Zootopia Review
I love being surprised by something, especially by a TV show or movie.
I was utterly fucking blown away. I haven't felt this way about a movie since..... well, technically Inside Out, but I mean, in a very specific way. Inside Out is a masterpiece, utterly fantastic with a bonus of having prominent female characters and focusing on them as the main relationships. I cried way more during that movie, like full out heaving sobs in the theater.
But I very specifically remember watching Aladdin for the first time, with my grandmother, and I was seven. I'd stepped into another world and was enthralled by its story and characters. And I thought about them constantly after the credits rolled. I felt the same way after The Lion King, Toy Story - my sister and I had a phase of reciting the first 10 minutes of it - and and yeah I'll admit it, Pocahontas. And I got that same sense of childlike wonder again while watching Zootopia. There was this magic that Zootopia captured, very much like Guardians of the Galaxy, which had left a similar impression on me in 2014, and it's now my second-favorite MCU movie. Similarly, while Zootopia isn't the best film Disney has created, it gave me that spark.
A big part of that was the characters. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are arguably two of the most well-developed, fully realized characters Disney has created. Ever. And their developing relationship reminds me a lot of Crews and Reese from Life. I walked out of the film shipping Nick and Judy and feeling kind of guitly and weird about it, like wait I'm starting to OTP a fox and bunny? I've shipped animated characters before, but not animals - no, not even Simba and Nala. I thought they were fun as cubs but their adult love story bored me (weirdly, Pocahontas/John Smith was my Disney OTP.) I wondered if I was just wearing my big dumb het goggles like usual and figured everyone would be like "Oh wow great friendship. So glad there wasn't a romance. Ew who would like them together?" Which I understand. But even though many people agree (and I'm one of them) that it's a good thing there was no romance, it seems like Nick/Judy is actually a popular pairing?? HAS THE FURRY AGENDA TAKEN OVER SOMEHOW? No, honestly I am surprised, but also not. The writers/directors knew what they were doing. They knew that Disney romance is played out, and they are right. But a great way to get people on board with liking two brand new characters is to like seeing them with each other, at good and bad points, and buddy-cop bantering and trust building was a fantastic way to achieve that. Look at Woody and Buzz. This way you don't gross out anyone or disappoint viewers who are tired of predictable romance tropes, and you leave open enough room for shippers to fill in the blanks. Even if the plot wasn't as good, even if the themes weren't as political and relevant, I would have still enjoyed Nick and Judy's interaction, although I think that all three of those things being on point made the ship - friendship, familial, romantic - way more meaningful. Fox and the Hound did it already, but this was less depressing and had the right pacing for today's audience. Anyway, Wilde Hopps is definitely at the top of my OTP list for 2016.
Some quick things I want to point out (what I liked and a couple of gripes):
+ I loved how vibrant everything is! The animation is fucking fantastic and there are so many details that, upon rewatching, I'd catch little things I missed the previous times
+ I thought the beginning was cute and poignant, but the train scene made me sit up and go "Wait. This doesn't look like Disney's version of Madagascar. This is amazing." I truly felt that classic Disney vibe again, something I haven't felt since (not counting non-Pixar movies) The Princess and the Frog.
+ it's quick, but I looooove that little moment of the mouse car honking at Judy when she pulls up beside Nick. It makes me laugh every time
+ I like Bogo's character development. I know he goes through the standard "hard-ass police chief shows a softer side" arc and ends up gruffly favoring the protagonist(s), but he was great and I liked seeing him dance and become more personable as the movie went on
+ love Finnick! I kinda wish we'd gotten to see more of him - that moment of him opening his van door with a bat, looking all angry, then switching to concerned when he sees Judy says a lot about him, but I want mooore
+ love Stu's parents, and the scene where Gideon Gray comes back and shows that he has changed for the better. I think this struck a great balance of showing that 'country folk' are well-meaning but not perfect, and this didn't do the annoying romcom thing where the city girl abandons the cruel cynical city life to embrace her picture perfect, cozy serene country life.
