From the directors of Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph comes this animated film about a world comprised of animals. The animals are divided by certain characteristics and the story is about the struggle to break their stereotyped features. This is all coming from the studio that brought us the hit movie, Frozen. Unlike Frozen, this is the most diverse animated film I have ever seen. Its definitely the most diverse animated film from Disney, featuring all sorts of animals with different backgrounds. That is funny to say about a movie that does not have any humans whatsoever.
One of the reasons I love the medium of film is because it is an object of the arts. In my opinion, fine arts are used to spread culture. Zootopia is a clear example of how culture is spread through cinema. When the writers create a message about diversity and equality, the film comes out with a deeper meaning. Zootopia not only struggles with race equality, but also sex equality. Ginnifer Goodwin (Walk the Line) acts as a symbol for women through her character, Judy Hopps. Hopps is an adorable bunny who is tired of being seen as prey. She sees all hunting animals as evil, and believes that they see all of the weaker animals as wimpy and easy targets. These ideologies are heavy-handed throughout the film, which starts to become preachy. Everyone in the film is wrong with their judgement of others. Personally I liked the use of diversity and the message of Zootopia, but the message was so deeply entrenched in the film that I could not feel entertained in any way. Its as though Disney is trying to create something that will engrain itself into the minds of the youth. The ideologies portrayed in the film are agreeable, but overall I felt brainwashed by the end. To me, cinema needs to walk a fine line between message and fun. It is easy for us to forget a film without both of these traits. If something is fun to watch but leaves me without any afterthoughts, then I no longer have any feelings for the film when the lights come back on. However if a film is too much like a sermon, then I eventually tune out the jargon and feel a disconnect from the screen. Zootopia acted as too much of a sermon and started to annoy me because I was tired of listening. I should not have to feel so downtrodden after a Disney film, especially when it points out everything that I am seeing in the news nowadays. I left without much afterthought, but rather the thought that big studio cinema is no longer the same because of how modern society is evolving. That being said, Zootopia is a very creative and intelligent film that serves as a good start to a more diverse Disney studio.
The Bottom Line: While being the most diverse Disney film yet, Zootopia struggles with subtlety and enjoyment.
Score: 8.7/10
Image credit: http://img.lum.dolimg.com/v1/images/movie_poster_zootopia_866a1bf2.jpeg
One of the reasons I love the medium of film is because it is an object of the arts. In my opinion, fine arts are used to spread culture. Zootopia is a clear example of how culture is spread through cinema. When the writers create a message about diversity and equality, the film comes out with a deeper meaning. Zootopia not only struggles with race equality, but also sex equality. Ginnifer Goodwin (Walk the Line) acts as a symbol for women through her character, Judy Hopps. Hopps is an adorable bunny who is tired of being seen as prey. She sees all hunting animals as evil, and believes that they see all of the weaker animals as wimpy and easy targets. These ideologies are heavy-handed throughout the film, which starts to become preachy. Everyone in the film is wrong with their judgement of others. Personally I liked the use of diversity and the message of Zootopia, but the message was so deeply entrenched in the film that I could not feel entertained in any way. Its as though Disney is trying to create something that will engrain itself into the minds of the youth. The ideologies portrayed in the film are agreeable, but overall I felt brainwashed by the end. To me, cinema needs to walk a fine line between message and fun. It is easy for us to forget a film without both of these traits. If something is fun to watch but leaves me without any afterthoughts, then I no longer have any feelings for the film when the lights come back on. However if a film is too much like a sermon, then I eventually tune out the jargon and feel a disconnect from the screen. Zootopia acted as too much of a sermon and started to annoy me because I was tired of listening. I should not have to feel so downtrodden after a Disney film, especially when it points out everything that I am seeing in the news nowadays. I left without much afterthought, but rather the thought that big studio cinema is no longer the same because of how modern society is evolving. That being said, Zootopia is a very creative and intelligent film that serves as a good start to a more diverse Disney studio.
The Bottom Line: While being the most diverse Disney film yet, Zootopia struggles with subtlety and enjoyment.
Score: 8.7/10
Image credit: http://img.lum.dolimg.com/v1/images/movie_poster_zootopia_866a1bf2.jpeg
