Zootopia (2016)


From one recent hit to another, today's movie is Zootopia.

The Movie:

 Zootopia is the 55th movie in the Disney Animated Canon, and one of two released in 2016 (the other being Moana).  It was well-received and went on to be the fourth highest grossing film of the year worldwide.  (Of note, Disney had the top 5 spots in 2016 with Captain America: Civil War, Rogue One, Finding Dory, Zootopia, and The Jungle Book.)  It is also the second highest grossing film in the Disney Animated Canon after Frozen.  Zootopia also was named the best animated film at the Oscars, Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and the Annies.

Zootopia takes place in world where anthropomorphic mammals have evolved past their wild natures and live together in a single society.  However, this world is still filled with stereotypes and prejudice.  Judy Hopps dreams of being the first rabbit police officer, and upon achieving that dream is assigned to the central precinct.  She takes on the job of tracking down one of 14 missing mammals, all predators, and to do so she needs the help of the most unlikely ally, the street-hustling fox Nick Wilde.

Zootopia is a very creative movie.  The world is highly imaginative, and there are a lot of fun Easter eggs in the movie.  Storywise, it is essentially a buddy cop movie, playing with those tropes while still setting up a compelling and layered mystery.  Zootopia also offers some very timely observations on prejudice and serves as an allegory for the poisonous nature of racism, and though it can get a bit heavy handed at times, it is nice to see a family movie dealing with such an important subject matter.

The score is yet another fine work from Michael Giacchino.  Zootopia's signature song is "Try Anything," sung in-universe by the pop star Gazelle and in real life by Shakira, who voices Gazelle.  It's a fun and catchy song, though perhaps not among the most memorable from Disney.

Presence in the Parks:

 Currently at WDW, Zootopia is represented by Judy and Nick, who appear with several other characters in the Magic Kingdom's Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party, which pops up two or three times a day in front of Cinderella Castle.  Meanwhile on the west coast, Judy and Nick are meetable at DCA.

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