There's a scene in Zootopia in which red fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) wants to join the animal equivalent of the boy scout troop. He shows up for his first meeting, only for them to tie him down, put him in a muzzle, and taunt him mercilessly. The other animals are prey, whereas Nick is a predator. In this scene, the supposed prey verbally assume the worst in the supposed predator, but their actions paint the prey as the true aggressors. The bullies are accusing the bullied of being too dangerous. It's a metaphor for the some of the ways minorities are oppressed in America, and a nice encapsulation of the movie's central conceit that outside appearances rarely tell the whole story.
This conceit starts at the top. Zootopia looks like a typical Disney movie about cute little animals; truthfully, it's a classic noir thriller disguised as children's animation - a wolf in sheep's clothing, if you will. The main character, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), is a bunny that grew up on a carrot farm and dreams of becoming a cop in the city of Zootopia. As Judy's family and neighbors will gladly remind her, small animals don't become cops; but Judy's combination of determination and the new mammal inclusion initiative. But even though Judy graduated at the top of her police academy class, she still can't be taken seriously enough for anything more than parking duty - as a small mammal in a big mammal's world, the best she can do is attack her job with twice the zeal of her colleagues and settle for half the credit.
Eventually Judy strikes a deal - find a missing animal within 48 hours, or give up her job. Her only lead is through Nick, leading her to team up with the professional con artist on a journey through the seedy underbelly of Zootopia. Classic film noir from the 1940's and 50's was at its best when it explored the class stratification of America - rather than promote the optimism of the American Dream, noir explored the frustration and disillusionment experienced by those on the margins of society. When Zootopia needs to, it knows how to embrace the grit of its sprawling metropolis of boroughs via precise cinematography and pointed pop culture references. Even when Zootopia isn't discussing identity politics, it works quite well as a slightly screwball buddy cop thriller.
Of course, Zootopia is at its best when it is discussing identity politics. Judy's distaste for foxes is formed early on when a red(neck) fox fights her; she goes into the city always carrying a can of spray on her hip. As a result she's impressed with how "articulate" Nick is - which she of course expresses in the most well-meaning but patronizing manner possible. Meanwhile Nick immediately takes Judy for a pushover because of her size and cuteness (a word only bunnies can use with each other). Unfortunately it's not the first or last time either has had to fight perceptions - the difference is that Judy has always prided herself in busting stereotypes, whereas Nick prefers to leverage others' prejudices in his favor. Judy and Nick's journey eventually leads them on a journey of both self-discovery, and discovery of high-level conspiracy designed to set fire to already uneasy class relations. Without spoiling too much, all I'll say is that Zootopia strikes an especially chilling chord in light of new revelations about Richard Nixon's insidious policies.
Aside from the writing, there's a lot to like about Zootopia. As you probably figured out from the trailers, the animation is gorgeous. The camera work is subtle but excellent; it's not easy to frame characters of such disparate sizes, but Zootopia is great at alternating between close and far shots to tell the story of different perspectives. Ginnifer Goodwin represents perfect casting; in her worst roles, her enthusiasm enhances the already unlikable qualities of her horribly-written character. Here however, that same bubbly enthusiasm perfectly captures the character's pathos and serves as the film's energetic heartbeat. I'm glad she found a role worthy of her talents - Zootopia is a great antidote to the inane misogyny of "He's Just Not That Into You". The other actors certainly hold their own, although it would've been nice to see a bit more racial diversity in the cast considering the movie's message. I also would've like to see some sort of subplot involving tension between the police force and certain species of animals. Overall some of the symbolism is a bit on-the-nose, but then again that's probably unavoidable considering the fact that this movie's themes are way beyond the scope of a typical kids movie. I would love to see a version of this made by Dreamworks that's targeted to adults, more subtle, and with a darker, more cynical and bittersweet ending. But Zootopia is about as dark as you can expect from Disney, and the result is a truly remarkable movie that should hold up quite well as the years go by.
Grade: 8.5/10