+ i think the press conference scene is one of the best scenes Disney has ever done. I wasn't surprised, but still impressed when I watched the making of documentary and TPTB revealed they rewrote the scene dozens of times to get it just right. It's difficult to watch but it is exactly what today's audience needs to see
~ this is kind of an in-between thing: the music. This movie would've been 10/10 GOTY if the music was on point like the Disney Renaissance films, but I'll take characters + good story over music (*coughFROZEN* - I like Frozen but it seems like the music was written first and the movie was written around it.) Shakira's song is pedestrian, but I think it works so well with the train sequence. I thought it wasn't special aside from that, but it did get stuck in my head for a week and now I like it. However, I wish the background music had been a little more memorable. The only tracks that stick out to me are "Ticket to Write" and the one playing during Nick and Finnick's con. If there is a sequel - which I hope - I'd like for them to step up the score. No poppy songs except for maybe the end credits, though.
- the 'donut in Clawhauser's neck fold' joke was dumb and I don't like it. Makes me cringe on rewatch. I do appreciate his coworkers giving him donuts at the end, but yeah that earlier 'joke' should've been changed into him offering Judy huge donuts or one of his falls on her, or something
- the last act is rushed. REALLY rushed. I get that the script was given a massive overhaul well into production, which I think worked very well in its favor - the shock collars are an interesting dark!AU concept but would've been too dark for me, personally. They would've worked ok in a Don Bluth movie, but not for Disney. Pixar gave them excellent advice, and Disney made the right call in scrapping that - but the train chase and museum scene was really condensed, and the breakneck pace kind of takes me out of it a little. I mean, the last couple minutes are extremely satisfying, but all told, the third act doesn't have quite as epic a climax as Hunchback, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Rescuers Down Under, or The Great Mouse Detective did. I'd like to think, since the writers know now that their gamble paid off, that they can slow down and stretch out their climax in the (hopeful) sequel and make it more punchy and dramatic. I don't think of this as a huge fault considering all the behind-the-scenes stuff, but it does kind of stick out
- Wish there'd been more Bellweather backstory. I'm ok with her being the villain, but also... not? I liked her friendship with Judy. If this didn't come after 3 other Disney movies where we're given a surprise villain reveal, Bellweather's wouldn't stand out the way it does - and to be fair, this being a cop/mystery movie makes it actually make THE MOST SENSE for a shock twist villain reveal - but I'd like to see Bellweather return in the sequel to give Judy and Nick some Hannibal-esque advice, and possibly show some remorse or undergo a redemption arc.
+ back to positives because I can't stay mad at this movie lol. The voice acting was phenomenal across the board. I will say that Jason Bateman didn't have to stretch his abilities too much, but he was perfect for Nick. Unlike the voice actors in Tangled, his and Ginnifer's voices didn't take me out of the movie. His role seemed especially written for him, but it worked because he's a comedian and can work that cynical/heartbreaking angle. Ginnifer Goodwin deserves an Oscar for her voice acting. She was phenomenal, and I'm happy to see others praising her. At first I kind of saw her as very similar to Joy in Inside Out, but Judy became her own, separate character with a very different arc, and I appreciate getting such a well-rounded, fascinating and lovable female character.
+ the little kid animals were sooooo cute. I adore Nick and Judy as bbs but also love that little jaguar(tiger?) aspiring actuary. The tax lines were so amazing. I'd like to think that sweet bb got his dream job <3
I would say the marketing for this movie sucked because it's advertised like a Dreamworks CGI film, but in a way, maybe that was the master plan all along? Because if it was intentional - which makes sense, because hiding the plot of a mystery is important - then that's kind of genius. Get people going in with middling expectations to be surprised by the plot and themes. I'm so glad I went to see it - although I really wish that I'd gotten to see it without 3D because it was a pain wearing those glasses over my regular ones - and I look forward to a potential Zootopia 2. This world and these characters deserve to be explored some more, and I would love to see it.
