“Subversive” doesn’t even begin to describe Disney’s new comedy Zootopia. On one level it could possibly be enjoyed as a cute love letter to the furry fandom, a witty parody of police procedurals, or as a surprisingly biting commentary on race relations, popular culture and fear mongering in the media- of which that last element seems to be getting quite a bit of attention.
After seeing it, I totally get where these critics are coming from. At the end of the day it’s still a family film about adorable talking animals getting into wacky hijinks, but Zootopia’s secret is how it knows what elements of its setting and story to take seriously, and which ones to play around with. The result is a great blend of jokes that play around with the usual tropes that anthropomorphic characters have- notably, a scene where rabbit cop Judy Hopps squirms as she visits a nudist colony to dig up evidence, which consists of animals as we normally see them, but of course would seem abnormal to the mostly fully clothed population- and an interesting amount of emotional moments and many scenes that, while still age appropriate in their content, could possibly frighten small children. As peppy and colorful as the film is, it nevertheless packs some considerable weight.
Hopps, voiced with heart and determination by Ginnifer Goodwin, is the first bunny police officer assigned to the bustling metropolis, having come from a family of carrot farmers to graduate at the top of her classes. However, the cape buffalo chief Bogo (Idris “I should have been nominated by the Academy for Beasts Of No Nation” Elba) doesn’t have time to deal with the unimposing new recruit as he’s preoccupied with the mysterious disappearance of a dozen animals, all predators. This eventually leads to tension through the town, as Zootopia is a city with a majority “prey” population, something Mayor Lionheart (voiced by J. K. Simmons with appropriate bluster) is well aware of and hopes won’t damage his political clout. Coming from the House of the Mouse, this is serious material.
Begrudgingly assigned to traffic duty thanks to Bogo’s initial lack of faith, Judy encounters a street hustler fox named Nick Wilde (played by Jason Bateman) who has enough wry cynicism and endearing snark for a trilogy of Zootopia films if Disney so wished. Yet as it turns out, little Nick also carries a good amount of pain in his past that shaped his outlook on life. The bond he gradually forms with Judy is what elevates the film from a breezy detective story for kids into a great movie in general as they team up to find the missing predators.
There are elements in Zootopia that feel like they could have come from a lesser DreamWorks film, what with its pop culture references and main theme performed by a renowned pop star- in this instance Shakira, drawn as a gazelle songstress who performs the bouncy “Try Everything”. However, all of Zootopia’s in-jokes are firmly tied into the structure of the plot, and it’s possible for adults to catch them and laugh while the kids are still engrossed in the story, even if they go over their heads.
Fortunately, there’s also plenty of well-timed slapstick and original gags to make up for them, like Judy chasing a perp throughout a mice majority neighborhood and trying not to accidentally crush innocent bystanders, and the much-ballyhooed gag of a DMV entirety employed by sloths. We’ve all had that feeling, man.
However, it’s the more serious elements of the film that really make it stand out. For all of Zootopia’s big promises that Judy firmly believes in, it still consists of segregated communities of varying species. And while all of these little towns and its animal inhabitants are beautifully rendered and caricatured by Disney’s art team, an elephant ice cream vendor can still refuse to serve a fox if he so chooses- the parallels between Jim Crow laws are impossible to ignore.
And that’s not even mentioning how the film plays with police profiling and media stereotyping, in such a way that can speak to all sorts of people without them feeling they’re being attacked. Without spoiling too much, there’s a conversation between Judy and Nick where he confronts him on her own judgments, and not only is it clear through the animation of his eyes and Bateman’s performance of how understandably hurt he is, the scene could easily hold some strong parallels with any difficult conversation about race between two people.
Talking about our differences is never easy, but Zootopia is a clever attempt by Disney of all sources to address some ugly tensions in the realities of the kids they’re targeting, thankfully in a film that also has a ton of heart, great visuals and sharp humor that doesn’t feel forced or desperate. Moments like Judy and her conversation with the jolly cheetah cop Clawhauser on the appropriateness of non-bunnies using the word “cute” will prove to be pretty memorable, I predict. Their last attempt at a funny animal universe was 2005’s dull and mean spirited Chicken Little, and I’m happy to say this is a massive improvement. Highly recommended.