Zootopia (2016)
Directed by Byron Howard
Determined to prove herself, Officer Judy Hopps, the first bunny on Zootopia's police force, jumps at the chance to crack her first case - even if it means partnering with scam-artist fox Nick Wilde to solve the mystery.
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What critics say influenced Zootopia
We see a holistic compound run by a hippie yak (Tommy Chong), a tiny shrew of a mob boss (Maurice LaMarche) who is a funny tribute to Don Corleone from "The Godfather" and wolves who suffer from chain-reaction howling.
Heavy with pop allusions and references to other crime underworld movies, including The Godfather and Chinatown, Zootopia is impressive in its visual conception and scope: At once straightforward and densely layered with wit and incident, it manages a lively clip and the odd fresh joke.
The screenplay hits that sweet spot where it manages to appeal to kids with its bright colors (brighter if you sensibly forgo the unnecessary 3-D option), cute characters and slapstick humor while keeping older views amused as well with its amiably crackpot mystery narrative and pop culture jokes that are actually funny instead of annoying (even a spoof of something as old as "The Godfather" manages to inspire some unexpectedly big laughs).
This tiny creature is the deadliest crime boss in Tundratown, a la "The Godfather", voice et al --- who has no problems "icing" his enemies.
It manages to nimbly balance its lesson teaching with its storytelling, mixing in references to “The Godfather” and “Breaking Bad” that come off witty, not like cheap throwaways.
Anthropomorphization is tricky territory although, God knows, Disney has lots of anodyne experience going all the way back to that cheery little mouse who first appeared in Steamboat Willie in 1928.
Disney has traded in anthropomorphic animals all the way back to its origins with the “Alice Comedies,” Oswald the Rabbit, and “Steamboat Willie.”
Reminiscent of Toy Story, Zootopia is a film that brings a majestic crew of distinct characters to life.
"Zootopia" is one of the funniest and most precious animated films to come along since the "Toy Story" trilogy.
So it's not "Finding Nemo" or "Toy Story" or the kind of movie that will inspire new characters in human-sized form to walk around Disneyland.
It often seems like “Zootopia” is trying to be more “Toy Story” than “Frozen”; there’s even a nudge-nudge cheap shot diss of “Let It Go.” It’s edgier than most Disneys, but also not as smooth at integrating commentary into the silliness.
This very funny, and very likable holiday treat from Walt Disney Animation Studios was partly inspired by co-director Bryon Howard’s love of Disney’s 1973 Robin Hood , which replaced familiar human characters with talking animal counterparts.
In theory, Zootopia’s residents have evolved past distinctions of predator and prey, which might explain the small matter of cartoon biology: Whether tiny mice or hulking rhinoceroses, all animals have front-facing eyes, upright postures and opposable thumbs — a throwback to the delightful character design featured in Disney’s “Robin Hood” (1973), which reimagined a human world populated entirely by animals, integrating characteristics of each species into the ways different creatures move.
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The fox and hare investigate a yoga retreat run by a hippie yak (Tommy Chong) with a halo of flies; they track down a Hispanic-accented jaguar (Jesse Corti, in what I'd hope is a tribute to the accent of the bored jaguar in Nick Park's "Creature Comforts").
Disney has been down this road before with “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” although this time, there’s not a single human character to be found, while the adult-skewing jokes (mostly references to other movies) aren’t nearly so inappropriate for kids.
Not content to simply establish a staggeringly creative, lushly animated universe, the film also reveals itself to be a compelling, unexpectedly intense detective noir much more akin to Who Framed Roger Rabbit than Frozen – albeit with plenty of side-splitting sequences (it’s a shame that the sloths at the DMV bit was spoiled ahead of time by trailers, but the version up on screen is somehow even more howlingly funny) and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sight gags (the transportation system of choice is Zuber, according to one billboard).
It’s a lot like another Disney project, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, in that way, though Zootopia offers enough inventive merit and different thematic material of its own to avoid coming across like a case of repeating old tricks.
Slowly, "Zootopia" slides into a neo-noiry mystery, something out of Toon Town from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" with a genetic science-fiction component that would be ridiculous in any movie not featuring talking animals.
Without the mass hysteria predicted by Bill Murray in "Ghostbusters"?
This in itself makes this film something of an oddity in the Walt Disney Animation Studios canon since other than Robin Williams’ iconic Genie in Aladdin, breaking the fourth wall or anachronistic humor has usually been left for Mickey’s competitors.
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The behind-the-scenes talent of "Zootopia" includes a tandem of directors known for other hits --- Rich Moore for "Wreck-It Ralph", who also directed 17 "Simpsons" episodes, Byron Howard for the underrated "Tangled", plus co-director Jared Bush for "Big Hero 6".
Goodwin's voice performance does a lovely job of establishing the mix of determination and self-doubt that follows Judy into her work, while the screenplay by Jared Bush (Big Hero 6) and Phil Johnston (Wreck-It Ralph) effectively introduces background elements that impact her personality, like the anxiety of her own parents and a traumatic childhood encounter.
Following on the heels of such winners as “Big Hero 6” (2014) and “Frozen” (2013), “Zootopia” demonstrates how complete the Disney comeback now is.
I'm not persuaded that Disney's love affair with fully-rendered CGI is paying off dividends: it's a little distressing how much Zootopia doesn't deviate from the exact aesthetic that the studio has been using throughout the 2010s (it looks very like Big Hero 6 in most ways that aren't directly related to the animals' surfaces), and more than any of their movies of the 2010s, this is the one that I most desperately wish had been done in cel-style 2-D animation.
The Mouse House's recent output just seems too desperately eager to please – "Big Hero 6," "Wreck-It Ralph" and crossover marketing phenom "Frozen" feel calculated and clunky compared to Pixar's wondrous "Inside Out," "Up," "WALL-E" and "Toy Story" series, and Ghibli's evocative "Spirited Away," "Ponyo," "Howl's Moving Castle" and "The Wind Rises."