 |
| Partners in crime investigation |
"Zootopia" is an anthropomorphic animal movie, but it goes beyond imbuing animals with human characteristics: the eponymous city itself reflects human society and many of its complexities.
For her entire life, heroine Judy Hopps has heard that "in Zootopia, anyone can be anything," and now she's determined to make the world a better place by becoming Zootopia's first rabbit police officer. When she joins the force, she soon learns that not everyone's on board with anyone being anything, and that she must overcome her own prejudices to forge a friendship with Nick the fox and crack a case that could change the city's future.
Minor spoilers below.
For me, the genius of "Zootopia" is that it deals thoughtfully with serious issues, making them accessible to kids without dumbing them down. In the film's opening minutes, young Judy confronts a bully, and he's reintroduced much later in the film in as heartwarming a way as Disney could dream up. The past is not prologue and people (animals) can change: not just the bully, but all those around him as well.
Another example: we eventually learn a bit about Nick's past and get a glimpse at why he's so cynical. His story shows that actions have consequences, but in context the underlying message – which is reinforced throughout the rest of the film – is that others can't define who you are.
One more: at the film's climax, one character insists that they're in the right and that "fear always works." This sentiment and its refutation are so timely. No, fear doesn't always work, as long as people are willing to fight against fear and for one another.
Combining an important message, lush animation, and above all a sense of fun, "Zootopia" is my favorite film of 2016. At this point in the year, I don't expect it'll be surpassed.
Helen and I hustled to see "Zootopia" as soon as it arrived in our local movie theater (March 2016, Hanover NH) because of overwhelmingly enthusiastic reviews, like yours here. We liked it a lot. I suspect that you waited for it to be available on DVD. So we agree it's well worth seeing and fun. But my point is that how, when, and with whom we watch this film likely colors our interpretation of it, too. Context matters.
ReplyDeleteIn the theater, inevitably, we interacted with everyone else in the audience, which doesn't necessarily happen with a DVD at home. Our audience was 95% older folks like us, almost no children, and we did not for one second see this as primarily a children's movie. For that alone it seemed astonishingly un-Disneylike. Further, this was a very liberal audience (as it would later turn out, Hanover voted more than 80% for Hillary), and many were obviously very moved by the timeliness of the theme, standing teary-eyed at the end while the uplifting music blared and the credits rolled, rather than filing out from their seats toward the exits. I am pretty sure many were finding it anti-Trump inspirational, as I think by then the Trump movement was beginning to be taken seriously and beginning to some to seem frightening. But again, if true, how un-Disneylike to be so intentionally, so specifically, political.
In retrospect I think being in that audience at that time gave me a completely wrong impression about its being politically motivated in such a specific way. When in a crowd, one tends to think and feel like the crowd, emotions overrule, etc--you know the psychology. In fact the film couldn't possibly have been intended as a parable about the specific front-runners in this specific presidential campaign; it was already in production by 2013. Nevertheless, I was curious about how it might have become politicized and sure enough found liberal commentary about how brilliantly anti-Trumpian the film was, versus opposing commentary about its being typically Hollywood liberal propaganda, both sides urging parents to take their children to see vs boycott the film. My favorite example is that, in China, lots of people saw the film, or at least the theme, as about THEM! It was wildly popular there, as here. Whereupon an official news outlet of the Chinese Communist Party took umbrage, calling the movie "subtle propaganda for American values and Western strategies for world dominance." Though beware: my source is none other than Breitbart News: http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/04/07/chinese-govt-denounces-disneys-zootopia-subversive-propaganda-american-dream/
So at this point I have to conclude we are dealing with much more than "Zootopia" in itself. Whether or not it's great art--and I think it's at least pretty good--it's an interesting social phenomenon, a mirror of the times. Comparable to "Uncle Tom's Cabin," say, during a previous era of racial tension and political strife. Thanks for your review; it really got me going.
Great observations! Context absolutely matters. One definition of art that I like is that it's something people create to provoke a response, and "Zootopia" certainly succeeds at that. If I had to distill the film down to one idea, it's that quote that "anyone can be anything," which I'd argue is also at the core of America's national identity. I'm glad that even with all the messiness and missteps (some of which the movie addresses), this idea still resonates with so many people around the world.
DeleteDisney and Pixar have had a pretty good run in animated films lately. A couple years ago, "Frozen" got a lot of good press for being not your typical princess movie, and "Inside Out" wonderfully portrays our real and imagined internal lives. I'd argue that the majority of big-budget live action movies – the ones that get big stars and big advertising budgets to match – don't innovate much. Maybe that's not a new phenomenon? Anyway, I'm glad animation studios are pushing the medium forward.