Movie Review: “Zootopia” is a solid blend of heady themes and colorfully animated hijinks

MOVIE REVIEW: “ZOOTOPIA” (PG)

With “Zootopia,” Walt Disney Pictures has created an animated feature with surprisingly heady themes. Animals make for great allegory (read “Animal Farm”), and this colorful movie covers everything from racism to accepting one’s self for who he or she is. For all its heady elements, though, “Zootopia” is hopeful and optimistic, and it suggests that chasing one’s dream is a good thing. We can be anything we want to be.

Against all odds, Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) has never let the fact that she’s a bunny keep her from realizing her goal of joining the police force. But after leaving the confines of her little town and moving to Zootopia — a big city where a large assortment of various types of animals live together in perfect harmony (or do they?) — Hopps soon realizes that the world is even more complicated than she ever could have imagined.

“Zootopia” weaves its noir-inspired tale around a mystery involving a strange series of attacks at the hands of several reputable animals who have suddenly reverted back to their savage roots. How and why? That’s what Hopps sets out to find out. With the aid of sly fox Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman), this determined and undeniably ambitious bunny sets out to prove that things aren’t as black and white as they might seem at the surface.

“Zootopia” has a lot to say, and it doesn’t shy away from saying it. With its breaking down of stereotypes and a collection of good and not-so-good characters on both sides of the fence, there are times when this film might remind one of the very polarizing Best Picture Oscar-winner, “Crash.” Granted, this is an animated feature from Disney, so take that observation very lightly.

It should also be noted that in addition to tackling real-life issues head-on and providing a surprising dramatic punch, “Zootopia” is still very much a cartoon, and a very clever one at that. Whether it’s poking fun at many of our terrible experiences at the DMV (in this case, the notoriously slow-moving Department of Motor Vehicles is staffed by a handful of adorable sloths) or creatively unloading more pop culture references than a “Shrek” movie (the winks at “The Godfather” and “Breaking Bad” are particularly hilarious), “Zootopia” has enough upstairs to engage the adults in the audience, all while serving up the right blend of action, cute gags, and colorful animation to appease the youngsters in attendance as well.

From a technical standpoint, “Zootopia” fires on all cylinders. It’s beautifully animated, offering up well-defined characters and gorgeously realized animal habitats like a big city designed for rodents and a dark and misty rainforest, just to name two. The vocal work is spot on, too! Goodwin is cute and tenacious as Hopps while Bateman’s sarcasm and dry wit prove to be a perfect fit for Wilde.

Some are proclaiming that “Zootopia” is Disney’s best animated feature in years (obviously, that excludes the notable works of Pixar), but while it is to be commended and applauded for its lively nature and for thinking outside the box, there are times when it is a tad unfocused and a little overwrought. Still, “Zootopia” is well worth seeing in a theater, and it’s sure to provoke some meaningful and much-needed conversations between parents and their children.