Just saw it with my wife and kid. The 2 year old was a little young, but we enjoyed it. We loved the message, especially with what happened in the USA just now. Smart bunny indeed.
Also finally got around to watching this this weekend. Absolutely loved it, through and through. The two leads are fantastically charming, the graphics are surprisingly lovely (then again, the only big fully CGI flick I’ve seen in the last decade or so was Toy Story 3, so maybe my expectations are low), the plot was really fun and engaging, and the world building was pretty neat! None of which are really novel insights, but I’d definitely recommend this to anyone one the fence about it.
Very good movie, it felt smart and unique, and had a story that seemed realistic for the world they created.
I picked a good one this morning. :p
I watched this again last night with my wife and son. I know I said I liked this movie a lot, but this re-watch really made me even more impressed with it.
So first of all, the movie has to establish a whole new fantasy universe and its rules, and it does it amazingly well throughout the movie. Secondly, there’s the story of our protagonist overcoming the fact that she’s a bunny, being the first police officer of her kind. Then there’s the message of assumptions, stereotypes, casual racism throughout the film. And then there’s the whole predators vs prey twist of the movie where, because of the way they did it, you can substitute so many minority groups into that as an analog, whether it’s muslims, undocumented immigrants, jews, black people, it fits so well in that part of the movie, it’s amazing. And then, as mentioned above, there’s the message that it’s okay to try things and fail, that failure is a part of life as well.
It’s just tough to remember all that because it’s all stuffed into one movie, and that’s the only potential criticism I have. Some of those ideas seem crowded out of your head by the time you get to the end. But as you’re watching the movie a second time, you’re just amazed at how much the movie has that you didn’t remember, and how good it is.
You missed one! Disney initial design for Gazelle gave her no hips… just really thin legs and body. Shakira demanded big hips and thighs and… got it. Of course it’s hard to notice the absents of something, but it’s kind of fun to to just know that the she doesn’t have peg legs because of that.
It’s a great movie, and a great song.
I really wish Shakira sang that song at her Super Bowl halftime show.
Oh, one more thing, spoiler warning, don’t read ahead if you still haven’t watched the movie. This was such an amazingly hilarious scene, since it was a mixture of depressing and hilarious. The musical choices were inspired. And I didn’t know until I just looked up the wiki page that the instrumental music for this scene is titled “Not a Real Cop”, which makes it extra delicious:
[Judy returns to her apartment with small gray-tan clouds of dust erupt on the carpet due to her feet covered in cement powder. She enters her room puts her stuff on her desk and cycles sadly through songs on the radio]
- “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.
- “All by Myself” by Eric Carmen
- “Can’t Do Nuthin’ Right” by Madisen Ward
- “I, Loser” by Winston Marshall
- “Not a Real Cop” by Michael Giacchino
[Throughout the music, a depressed Judy puts a container of Carrots for One in the microwave and watches it with a lachrymose look on her face. When it’s finished, she takes it out, opens it, only to find naught left but one dried up carrot that makes a squeal noise from steam. Judy groans in disgust, holds it arm length out, and tosses it away. Then her phone rings. Judy picks it up and sees that her parents are calling. Judy groans, puts on a forced smile, and answers her phone]
Judy Hopps : Oh, hey, it’s my parents!
Bonnie Hopps : Oh, there she is! Hi, sweetheart!
Stu Hopps : Hey there, Jude the Dude! How was your first day on the force?
Judy Hopps : It was real great.
Bonnie Hopps : Yeah? Everything you ever hoped?
Judy Hopps : Mm-hmm, absolutely and more! Everyone’s so nice, and I feel like I’m really making a difference.
Stu Hopps : [notices Judy’s meter maid uniform] Wait a second… [gets a bit closer to the screen] Holy cripes, Bonnie, look at that!
Bonnie Hopps : [gets a bit closer to the screen as well] Oh my sweet heaven! Judy, are you a meter maid?
Judy Hopps : Oh, this - [tries hurriedly to cover her vest] No! Oh, no. No, this is just a temporary thing!
Bonnie Hopps : Oh! It’s the safest job on the force!
Stu Hopps : She’s not a real cop! Our prayers have been answered!
Bonnie Hopps : Glorious day!
Stu Hopps : Ho-ho! Meter maid, meter maid, meter maid, meter maid !
Judy Hopps : [over Stu] Dad. Dad! Dad! You know what, it’s been a really long day, I should really…
Bonnie Hopps : That’s right, you get some rest!
