Another modern classic from Disney

Rating: 10/10 (30 March 2016)

Zootopia is the newest animated movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios, who have made films like Frozen and Big Hero 6. The film stars Once Upon a Time star Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman, and it's directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore. Byron Howard directed other Disney films such as Tangled and Bolt, and Rich Moore worked on a couple of episodes of The Simpsons and directed Wreck-It Ralph, one of my favorite Disney movies of all time. So this sounds like a winning recipe.
The film is about a rabbit named Judy Hopps (Goodwin) who wants to be the first rabbit cop, so she joins the ZPD (Zootopia Police Department). She's moves from her farming life where her parents and other brother and sisters live to Zootopia. Zootopia is a city that consists of nothing but anthropomorphic animals. She's the new rookie cop who of course gets made fun of mostly because of her size, and the fact that she is a bunny. She becomes involved with a case that involves a missing otter where she teams up with a slick con artist fox, Nick Wilde (Bateman), and it's up to them to solve the case only to find out it's much more than that. So the film becomes a buddy cop film/mystery film, a combination I really like, and seems to the best route to go when making a story like this. It leaves you on your toes and keeps you guessing what's going to happen next.
Of course, the animation is phenomenal, like all the other previous computer-animated films made by Disney, but it's also some of Disney's best. The world of Zootopia is already big world, and the background animation is beautiful to look at. I love that Zootopia is divided into different habitats, such as rain forest and tundra. It makes for some breathtaking animation. The character animation is also great. Like the fur on Judy and Nick for example. The fur is detailed and so is their actions. For example, whenever Judy is upset or depressed, notice how her ears would go down, a very nice touch. I can't say anything else other phenomenal animation.
Right off the bat, Judy Hopps is a very likable character. She's brave, and cares about the others around her. Then there's Nick Wilde, who's the sneaky con artist fox, who's also very likable, especially after his backstory. Other characters Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), a buffalo who's also the chief of police, officer Clawhauser, a cheetah who does nothing but eat doughnuts, and Flash, a sloth who works at the DMV. Trust me when I say, he brings in a lot of laughs. This movie is rich with colorful characters, you lose track because they're so many. But every character is so likable, you wish they have more screen time.
I should point out, that it does give an important message about discrimination, a very powerful subject today. This is the reason why I love Zootopia so much. Lovable main characters, incredible animation, and great story that makes this another modern classic from Disney. There is a surprise villain towards the end, but I won't give it away for spoiler reasons. If you want to find out who the main antagonist is, go see it for yourself. This is the perfect movie to take the family to. I would give it a 9/10, but its discrimination message about predator and prey really got me thinking about today's world. So because of that, it gets a 10/10 from me.