Nolafus
Aspiring something
- 5,724
- Posts
- 11
- Years
- Lost in thought... again
- Seen Mar 4, 2018
Now that I'm officially in my post-good movie high, let's get started.
In case you don't know what Zootopia is about, and you can't watch the trailer, let me give a brief preview. All of the characters in this movie are anthropomorphic animals, meaning they can walk, talk, and do everything a human can do. So yeah, basically every disney movie, but that's besides the point. Zootopia is this big city where all of the animals can live together in peace and harmony. The main character, a rabbit named Judy Hopps, is the first bunny police officer, and wants to make a name for herself. She gets put on parking duty, and is generally dismissed by all of the other, much larger, animals. She's given the opportunity to try to solve a very big case that takes her on a huge adventure throughout the entire city along with a sly fox named Nick Wilde.
Walking in, I had heard it was a good movie. I was ready to have a good time, but I wasn't ready for what is probably going to be one of the best, if not the best, animated movie of the year. I was completely blown away by this movie.
Getting right into it, we'll start with the characters. Judy Hopps has a lot of weight on her tiny, rabbit shoulders, and the movie portrays this excellently. Her self-doubt really comes across and she is a very easy character to get behind and root for. You genuinely care for everything she does, and she's an excellent main character to take us on this journey with. Ginnifer Goodwin does an excellent job as her voice actor, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. Jason Bateman, who voices Nick Wilde, also does an excellent job. The chemistry between the two characters is so good. Judy's energy and go-get-them attitude is contrasted perfectly by Nick, who may just be the most slick and chill character in cinema history. Although they get off to a rocky start, they quickly become the main duo I couldn't have been happier for.
Great characters aren't so great without a good story to back them up, but fear not, Zootopia has quite the journey. I can't talk much about the story itself, in fear of spoiling something, but just know that the story is a good one. The character development it opens up and leads to is very satisfying, and I only wish there was room for more. I really didn't want this movie to end, and though it is a good ending, it kind of stinks because I had to accept that it was really it. It progresses very smoothly with very few lulls in-between scenes, although it did slow down a couple times, I hardly noticed it before the story picked back up once again. It knows when to hit hard with action scenes, and when to slow down to let the characters rest and open up to each other. Like I said before, I just wish there was more.
One thing this movie did have plenty of, however, was meaning. There are massive undertones and parallels to real world issues such as segregation, discrimination of all kinds, and even drug abuse. Remember, this is a kids movie. Well, it's supposed to be at least. Don't get me wrong, it definitely is, but I'd argue adults would get more out of it than the kids do. Kids watch the movie for one reason, but then there's a whole layer meant purely for adults, and it's done extremely well. It's the underlying message the movie builds its backbone off of, and it does it so well. Every point can be related back, making the movie very direct, and very easy to swallow given the huge message it's delivering with quite the punch.
The setting itself is really interesting. It's a giant city, but it has to accommodate a wide variety of animal species, and the way they decided to do that made for some incredible visuals. The animation is flawless, and everything is beautiful. The settings are great and varied, but not too much. The visuals definitely don't bring anything but the absolute best.
Unfortunately, for how good this movie is, there are a few issues.
My main issue was that there are a few times the movie undermines the non-main characters and background characters to make a joke or two. It's not bad, but it does take away some of the effect and immersion the movie had. They pulled off those scenes well, but I did feel at times the movie kind of lost focus on what it was doing to make the kids in the theater laugh. As I said above, there is an underlying message to this movie that is purely for the adults watching. I'm wondering if the writers thought, since they were heavily focusing on that aspect, if they needed a couple scenes to keep the kids engaged. I don't think they needed it, but I'm not a kid, so I don't know. It's a small fumble in the stride of the movie, but it's not nearly enough to take any enjoyment away, the scenes in particular are just weak compared to everything else.
My other issue was with the setting itself. It's beautiful, but the city itself is divided into various habitats, and the movie glosses over how they work. You're expected to just accept that you can have a scorching, desert habitat a short distance from the chilling arctic, and I'm not exactly sure how that works. The rain forest does have sprinklers that constantly go, but that's about it as far as explanations go for any area.
Still those are really the only issues I had with the entire movie. Those couple of issues aren't nearly enough to drag this movie down, and it's a must see for people of all ages. It's a truly heart-felt adventure filled with underlying tones and messages that give the movie a very grounded feel with a real drive behind the characters as they both struggle against those issues. All of my expectations were blown out of the water, and I really want to see it again.
Overall, I'll give Zootopia a 9.5/10.
