Zootopia: a so called kids-movie, more daring than most of Hollywood

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2016)

Racism and xenophobia are becoming a bigger problem in recent times. Due to terrorism, many people have the misconception that whole religious and/or ethnic groups are guilty. Most mainstream directors and filmmakers are too scared to talk about this risqué subject matter. Of all movies, a "cute" animated movie from Disney for the whole family is delivering these dark themes with excellency.
Zootopia is about Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), a bunny who moves to the metropolis of Zootopia, to become a police officer. She is joined by the con-artist, Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) who is a fox, normally a natural enemy to the bunny, to solve a case to find a missing otter. The plot on its own is an interesting crime story and will be loved by children.
But the actually interesting part of Zootopia is its heavy themes and political messages about prejudice and xenophobia. At the beginning of the film, the movie focuses on the prejudice Judy has to deal with because of her size in contrast to the other policemen and the stereotype of Nick being sly and treacherous, because he is a fox, but throughout the film, it tells more the tension between prey and predators. The city Zootopia is advertised as fair and where everyone lives in harmony. However, it is discriminating against predators for being "potentially dangerous". This is a very clever metaphor for the current situation with Islam in Europe, or black people in America.
The animation is very beautiful but does not quite reach Pixar level. The characters are very colorful and the screenplay is often funny but also has very serious moments. The score is OK but not recognizable outside the movie. The main song is in my opinion absolutely terrible. I also think that the last fifteen to ten minutes felt a bit forced. There are many pop culture references to, among others, The Godfather or Breaking Bad.
Zootopia is a beautiful movie that will enjoy children but will really interest more mature minds, due to its themes and references. The message is clear, but is not forced. The main song is maybe Shakira's worst song (that means very bad). In total a great, deep but also fun animation movie. 9/10