Stu Hopps : Those meters aren’t gonna maid themselves!
Bonnie Hopps : Bye bye! [ends call]
Judy Hopps : Buh bye… [Judy puts down the phone and sits back, still depressed, as the music still plays.]
Pronk Oryx-Antlerson : [from the other room] Hey, bunny, turn down that depressing music!
[Judy turns off the radio quickly]
Bucky Oryx-Antlerson : [from the other room] Leave the meter maid alone! Didn’t you hear her conversation? She feels like a failure!
Pronk Oryx-Antlerson : Oh, shut up!
Bucky Oryx-Antlerson : You shut up!
Pronk Oryx-Antlerson : You shut up!
Bucky Oryx-Antlerson : You shut up!
Judy Hopps : [groans, mutters to herself] Tomorrow’s another day…
[Pause]
Pronk Oryx-Antlerson : Yeah, but it might be worse!
“Try Everything” is such a better message for my kids than almost literally anything else right now. Zootopia is great.
I know some people will hate this, but I’d suggest giving this a try nonethless.
(Note: I did enjoy Zootopia and think it’s among the finest of Disney’s recent output–leagues above Wreck-it Ralph–but there’s some stuff in the above video I’m inclined to agree with. Also, ignore the obviously clickbaity thumb.)
Someone let me know if I’m going to get my YouTube suggestions filled with pragerU and Ben altright whatshisface if I watch that please, because I’m not touching it without assurances.
It’s not a “PC gone mad” video by some alt-right/Gamergate bloke in case you were concerned about that.
Of course that is everyone’s concern. Have you seen the stupid stuff people post.
I’m with @arrendek, I’ll wait until some other 3rd party clicks the link first, and comes back with a review.
Thumbnail aside, skimming that video, it seems fine. It’s a pretty progressive and reasoned critique of the kind of animal-as-racial metaphors used in Zootopia.
I’ve probably talking about this in some other thread, but Zootopia is great on a first or second glance, but it becomes really problematic on close read. The racial metaphors embedded in the predator / prey dynamic are bad because the metaphorical “races” are literally different species with different physical characteristics, and the predators are literally biologically wired to eat the prey animals. Mapping this onto racist negro-savage imagery is tremendously problematic. There’s a lot of “yes, but…” in that summary, but that is the metaphor they’re using at the end of the day. (As a mixed race person, I’d also like to note that I literally couldn’t exist in Zootopia, a fact which I think illustrates the race/species allegory issues pretty succinctly.)
It’s the kind of thing where I saw the film and immediately had the “did they show this script to even a single minority?” reaction, but I’m generally disposed towards close-reading, especially in children’s media. I think the film is generally quite good, and the issues with the metaphor are really close-read things. My kids like the film, and I have no problem with them watching it.
Thanks, that’s what I was worried about given the title/thumbnail.
It’s a kids movie, and they addressed it in a way that mostly works which essentially means a whole bunch of people went and saw a movie with statements in it they might’ve actively avoided if it was in some other deeper movie. Animals as people, and different kinds of people isn’t some new hot take or anything.
Yeah, agreed. There’s a little bit of space in the “mostly”, but as I noted, it’s mostly in close-read / film theory land. I think it’s a lovely movie overall.
Yeah see I wouldn’t like use the movie as a replacement to actual study or understanding of these issues but for kids who are too young or likely just not able to process some of these harsher messages, they can understand it here. For adults who avoid the topic all the together, they get a little sprinkling and the piece of the message is only a piece of it. The overall idea of failing, and trying again, not listening to others, well let’s just say they messaged it in a way that didn’t really get the anger that say Captain Marvel did for doing the same thing in a more obvious way. The guy in the video above also addresses Captain Marvel which is a good indication of what slant he may or may not have; his issue with Captain Marvel is not part of the anti-women brigade, but he’s kind wordy.
Anyway, overall it’s a fun movie with great talent and good messaging. For every questionable thing they have about society, they also show a society that just… well it just accommodates those races. I mean they didn’t tell the hamsters to cowboy up; they got little tubes!
This is by far my favorite animated movie of the last decade and yeah, any imperfections in the delivery are more than made up for by the positively subversive and profoundly positive messages buried throughout.
My only nitpick of this movie is that she attends Zootopia Police Academy, graduates, attends a graduation ceremony officiated by the Mayor of Zootopia, then, only after that, she arrives in Zootopia for the first time.
Where the hell is the Zootopia Police Academy??