9.5/10
I was utterly fucking blown away. I haven't felt this way about a movie since..... well, technically Inside Out, but I mean, in a very specific way. Inside Out is a masterpiece, utterly fantastic with a bonus of having prominent female characters and focusing on them as the main relationships. I cried way more during that movie, like full out heaving sobs in the theater.
But I very specifically remember watching Aladdin for the first time, with my grandmother, and I was seven. I'd stepped into another world and was enthralled by its story and characters. And I thought about them constantly after the credits rolled. I felt the same way after The Lion King, Toy Story - my sister and I had a phase of reciting the first 10 minutes of it - and and yeah I'll admit it, Pocahontas. And I got that same sense of childlike wonder again while watching Zootopia. There was this magic that Zootopia captured, very much like Guardians of the Galaxy, which had left a similar impression on me in 2014, and it's now my second-favorite MCU movie. Similarly, while Zootopia isn't the best film Disney has created, it gave me that spark.
A big part of that was the characters. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are arguably two of the most well-developed, fully realized characters Disney has created. Ever. And their developing relationship reminds me a lot of Crews and Reese from Life. I walked out of the film shipping Nick and Judy and feeling kind of guitly and weird about it, like wait I'm starting to OTP a fox and bunny? I've shipped animated characters before, but not animals - no, not even Simba and Nala. I thought they were fun as cubs but their adult love story bored me (weirdly, Pocahontas/John Smith was my Disney OTP.) I wondered if I was just wearing my big dumb het goggles like usual and figured everyone would be like "Oh wow great friendship. So glad there wasn't a romance. Ew who would like them together?" Which I understand. But even though many people agree (and I'm one of them) that it's a good thing there was no romance, it seems like Nick/Judy is actually a popular pairing?? HAS THE FURRY AGENDA TAKEN OVER SOMEHOW? No, honestly I am surprised, but also not. The writers/directors knew what they were doing. They knew that Disney romance is played out, and they are right. But a great way to get people on board with liking two brand new characters is to like seeing them with each other, at good and bad points, and buddy-cop bantering and trust building was a fantastic way to achieve that. Look at Woody and Buzz. This way you don't gross out anyone or disappoint viewers who are tired of predictable romance tropes, and you leave open enough room for shippers to fill in the blanks. Even if the plot wasn't as good, even if the themes weren't as political and relevant, I would have still enjoyed Nick and Judy's interaction, although I think that all three of those things being on point made the ship - friendship, familial, romantic - way more meaningful. Fox and the Hound did it already, but this was less depressing and had the right pacing for today's audience. Anyway, Wilde Hopps is definitely at the top of my OTP list for 2016.
Some quick things I want to point out (what I liked and a couple of gripes):
+ I loved how vibrant everything is! The animation is fucking fantastic and there are so many details that, upon rewatching, I'd catch little things I missed the previous times
+ I thought the beginning was cute and poignant, but the train scene made me sit up and go "Wait. This doesn't look like Disney's version of Madagascar. This is amazing." I truly felt that classic Disney vibe again, something I haven't felt since (not counting non-Pixar movies) The Princess and the Frog.
+ it's quick, but I looooove that little moment of the mouse car honking at Judy when she pulls up beside Nick. It makes me laugh every time
+ I like Bogo's character development. I know he goes through the standard "hard-ass police chief shows a softer side" arc and ends up gruffly favoring the protagonist(s), but he was great and I liked seeing him dance and become more personable as the movie went on
+ love Finnick! I kinda wish we'd gotten to see more of him - that moment of him opening his van door with a bat, looking all angry, then switching to concerned when he sees Judy says a lot about him, but I want mooore
+ love Stu's parents, and the scene where Gideon Gray comes back and shows that he has changed for the better. I think this struck a great balance of showing that 'country folk' are well-meaning but not perfect, and this didn't do the annoying romcom thing where the city girl abandons the cruel cynical city life to embrace her picture perfect, cozy serene country life.
