A Rabbit and a Fox Take on City Crime

Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman),
and Flash (Raymond S. Persi) in "Zootopia"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com   

For a long time, stories for children have entertained and taught them simple life lessons.  Others have gone the extra mile and touched upon current social and/or political issues that gave these stories considerable depth, providing their audiences with something to think about once these stories were told.

The latest example of this comes in Byron Howard and Rich Moore’s animated comedy “Zootopia.”  In a film loaded with gorgeous animation, a hilarious voice cast, and a narrative that couldn’t be more timely, this directing duo delivers a film that both younger and older viewers will enjoy in equal measure.

In the rural town of Bunnyburrow, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) dreams of becoming the first rabbit police officer in the city of Zootopia, much to her parents’ dismay, who wish for her to live a safe and simple life as a carrot farmer, just like them.  Once she passes through the police academy and moves to Zootopia, she’s eager to begin her dream job.  While buffalo Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) doesn’t take her seriously as an officer at first, events soon unfold that get her involved in a case involving animals throughout the city who have gone missing.  With the help of a cunning fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), these two citizens will form an unlikely pair and attempt to uncover the mystery behind the disappearances.

The voice cast comes brimming with comedic talent that makes the film outstandingly fun from start to finish.  Goodwin provides an abundance of high-spiritedness that her character thrives on in order to make her dreams a reality.  Bateman brings sly and smooth tones of his voice that make him a terrific fit for his crafty character.  As the film goes on, we see these two open up to each other and they realize they are alike in how societal misconceptions impacted their lives and shaped them into wanting to become more than others imagined they would, and this offers the film its emotional center.

The screenplay by Jared Bush and Phil Johnston succeeds in constructing a story that revolves around relevant social issues.  The film takes a deep look at the harm that stereotypes have when they’re engrained in our everyday lives, and how they can limit our views of people when we don’t see them as other than how society paints them.  It’s a heartwarming narrative of how someone can overcome being pigeonholed and be more than what people anticipate from them.

The story also has a handful of humorous cultural references, but thankfully refrains from using too many of them and trying to seem hip.  And, the jokes are consistently clever and never go for cheap laughs, all of which makes this a movie that respects the intelligence of its audience.

Howard and Moore do splendid work in providing the film with an abundance of wit and emotion, all of which is wrapped up in a fast-paced story that doesn’t just want to entertain, but also say something important.  It isn’t often we are given a children’s movie as topical as this, but we’re lucky when we do.  Just like the animals learning to embrace the potential of each other in the story, audiences will do the same with “Zootopia.”  

Grade: A