The identity of the villain can be deduced by the process of elimination rather than character development. The rest of the cast feel surprisingly two dimensional. Judy Hoops and Nick Wilde are fleshed out quite well, even if their psychology seems a little straightforward and generic Wilde’s detachment inevitably gives way to a tragic back story that explains his gruff demeanour. Perhaps Zootropolis devotes too much effort to mapping out its world and not enough to developing its characters. The film’s logic is not always airtight, but this is a movie about anthropomorphised talking animals little details suggest a reasonably developed world. One of the greatest strengths of Zootropolis is the care that the film takes in fleshing out and developing its fantastical world in a clean and clear manner. In the big city, class divisions become pronounced, with obvious divisions existing between species that were traditionally “predators” and those who were traditionally “prey.” Although initially assigned to traffic duty, Judy quickly finds herself drawn into an investigation involving the mysterious disappearance of a bunch of predators.Īlong the way, Judy finds herself working with feisty con artist named Nick Wilde, a fox who survives according to an elaborate hustle that also serves (efficiently enough) as a whistle-stop tour of the animated film’s world. Judy Hopps is the first rabbit to graduate from the police academy emerging at the top of her class, Judy is assigned to the precinct at the heart of Zootropolis. The plot set-up is pretty straightforward. There are points at which Zootropolis feels more like a turducken than a chimera. Zootropolis largely works, but it never comes together in the way that the best Disney outings do. There are points at which it feels like Zootropolis might be a much stronger film if it slowed down a bit, instead of hopping from one set-up to the next in the style of its rabbit protagonist. The plot covers quite a lot of ground as our plucky heroes embark on their investigation, including extended (and overt) riffs on pop culture standards like The Godfather and Breaking Bad. There is a sense that Zootropolis struggles to do too much in the space afforded to it. However, this becomes a problem in and of itself. It helps that the script is light on its feet and packed with enough fast gags that it breezes along without ever getting stuck in the same place for too long. Along the way, writers Jared Bush and Phil Johnston fashion the story into an allegory rich with social commentary about race and class issues in American cities. There is a great idea in here, a detective film set in an anthropomorphised world featuring a rabbit and fox who must team up to solve a number of mysterious disappearances. Zootropolis is a solidly entertaining family film that strains under the weight of its core premise. This film was seen as part of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival 2016.
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