REVIEW: 'Zootopia' is a Timely, Relevant and Unique Film that Tackles Mature Themes

Zootopia is a film that truly surprised me. I was expecting a fantastic film, which is exactly what I got, but I was not expecting a lot of incredible elements the film had. It was very different from how it was being marketed. Zootopia is not only a remarkable film, but it is also very relevant to today's society.

Zootopia takes place in a world where animals have evolved to live together in harmony in a civilized world similar to our own. Our main protagonist is a bunny named Judy Hopps, who wants to move to Zootopia to become a police officer. However, this makes her the first bunny cop since that job usually goes to the bigger animals, so it becomes very difficult for her to fit in and be taken seriously. But when mammals mysteriously start to go missing, Judy Hopps needs to team up with a sly fox named Nick Wilde to solve the case.

Zootopia is a phenomenal film with a very inventive concept that overflows with creativity. It takes the whole "anthropomorphic animals" idea and completely fleshes it out, giving the idea its own world! You can see the creativity in every shot, in every single building, set piece and character design, giving us some of the best world building I have seen in any film. This is a very believable world and is exactly what it would look like if animals were to live in their own civilized society.

But Zootopia is so much more than an amazing film with a creative and inventive concept. It is a film that takes risks with every plot point and deals with a lot of mature themes, such as racism, prejudice, equality and even drugs! This is something I was certainly not expecting, especially when considering how the film was marketed, but I was still so happy to see them tackle such serious and relevant themes. The film has a very timely message, addressing social issues common in today's society. This makes Zootopia not only a fantastic film, but a very important film as well, and I think it is one that should be watched by everyone.

On top of these themes, the film also gives us a fantastic buddy cop mystery story in a classic film noir style. It was wonderful to see this classic style of filmmaking in a Disney film and it was very well done. It gave us a lot of suspense and plenty of dark and scary moments. And by scary, I mean, surprisingly, jumping out of your seat or grabbing onto the person next to you kind of scary. And I say this with so much shock because there are many horror films that don't even achieve that kind of reaction out of me! But this film makes you care for the characters so much and completely engrosses you in the story that you really do not want to see these characters in the kind of danger they are put through in this film. And when they are put in this danger, it's actually pretty scary!

Speaking of the characters, there are some amazing, memorable and likable ones here! The two main protagonists, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, serve as perfect foils for each other. Judy, an optimistic bunny and Nick, a sly fox, are complete opposites, but when they are forced to team up, it brings outstanding chemistry between them and they work brilliantly off of each other. There is, of course, a lot of humor and a lot of heart to come out of their relationship and there is some great character depth and development to come out of it as well.

The voice acting here is just as amazing as the characters themselves. Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps and Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde give incredible, riveting vocal performances. They both help make their relationship believable and helps give them that perfect chemistry I previously mentioned.

While the film is much more focused on giving us a great, well told story, there is still a lot of humor and fun to be had in this film. A lot of this comes from the characters who populate this world and may be anthropomorphic and human-like, but are still animals, so their animalistic traits still remain, which leads to plenty of comedic moments. Also, the film and its world is bursting with so much detail that there are, of course, a bunch of hilarious visual gags as well. The film demands multiple viewings, not just because it's that good of a movie, but also so we can take in every single little detail because there will always be something we did not notice the last time we watched it.

This outstanding attention to detail brings us to the animation, which is jaw-droppingly beautiful here. Everything is rendered to perfection and, as a result, we are sucked into this very stylized, unique world made by animals, for animals. Animals of all sizes live in this world so everything is tailor made to meet the needs of each species, no matter how big or small they may be and this creates a bunch of clever and inventive visual ideas and some fantastic character designs. The directing by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush is incredible as well. There are plenty of gorgeous, breathtaking shots, fantastic cinematography and, as I mentioned before, some of the best world building I have ever seen put to screen.

Zootopia is a film that exceeded my expectations. I was given the incredible storytelling I expected, but it was not afraid to take risks and tackle some very deep and mature themes and go really in depth with them. This makes Zootopia a very important film to watch which will certainly spark conversations about racism, prejudice and equality. It is a film that, if everyone were to follow its message, could change the world and make it a better place and it's so amazing how cinema has the power to do something like that. To create something so impactful that it can change the world. It's just one of the many reasons why I love film. On top of that, Zootopia is an overall phenomenal, brilliant film and is one of the greatest films Disney Animation Studios has released, and a new personal favorite as well. To me, it is up there with Disney's finest films such as Pinocchio and Dumbo. I cannot possibly recommend this film enough.

Film Grade: A+