+ i think the press conference scene is one of the best scenes Disney has ever done. I wasn't surprised, but still impressed when I watched the making of documentary and TPTB revealed they rewrote the scene dozens of times to get it just right. It's difficult to watch but it is exactly what today's audience needs to see
~ this is kind of an in-between thing: the music. This movie would've been 10/10 GOTY if the music was on point like the Disney Renaissance films, but I'll take characters + good story over music (*coughFROZEN* - I like Frozen but it seems like the music was written first and the movie was written around it.) Shakira's song is pedestrian, but I think it works so well with the train sequence. I thought it wasn't special aside from that, but it did get stuck in my head for a week and now I like it. However, I wish the background music had been a little more memorable. The only tracks that stick out to me are "Ticket to Write" and the one playing during Nick and Finnick's con. If there is a sequel - which I hope - I'd like for them to step up the score. No poppy songs except for maybe the end credits, though.
- the 'donut in Clawhauser's neck fold' joke was dumb and I don't like it. Makes me cringe on rewatch. I do appreciate his coworkers giving him donuts at the end, but yeah that earlier 'joke' should've been changed into him offering Judy huge donuts or one of his falls on her, or something
- the last act is rushed. REALLY rushed. I get that the script was given a massive overhaul well into production, which I think worked very well in its favor - the shock collars are an interesting dark!AU concept but would've been too dark for me, personally. They would've worked ok in a Don Bluth movie, but not for Disney. Pixar gave them excellent advice, and Disney made the right call in scrapping that - but the train chase and museum scene was really condensed, and the breakneck pace kind of takes me out of it a little. I mean, the last couple minutes are extremely satisfying, but all told, the third act doesn't have quite as epic a climax as Hunchback, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Rescuers Down Under, or The Great Mouse Detective did. I'd like to think, since the writers know now that their gamble paid off, that they can slow down and stretch out their climax in the (hopeful) sequel and make it more punchy and dramatic. I don't think of this as a huge fault considering all the behind-the-scenes stuff, but it does kind of stick out
- Wish there'd been more Bellweather backstory. I'm ok with her being the villain, but also... not? I liked her friendship with Judy. If this didn't come after 3 other Disney movies where we're given a surprise villain reveal, Bellweather's wouldn't stand out the way it does - and to be fair, this being a cop/mystery movie makes it actually make THE MOST SENSE for a shock twist villain reveal - but I'd like to see Bellweather return in the sequel to give Judy and Nick some Hannibal-esque advice, and possibly show some remorse or undergo a redemption arc.
+ back to positives because I can't stay mad at this movie lol. The voice acting was phenomenal across the board. I will say that Jason Bateman didn't have to stretch his abilities too much, but he was perfect for Nick. Unlike the voice actors in Tangled, his and Ginnifer's voices didn't take me out of the movie. His role seemed especially written for him, but it worked because he's a comedian and can work that cynical/heartbreaking angle. Ginnifer Goodwin deserves an Oscar for her voice acting. She was phenomenal, and I'm happy to see others praising her. At first I kind of saw her as very similar to Joy in Inside Out, but Judy became her own, separate character with a very different arc, and I appreciate getting such a well-rounded, fascinating and lovable female character.
+ the little kid animals were sooooo cute. I adore Nick and Judy as bbs but also love that little jaguar(tiger?) aspiring actuary. The tax lines were so amazing. I'd like to think that sweet bb got his dream job <3
I would say the marketing for this movie sucked because it's advertised like a Dreamworks CGI film, but in a way, maybe that was the master plan all along? Because if it was intentional - which makes sense, because hiding the plot of a mystery is important - then that's kind of genius. Get people going in with middling expectations to be surprised by the plot and themes. I'm so glad I went to see it - although I really wish that I'd gotten to see it without 3D because it was a pain wearing those glasses over my regular ones - and I look forward to a potential Zootopia 2. This world and these characters deserve to be explored some more, and I would love to see it.
9.5/10