Zootropolis

Zootropolis or Zootopia as it's known in the states, is Walt Disney Animation Studios newest venture. Premiering in the UK at GFF in February before a general release later in March, the film is already tipped to be as big as Frozen with the critical success of Inside Out. Currently the highest grossing film of 2016, Zootropolis has been praised by the critics and has been well received by the masses. Many audiences noted that the film's topical themes of prejudice and stereotypes are painfully relevant in today's society.

The film centres on a world where animals walk, talk and have jobs like humans. Judy Hopps, a rabbit police officer, is trying to make a name for herself outside of parking duties. With the help of Nick, a fox with a criminal past, Judy begins the search for Otterton. Twists and turns are abundant throughout and include unlikely friendships, a dirty judicial system and a mystical flower causing some unwanted side effects. From there the film is a hilarious, anthropomorphic crime tale which culminates in a happy ending true to Disney's tried and tested format.

The voice actors in Zootropolis were certainly some of the film's best features. Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Octavia Spencer, Shakira and Kirsten Bell are some of the established names who have tackled a furry creature on behalf of Disney. Normally when a cast list is this well established, the film is trying to draw in as large an audience as possible using the celebrities as bait. However, now having seen the film, I believe the actors truly enjoyed the script and wanted to be a part of it.

The script was incredibly well written. Not only did the entire film have an underlying social commentary but it managed to have real moments of comedy genius. In particular, the scene in the DMV with Flash the Sloth had our entire audience in stitches. The film didn't follow typical the typical disney format and managed to maintain the strength and integrity of it's lead female character, Judy. Zootropolis had subplots throughout which made the film and the world in which it was set seem more realistic and well rounded instead of having everything revolving around the main characters for the full hour and a half.

Disney films whether they are animated or not, can often be predictable. With such an array of characters to play with and with a criminal scheme with twists and turns, Zootropolis was far from predictable. I don't think this film was as good or as thought provoking as Inside Out, however, the film has already outsold Deadpool and Batman VS Superman so there might still be time for Zootropolis to snowball into the phenomenon that Frozen has become.