Judy Hopps, a bold if naïve bunny, joins the police force of Zootopia, aiming to bust criminals alongside stereotypes of what rabbits can do. Zootopia the movie, meanwhile, aims to bust prejudice, racism, police brutality, gender bias and a whole host of social ills with an explicitly allegorical narrative about a city where predator and prey live together, even as a conspiracy is at work to disrupt the peace. A lot of energy is spent on making sure kids “get” the various messages, and while it’s done with creativity and wit (love the bit about other animals being unable to resist touching sheep’s wool to see what it feels like), Zootopia still has the stridency of a lesson plan. Thank goodness, then, for the astonishing world building and detailed animation design. Coffee shops have serving counters at different heights, the better to serve both cheetahs and giraffes. Tails are so delicately rendered that the fur seems to ripple in the breeze. The lesson most easily learned? In terms of craft, Disney animation remains on top. With spirited and amusing voice work from Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy and Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde, a hustling fox who becomes Judy’s unlikely partner in crime-fighting.