It's an incredible movie that easily takes a spot in my top ten movie list that I should really get around to organizing some day.
In case you don't know what Zootopia is about, and you can't watch the trailer, let me give a brief preview. All of the characters in this movie are anthropomorphic animals, meaning they can walk, talk, and do everything a human can do. So yeah, basically every disney movie, but that's besides the point. Zootopia is this big city where all of the animals can live together in peace and harmony. The main character, a rabbit named Judy Hopps, is the first bunny police officer, and wants to make a name for herself. She gets put on parking duty, and is generally dismissed by all of the other, much larger, animals. She's given the opportunity to try to solve a very big case that takes her on a huge adventure throughout the entire city along with a sly fox named Nick Wilde.
Walking in, I had heard it was a good movie. I was ready to have a good time, but I wasn't ready for what is probably going to be one of the best, if not the best, animated movie of the year. I was completely blown away by this movie.
Getting right into it, we'll start with the characters. Judy Hopps has a lot of weight on her tiny, rabbit shoulders, and the movie portrays this excellently. Her self-doubt really comes across and she is a very easy character to get behind and root for. You genuinely care for everything she does, and she's an excellent main character to take us on this journey with. Ginnifer Goodwin does an excellent job as her voice actor, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. Jason Bateman, who voices Nick Wilde, also does an excellent job. The chemistry between the two characters is so good. Judy's energy and go-get-them attitude is contrasted perfectly by Nick, who may just be the most slick and chill character in cinema history. Although they get off to a rocky start, they quickly become the main duo I couldn't have been happier for.
Great characters aren't so great without a good story to back them up, but fear not, Zootopia has quite the journey. I can't talk much about the story itself, in fear of spoiling something, but just know that the story is a good one. The character development it opens up and leads to is very satisfying, and I only wish there was room for more. I really didn't want this movie to end, and though it is a good ending, it kind of stinks because I had to accept that it was really it. It progresses very smoothly with very few lulls in-between scenes, although it did slow down a couple times, I hardly noticed it before the story picked back up once again. It knows when to hit hard with action scenes, and when to slow down to let the characters rest and open up to each other. Like I said before, I just wish there was more.
One thing this movie did have plenty of, however, was meaning. There are massive undertones and parallels to real world issues such as segregation, discrimination of all kinds, and even drug abuse. Remember, this is a kids movie. Well, it's supposed to be at least. Don't get me wrong, it definitely is, but I'd argue adults would get more out of it than the kids do. Kids watch the movie for one reason, but then there's a whole layer meant purely for adults, and it's done extremely well. It's the underlying message the movie builds its backbone off of, and it does it so well. Every point can be related back, making the movie very direct, and very easy to swallow given the huge message it's delivering with quite the punch.
The setting itself is really interesting. It's a giant city, but it has to accommodate a wide variety of animal species, and the way they decided to do that made for some incredible visuals. The animation is flawless, and everything is beautiful. The settings are great and varied, but not too much. The visuals definitely don't bring anything but the absolute best.
Unfortunately, for how good this movie is, there are a few issues.
My main issue was that there are a few times the movie undermines the non-main characters and background characters to make a joke or two. It's not bad, but it does take away some of the effect and immersion the movie had. They pulled off those scenes well, but I did feel at times the movie kind of lost focus on what it was doing to make the kids in the theater laugh. As I said above, there is an underlying message to this movie that is purely for the adults watching. I'm wondering if the writers thought, since they were heavily focusing on that aspect, if they needed a couple scenes to keep the kids engaged. I don't think they needed it, but I'm not a kid, so I don't know. It's a small fumble in the stride of the movie, but it's not nearly enough to take any enjoyment away, the scenes in particular are just weak compared to everything else.
My other issue was with the setting itself. It's beautiful, but the city itself is divided into various habitats, and the movie glosses over how they work. You're expected to just accept that you can have a scorching, desert habitat a short distance from the chilling arctic, and I'm not exactly sure how that works. The rain forest does have sprinklers that constantly go, but that's about it as far as explanations go for any area.
Still those are really the only issues I had with the entire movie. Those couple of issues aren't nearly enough to drag this movie down, and it's a must see for people of all ages. It's a truly heart-felt adventure filled with underlying tones and messages that give the movie a very grounded feel with a real drive behind the characters as they both struggle against those issues. All of my expectations were blown out of the water, and I really want to see it again.
Overall, I'll give Zootopia a 9.5/10.
It's an incredible movie that easily takes a spot in my top ten movie list that I should really get around to organizing some day.
