ZOOTOPIA
US, 2016, 108 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrance, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Tommy Chong, J.K.Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk, Shakira.
Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore.
There were many ads and trailers but this reviewer had not really learnt anything about Zootopia before going into the cinema. Within a minute or two, watching an enjoyable school play about tolerance and harmony, the main actors being a young fox and a young rabbit, it seemed that this was going to be an interesting Disney animation film.
And it is. Thoroughly entertaining – and enough enjoyment for the children with the animals and their antics, enough for the adults with the story, the homage to various movie conventions, and smart dialogue. A very good candidate for the Oscar for Best Animation Film.
As can be seen from the title, this is a wonderful society, living in harmony, a real Utopia for the animals. However, the animals are completely anthropomorphic, mirroring their human counterparts exactly. And this is where the message comes in, despite the difficulties, if animals can live in Zootopia, why can’t humans overcome bigotry, racism, fear, and create a human Utopia?
The central character is a young rabbit called Judy, who desperately wants to become a policewoman, despite the anxious and cautious advice of her parents, who have a stall selling carrots, not to take any risks in life. She is voiced excellently by Ginnifer Goodwin. She does to the training, she graduates, gets her badge – but, despite some attempts to do police work, she is assigned to be a meter made by the rather large, dark, Ox police chief, voiced by Idris Elba.
Just as she is beginning to lose heart, Mrs Otto (Octavia Spencer) comes to report her missing husband and Judy is egged on by the Deputy Mayor (Jenny Slate) who is imposed on by the lion-Mayor, (she is a sheep), for menial jobs in running the city. Judy is given 48 hours to solve the crime. In the file, she notices a photo of a young fox, Nick, and goes to question him. Fans of Jason Bateman will immediately recognise his voice and intonations. He is something of a con-fox, getting out of taxes over the years – but Judy is able to record his confession and persuade him to join her in the search, giving him a badge.
He has connections so they go to visit a Mr Big, who in fact is tiny but is in Marlon Brando’s Godfather vein, surrounded by tough polar bears. They get a lead, a numberplate and go to the office which is staffed by a group of sloths – who provide a great deal of comedy with their slow and measured speech and response to telling jokes and stamping documents (and the final joke of the screenplay is excellent with a sloth reappearance). This leads Nick and Judy to the chauffeur, to a rogue Jaguar who has wolves as guards who can easily persuaded to join in a howling. This is where the action sequences, chases and cliffhangers, come in.
In fact, Nick and Judy solve the case, and Judy, her job having been saved by Nick, gives a press conference, becoming eagerly rash in her comments to the press which hurt Nick. She resigns, goes home, discovers the truth behind the plot, apologises to Nick – and off they go again with their detective work, solving the mystery – with a train rushed sequence like Taking of Pelham 123 or Unstoppable) and the unmasking of the villain behind the plot.
The dialogue is very entertaining, often very witty, enjoyable with the parallels with human experience, the echoes of the movies, the banter between Judy and Nick. If the makers can come up with another ingenious plot and smart dialogue, Zootopia 2 would be welcome.
1. Acclaim for the film, popularity, ages, different cultures?
2. The animation, the characters, textures: skin, fur, clothes? Expressions? In action?
3. The strength of the voice cast?
4. The musical score, the final song, moods?
5. The different genres and conventions? Family stories, families, buddy cops, authority and government and corruption, Mr Big, science fiction, the Godfather, action? Homage – the touch of parody?
6. The animals, anthropomorphic? Voices, expressions? The young, the old, the parents? The hopes, achievement and ambitions? Police chief,, the detective, the police, the Mayor and the assistant, the victims of corruption, thugs, the godfather, the scientists, the guards?
7. The theme of predators and prey? In the past, savage, the biology? The title of the film? The prejudice, manipulation, criminals, bigotry, racism, sexism, and the importance of multi-cultural society and harmony?
8. The opening play, predator and prey? Judy, rabbit, the town, the message, the blood and death? The fox? And the heckling fox?
9. Judy as a child, growing up, her hopes, her parents and their extreme caution, not taking risks? Judy wanting to be in the police? The challenge of the fox – and her overcoming him?
10. Judy, the training, graduation? Her being appointed to meet the police chief? Being a meter made, the jobs, the weasel – and his stealing costing?
11. The police chief, the big ox, the comedy the receptionist, Claws, eating, his app, music and dancing? The appeal by Mrs Otter? Her husband disappeared? The assistant mayor, her manoeuvres, supporting Judy?
12. The case, assigning Judy, the photo file, confronting Nick, the tax hold, her recording?, The badge? Their working together? Going to the naturist institution, the receptionist, hair, chanting, the discussions with the elephant, the elephant not remembering anything, the receptionist and the details of his memory? The number plate? Nick helping Judy, going to the office, the jokes about the Sloths, telling and retelling the joke?
13. Nick taking Judy to find Mr Big, the polar bears – and the irony of Mr Big, the Godfather and the Brando imitation, his daughter, the wedding dress, being invited to the wedding? Mr Big’s help?
14. Going to find the chauffeur, his injuries, the otter attacking him?
15. Going to find the jaguar, getting in, across the bridge, the talk, the pursuit, the terror, the cliffhangers and the rescue?
16. The internment animals, the scientist, the Mayor and his devices, to protect the city?
17. The entertaining banter between the rabbit and the fox?
18. The Police Chief, his demands, and his wanting to sack Judy? Nick speaking up?
19. The finding of the animals, following the leads, the car, the wolves on guard and their howling? The captured animals all savage? The reaction of the police chief, the holding of the press conference, Nick advising Judy to ask questions and answer them, her not following the advice, the questions and their Judy
going on and talk about biology and the predators initially being savage and changing? Nick and his being hurt? Judy going back to her parents, her selling carrots from the barrow? The fox and his reformation, selling the pies? The discovery that the night-helpers were flowers, the stories about the effect?
20. Judy and her apology to Nick? His recording it? The lead about the sheep, following, the laboratory? The blueberries and their substitution for the nightflower pellets? The other sheep, locking them out, getting the train going, the tracks, almost collision, the crash, going to the Museum? The discovery that the new mayor was the power behind the scheme? The sheep, meek and, the decision to revolt? The interview with the new mayor, the revelations – and their being recorded?
21. The achievement, Judy and her speech to the graduates, Nick and his graduation, job to find the spinster – and the irony that it was the sloth speeding!?
22. The singer, the final speech about the situation, the nightclub, the tiger as the assistant dancers? The happy ending, message of peace, hope, harmony?
