination. It avoids being too preachy, but at the same time raises some really interesting questions, both for children and adults alike. These questions are all the more interesting when considering the recent racial tensions in the US and the refugee crisis in Europe. I had some very interesting conversations after the movie ended.
Of course, there is also room for humor. There are a lot of puns and predictable funny moments alluding to animal stereotypes. The jokes are very well worked out though and they never feel cheesy.
Overall, this is probably my favorite animated Disney movie since the Disney Revival started more then five years ago. It has great, lovable characters, a beautiful set-up, some great laughs and most importantly: a strong positive message for both kids an adults.