"Zootopia" is visually splendid and creatively alive, but it is a strong, spirited, determined rabbit named Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) who is the film's most invaluable component. Living on a planet where anthropomorphic predators and prey now coexist (mostly) in harmony, Judy has dreamed since childhood of growing up to be a police officer. She faces plenty of adversity from a male-dominated field that has never before had a bunny in its ranks, but she defies the odds to graduate at the top of her police academy. Her capabilities matter none to Zootopia Police Department's Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), who assigns missing persons cases to the rest of the force and saddles Judy with parking duty. When dedicated husband and father Emmett Otterton disappears under questionable circumstances, Judy is given 48 hours to either crack the mystery and find Emmett or agree to resign. Teaming up with wily fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) for the mission, she experiences an education of her own about the dangers of preconceived notions and judging an animal by his or her species.
Disney has hit a home run with "Zootopia," a grand entertainment with an ingeniously developed, socially conscious message. Directed by Byron Howard (2010's "Tangled") and Rich Moore (2012's "Wreck-It Ralph"), the film's significant appeal traverses all age groups, playing like many of the best family films on different levels for children and adults. Non-preachy but refreshingly thoughtful while touching upon timely real-world issues—about sexism, race relations, prejudices and profiling—which go far beyond the usual "believe-in-yourself" morals of most animated features, the film proves to be a useful learning experience. Beyond this, it is also an exceedingly clever, frequently laugh-out-loud comedy (a scene where Judy and Nick visit a DMV run by very, very slow sloths is uproarious) and a takeoff on moody film-noir thrillers (complete with a flurry of film and television references best left for viewers to discover).
See Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com. for full review
