Movie review: Zootopia

By: Madi Tortora

Staff Writer

“Zootopia,” directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, brings a whole new depth to animated films.

The movie follows a bunny named Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, who grew up wanting to be a police officer — something that differed completely from the family business of carrot farming. She had high hopes for herself, and eventually made her way to becoming a police officer in the wonderful Zootopia, a city much larger than her hometown.

She meets friends along the way, including a sly fox named Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman, who introduces her to the dark side of Zootopia. Judy Hopps is sent on a mission to find missing animals, and the plot thickens as she is investigating.

Without giving too much away, I will say that this movie is like no animated film I have ever seen before. The premise of this movie is that Judy, being a female and a bunny, is looked at as small, cute, and weak. By becoming a police officer, much to her parent’s surprise, she broke the gender stereotype that existed around her and began working in a male-dominated profession. When she arrived, she was not taken seriously, and had to prove herself through difficult tasks that a man usually wouldn’t have to go through. Moving on.

Looking deeper into the plot, one will find that this movie has even more depth than originally thought. At the end of the movie(SPOILER ALERT), it is revealed that the animals who have disappeared have gone “savage”  meaning that they have deferred from societal norms and have gone back to their primal urges, which consist of attacking animals deemed as “prey.” Only predators have gone savage, and the citizens of Zootopia begin reacting to that.

They discourage any animal that is a predator, savage or not. Predators begin to get discriminated against throughout Zootopia, and people are afraid of them. Just because of the bad things other predators did, all of the predators are at blame. As you can assume, this depicts quite a few real life situations that are currently relevant.

This animated film deals with privilege, gender barriers, racism, and inclusivity better than any movie I have ever seen, animated or not. “Zootopia” remains absolutely adorable and hilarious while dealing with prominent social issues. Watching this children’s movie as an adult has been truly inspiring, and I am already looking into showtimes for when I can see it again. Everyone should see this movie, because it is important for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Rating: A+

Genre: Animation/Comedy

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Rating: PG

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