Zootopia

Zootropolis or Zootopia is a utopia with animals, or, if you like, a city of animals, where everyone lives side by side without any discrimination and instead of eating each other, they help each other. A city where, as the main female protagonist says, everyone can be whoever they want. I was originally expecting a load of crap, the last animated movie I saw from Disney was (if I am not mistaken) a crazy musical called Strange Magic, and I started giving up on The Mouse's animated creations. Plus, animals that act like humans? I have been coming across this subject matter far too often lately, and after another utter fiasco called Norm of the North and the sheer horror of Agent F.O.X., I did not really want to watch this at all. But one positive review I saw finally convinced me to take the plunge, and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised indeed. The animation is very nice; the settings are interesting and imaginative. The characters are interesting, Judy is cute (although I probably should not say that about her), and Nick is likable. The narrative is very good, and it is safe to say it is a pretty good whodunit with lots of twists and an unusually detailed portrayal of an investigation for an animated movie. SPOILER ALERT I watched the suspect and thought it would be nice if the perpetrator were really him. The fact that this came true pleased me; however, when I was expecting the ending and the vague message about equality between all animals, the movie's screenwriters surprised me by going even further and interestingly developing the point they wanted to make. I knew the real perpetrator the moment he turned up, it was almost immediately clear, and the point about equality between the animals and the message of the whole movie worked quite well for me. END OF SPOILERS. As for the comedy aspect, I was not so entertained throughout the entire movie even though I did have a good time for most of it and occasionally laughed (at the sloths, the mafia boss, etc.). All in all, I have just watched a very enjoyable animated movie, and I am satisfied. 8.4/10. (03/03/2016)

I've long wished someone had filmed Bryan Talbot's divine comic “Grandville", and Zootopia is close to my idea of what it should be like. It's a wonderfully imaginative cartoon from a thoughtful setting, with a story almost like a comedy crime story for adults (48 Hours, The Last Boy Scout, Midnight Run...), sympathetic characters and the best parody of The Godfather I've ever seen. I must also praise the Czech dubbing with new and precisely fitting voices. (11/05/2016)

What good animated entertainment should primarily be based on, i.e. a playful and colourful alternative to the real world and its social rules, here is brought to perfection, or very close to it. Starring animals of all kinds, it fits the classic buddy movie motifs and mystery detective plot far better than any human crew in the golden era of the genre. Perfect setting, witty personifications of the characters and projection of their characteristics into the cycle of city life (the sloths at the DMV office are AWESOME), a fresh soundtrack and a bunch of hilarious references to famous films. Surprisingly serious at times, applying a bit of lowbrow clichés and family cartoon sentiment, but mostly a joy to watch – a sequel is a must, preferably with Shane Black on board ;) 85% (11/05/2016)

A crime movie in the style of Shane Black :-). The sloths made me laugh like nothing in the past few years has done. I literally cried. The animals look super cute and there’s a bunch of playful details and apt references to the real human world as well as to classic movies. Moreover, the film has an additional message for today’s Europe that its makers probably didn’t even intend to send. I won’t add a fifth star only because the idea behind Zootopia is not as strong as in Inside Out. Zootopia is “only” perfect fun. (29/03/2016)

The 55th Disney Feature Film. The combination of Disney and a town full of critters generates absolute yummy cuteness. They work with 3D animation long enough for you to enjoy the whole film and in the meantime just suppress the urge to stroke the main character. Judy Hopps could compete with all those friends from the touching story about Bambi. And that's saying something. (31/01/2020)