Zootopia (2016)

Like with The Force Awakens, I had been cautiously optimistic for months. As a patron of the furry fandom (don't read too much into that), I was initially caught between tentative gratitude for Disney possibly pandering to us and/or seeding the next generation...and apprehension that that might be all they were doing. Remember Chicken Little (2005)? It too looked cute, well-rendered, and a bit different from usual, but it bombed due to bad writing. Of course, Pixar aside, that was a less successful era for Disney animations. Once I learned that the co-directors had done Bolt, Tangled, and Wreck-It Ralph between them, I worried less. When people who had seen it started talking, well, animatedly about it, I stopped worrying altogether and got both parents to come along.

For those wondering how the premise differs from other animal-centric Disney fare, consider this: Has Donald Duck ever flown south for the winter? Did Bambi get a job? No, most Disney animals either (a) are nonhuman only in physical appearance, for aesthetic reasons; or (b) go naked on all fours, whether or not we can hear them speak. The mammals of Zootopia have a modern-style civilization but exhibit enough behaviors in common with their real-world counterparts that the makers must have thought hard about who should be what. Contrary to a rumor I've read, they did not inherit the Earth from bygone humans but developed intellect and society on their own -- which, unlike in some fiction I know, means that traditional carnivores limit their primary protein sources to the non-anthropomorphic fish and bugs.

The story follows Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin, best known for Snow White on Once Upon a Time), a rural rabbit who doesn't let lifelong discouragement by others stop her from pursuing her dream job in law enforcement in the big city. Becoming easily the smallest member on the force, she gets a vote of no confidence from Chief Bogo (Idris Elba). Fortunately, the mayor's office promotes affirmative action, letting her push her way into detective work on an otherwise neglected missing-otter case. Her only lead: Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a conniving, street-smart, probably thirty-something red fox whose swindles are mostly within the bounds of the law, but not so legal that she can't manipulate him into helping. What they find is more alarming than they expected: numerous cases of predators behaving like their primitive ancestors.

This does not produce as much violence, even off screen, as it sounds. The movie just barely qualifies for a PG rating, more for the seemingly racy poses in a nudist community than anything else. I think the makers wanted to avoid a G. But might I assure you that even at its most vulgar, Zootopia is more tasteful than several of the mostly non-Disney trailers that preceded it at my theater. And as I recall, the kids liked it no less for that.

Let me also assure you that for all the family friendliness, it has a lot of humor that would go right over kids' heads, albeit without them really noticing. In addition to spoofs of grown-up works like Breaking Bad, there are too many animal-based brand puns, cameos, and other gags to list. I have yet to find a comprehensive source for them. They surely require multiple, careful viewings, preferably with a pause option.

It's easy to appreciate the serious side as well. Speciesism is a running theme throughout, and while it can stand in for various prejudices (e.g., sexism against policewomen), the most obvious connection is racism. Not that the species have exact parallels to human demographics like in Maus, but it opens a whole lot of issues to discuss and potential morals to learn. For example, even the sweetest, most optimistic character can harbor biases to a harmful degree, regardless of exceptional friendships. Nobody is safe from being on the receiving end, either.

You might think that the movie undermines its message by validating many animal stereotypes. The few subversions, such as a forgetful elephant, are outweighed by things like super-slow sloths (mentally as well as physically) and wolves finding howls more contagious than yawns. But let's face it: When you work with this level of anthropomorphism, it's hard not to make use of conventions. Besides, if the filmmakers themselves are being bigoted, it ironically yet aptly reinforces the point about prevalence.

Oh, you can guess who the aforementioned sweetest is. Judy understandably takes offense at being called cute, both as an officer of the law and as a rabbit; but gosh darn it, between her looks, voice, ideals, and emotions, she's almost as adorable at age 24 as at 9. In a world of animals, standing out that way is quite an achievement. There may be an uptick in requests for pet bunnies. Me, I may buy a Judy doll.

Nick is relatively close to Judy in size and cleverness and smiles as much as she does, but that's about where the similarity ends. His upbringing has left him with a low opinion of city life and an obligation to fulfill the stereotype of sly vulpine mischief. As is the Disney fashion nowadays, the film admits that dreams may only partly come true -- but that part may be good enough. Indeed, the main duo grow more alike. And in keeping with another modern if less common Disney fashion, the ending leaves us to wonder whether they might become, or already have become, more than friends. (We don't see any overt interspecies couples, but who says it couldn't happen?)

High time I mentioned appearances beyond Judy's. Zootopia is as colorful literally as figuratively, with architecture inspired by various real cities along with Tomorrowland. For all its species integration, it has districts and neighborhoods catering to different subgroups, even with different biomes (however that works). Only about half of them feature in the plot. I wouldn't be surprised if Disney used this basis to launch a virtual world online, with somewhat heavier regulation than Second Life.

I am astounded at the record-breaking work that went into the visuals. No other CG animation has more character designs, and Judy alone has some 2 million articulated, animated hairs. No wonder I felt as if I could touch them, even without a 3D showing.

I also read that the writers did more than one drastic overhaul of the story, relegating plenty of art to the scrapbooks. The deleted parts don't sound bad, actually, but I can't say they'd top the final results. Allow me to channel Mayor Lionheart (J.K. Simmons) for a minute: Are there plot holes and unanswered questions? Sure. Could I predict a few twists? Yes. Do I mind any of the above? Not really. That's a mark of a great script.

In fact, this is one of the few movies to make me eager for a sequel almost immediately. I'll have to content myself that one is in the making. In the meantime, I have plenty of speculation to engage in elsewhere.