Zootopia Conveys Message of Acceptance and Perseverance

Set in a world where humans never existed, and where animals evolved to walk, dress, and talk, Zootopia follows the story of a rookie cop named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), the first  cop ever to be bunny, who moves to the big city of Zootopia, where animals live together in harmony– or so she thinks.

Judy is a very stubborn, high energy, and spontaneous rabbit that has a tendency to get herself in danger out of her will to prove to everyone else that she can take on anything the bigger animals throw at her. An example of which is when Judy first joins the police force, she is given the job of being a ticket officer by her department’s chief, and one day she chases down a burglar through the mice sized part of the city.

But Judy soon becomes very saddened with the realization of how much the other officers and other animals mock her.

The film follows a theme of accepting others and not letting boundaries ruin bonds and friendships. The film can entertain both a young and mature audience, its story is both engaging and meaningful, and its dialogue is ageless, with jokes that anyone can laugh at, and characters anyone can relate to.

In the city of Zootopia, prey and predator live together, but some of those instinctive rivalries still exist: sheep don’t like wolves, leopards don’t like zebras, and rabbits don’t like foxes.

Judy soon meets Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a sly and relaxed fox who fancies the life of a con artist. After their first couple of encounters, and after Judy has been given 2 days to solve a missing persons case, she tracks Nick down and soon forces him to help her.

The case unfolds into a much larger conspiracy that threatens everyone in Zootopia, and puts Judy and Nick’s partnership under more and more stress.

The visuals truly show how far computer graphics have come, every bright and bleak color catches the eye, sets the mood, and leaves the audience with an enthralling a visual spectacle.

Every twitching ear and shift in emotion is clearly visible, giving viewers a clear idea of what emotion these characters are feeling. The writing is well thought out and gives the characters plenty of complicated personalities and character arcs. There are good setups, running jokes, and clever callbacks to previous lines that never feel awkward, forced, or lazy.

Each scene feels appropriately paced and flows together nicely, with serious scenes taking a darker or bleaker color pallet while some of the more fun and humorous scenes dawn a brighter, more vibrant tone.

A complaint some may have, but may sound odd, is that the really good jokes seem to only come from characters other than Nick and Judy. The two do have some great banter and endearing dialogue that’ll have viewers feel just as happy or sad as they do, but there isn’t that many memorable jokes between the two, though everything else about their dynamic and bond is quite memorable and entertaining throughout the movie.

One aspect of the movie that some people were cautious about was the prospect of a possible loving relationship between Judy the rabbit and Nick the fox. Disney managed to have them have a friendship that grows stronger throughout the film, with only a slight hint at something a little more at the very end.

But it is safe to say that there isn’t any romance between the two; and even then, the audience can become so invested in these characters that a future romance wouldn’t be as upsetting as moviegoers believed it would be before Zootopia’s release.

Which adds onto Zootopia’s overall message about seeing past other’s appearances and backgrounds. This does not mean that a love story has to be the focal point of the movie, nor does romance have to be the spearheading, end all be all of the movie’s overall message. Zootopia’s theme of pushing past physical and societal barriers to get along with others is clear, and Nick and Judy’s friendship is always endearing.

The story is fun, the characters are lovable, and the visuals and music are great. Zootopia is a funny and exciting film that can be loved by both children and adults.