In my seemingly asinine and endless quest to torment the childhoods of potentially millions around the globe, I find myself spending more and more time ripping through Disney films without so much as a care in the world for them. Having the chance to really stop and think about my actions, to mediate on the damage I could cause those who hold these films dear to their hearts, I decided that the right thing to do would be to continue exactly what I’ve been doing. Zootopia is perhaps one of the most popular films that I’ve yet to see, not just from a Disney perspective, but from a film perspective in general. Everyone has apparently seen this film, and now so have I. Truly, I wish I’d not bothered.
Zootopia makes the worst mistake of all, in that it is a completely boring, safe piece of film that tries to do nothing with its running time. Not all films need to be flagbearers for success or implementation, but it’d be nice to see the biggest animation studio on the planet really shoot for the stars instead of dribbling out this. The nicest thing to be said about Zootopia is that it looks nice. A very sleek film, shiny and clean, looking like the pinnacle of what animation can achieve. Looking great is one thing, but the substance of the craft and the story itself come into immediate question as the film brings us all the tropes you’ve come to expect from the light-heartedness of Disney.
An all-star cast typically pave the way for a rookie cop on the beat, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a rabbit cop, teams up with her natural predator, a fox. It’s okay though, as Nick Wilde, street criminal and forest-dwelling fox, is voiced by Jason Bateman. Together they team up and slowly come to depend on one another in that oh-so-expected fashion. Thankfully I’m one of the many individuals out there to find that the inclusion of Bateman in numerous projects has improved them tenfold. You don’t need to watch The Longest Weekend, but he’s certainly the best part of that film. He comes a close second behind Jean Reno in being the best part of Couple’s Retreat, and he ties for first place with Goodwin in being the best part of Zootopia.
Where the film lacks in storytelling merit, it more than makes up for in chemistry. Goodwin and Bateman follow the formula to the letter, but there are sparks of potential throughout. Practical and rather funny at times, the charm of our two leads carries the film from A to B with relative success. But I’m a mere husk of a person, the shell of my former self clawing at this stoic faced pawn as he groaned and muttered his way through what is essentially a very colourful and charming children’s film. It’s just all so predictable, it made for a tremendously difficult time in engaging with anything beyond the nice leading performances.
I do believe it’s my fault for expecting something original. The predictability fo the plot really detracts from what little enjoyment you can grind out of Zootopia. A new cop unlike anyone else, teaming up with a bad guy turned good, the inevitable fallout, the respect she then receives from the rest of the team for beating the real big bad guy. You’re bound to have seen it before in countless other films, and if you don’t recall this style of storytelling then perhaps you have memory loss or an aversion to facing reality. It’s by the books, much like our protagonist,
Not too taxing on the mind, but nowhere close to interesting, Zootopia is frankly just a bit bland. A half-baked political message thrown into the mixture of an exceptionally talented leading pair without the writing necessary to pool their resources together in any sort of interesting manner. Zootopia attempts to bring a hard-hitting message to the table without so much success, the weaknesses it has in writing and supporting performances dragging it down with a rather brutal effect. Quite good if you’ve never seen a film before though, that’s the target audience though I suppose.
