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Zootopia Review (No Spoilers!)
9 years ago
Wow, just got back from seeing Zootopia. But was it "the ultimate movie for Furries" as some movie and fan culture writers and even I thought it might be? I'll get to that later....
Too many CGI animated movies follow a "Animals VS Stupid Humans" formula. Kids love it and when done right (Madagascar) it can be super-entertaining. But too many studios have run that formula right into the ground (Here lies "Norm of the North"...). So I'm thrilled that Zootopia did something different. After seeing the whole movie I believe this was a daring movie for Disney to make. It doesn't look like it from the characters, poster and trailers, but Disney took some big chances with storytelling, animation while making a serious comment about bias in modern society, and it succeeds wonderfully.
Most Disney animated films with anthropomorphic characters have always existed in "a long long time ago" and not now so they wouldn't age for future generations. I recall it may have been something Walt Disney deliberately wanted for his films. (btw one of the few exceptions was 101 Dalmatians, and that was released in 1961, the year I was born) So seeing so many modern pop culture references all over the place and technology like cell phones was fun and different for Disney. I just wonder what future audiences will think of things like "Zoogle"...will they be outdated or look silly in 20-40 years... Who knows? I hope it won't date that badly and become a classic.
With its high-tech modern society, Zootopia felt like a Dreamworks movie in many ways. I think this was Disney's way of showing Dreamworks, Illumination and other studios "hey we can make a modern animated movie too". There's even a funny scene where a main character makes fun of and debunks the "if you wish upon a star" fantasy that so many Disney classics have. That shot of serious adult reality is something I thought Disney would never put in their movies.
And the Predators (white?) vs Prey (minorities) bias message that has been written about in the press so many times was nicely handled. Though it was talked about a lot, it never felt preachy and shoved in your face. But at the same time because of the super-fast pacing and sometimes very violent action will anyone remember that message, especially kids?
The animation and character design just explodes off the screen (go see it in 3D). I wish I could have saw more brown bears except for just a few seconds though!
Zootopia could have used another main song after Shakari's "Try Anything" which gets played twice in the movie. It's fun, lightweight and catchy Top 40 pop but it doesn't make that classic Disney musical impact in the plot like Frozen's "Let It Go" did.
Just like every Disney film Zootopia is made for a general audience, but I don't believe this movie would have been made without the furry fandom's influence. From what I've heard from other furries (especially from the Orlando area) in the past Disney has wanted nothing to do with our fandom for years. But after buying Lucasfim and Marvel perhaps Disney brought in the right people or finally figured out how to deal with and market to fandoms, especially online.
I think Disney wanted to create a huge internet buzz for the movie so they went right after Furries. That first Zootopia trailer was a huge shock to me and so many other furs. It's explanation about anthropomorphics was almost a love letter to our fandom. And that the company, the animators and directors were friendly to furries, artists and fursuiters via Twitter and Facebook was refreshing after so many years of Disney putting up a virtual brick wall between fans and creators.
Our fandom has been saying "Cartoons don't have to be for Kids!" for years. We have been creating our own adult, smart, serious and yes sexy anthropomorphized "Furry" characters for decades because Disney and other animation studios never did that very often. The furry fandom has been steadily building up a fan base of adult fans worldwide, and after being just a internet joke for years with a bad rep has finally started to be taken and marketed to seriously. Who knows what will happen to our fandom in the future, but I hope its a good thing. I don't want to see furcons like Anthrocon become trade shows like some anime and superhero cons have.
Zootopia hints at a future where movie companies don't always have to make G and PG anthropomorphic movies. I'd love to see a animation company really push the limits of CGI storytelling, animation and design with anthropomorphic characters in a PG-13 or R rated movie in serious adult situations and not have to make it cute and cuddly for the kids, marketers and the toy makers.
Oh yeah, so is it a Furry Movie? Absolutely! Go see it now!
Comments welcome!
Too many CGI animated movies follow a "Animals VS Stupid Humans" formula. Kids love it and when done right (Madagascar) it can be super-entertaining. But too many studios have run that formula right into the ground (Here lies "Norm of the North"...). So I'm thrilled that Zootopia did something different. After seeing the whole movie I believe this was a daring movie for Disney to make. It doesn't look like it from the characters, poster and trailers, but Disney took some big chances with storytelling, animation while making a serious comment about bias in modern society, and it succeeds wonderfully.
Most Disney animated films with anthropomorphic characters have always existed in "a long long time ago" and not now so they wouldn't age for future generations. I recall it may have been something Walt Disney deliberately wanted for his films. (btw one of the few exceptions was 101 Dalmatians, and that was released in 1961, the year I was born) So seeing so many modern pop culture references all over the place and technology like cell phones was fun and different for Disney. I just wonder what future audiences will think of things like "Zoogle"...will they be outdated or look silly in 20-40 years... Who knows? I hope it won't date that badly and become a classic.
With its high-tech modern society, Zootopia felt like a Dreamworks movie in many ways. I think this was Disney's way of showing Dreamworks, Illumination and other studios "hey we can make a modern animated movie too". There's even a funny scene where a main character makes fun of and debunks the "if you wish upon a star" fantasy that so many Disney classics have. That shot of serious adult reality is something I thought Disney would never put in their movies.
And the Predators (white?) vs Prey (minorities) bias message that has been written about in the press so many times was nicely handled. Though it was talked about a lot, it never felt preachy and shoved in your face. But at the same time because of the super-fast pacing and sometimes very violent action will anyone remember that message, especially kids?
The animation and character design just explodes off the screen (go see it in 3D). I wish I could have saw more brown bears except for just a few seconds though!
Zootopia could have used another main song after Shakari's "Try Anything" which gets played twice in the movie. It's fun, lightweight and catchy Top 40 pop but it doesn't make that classic Disney musical impact in the plot like Frozen's "Let It Go" did.
Just like every Disney film Zootopia is made for a general audience, but I don't believe this movie would have been made without the furry fandom's influence. From what I've heard from other furries (especially from the Orlando area) in the past Disney has wanted nothing to do with our fandom for years. But after buying Lucasfim and Marvel perhaps Disney brought in the right people or finally figured out how to deal with and market to fandoms, especially online.
I think Disney wanted to create a huge internet buzz for the movie so they went right after Furries. That first Zootopia trailer was a huge shock to me and so many other furs. It's explanation about anthropomorphics was almost a love letter to our fandom. And that the company, the animators and directors were friendly to furries, artists and fursuiters via Twitter and Facebook was refreshing after so many years of Disney putting up a virtual brick wall between fans and creators.
Our fandom has been saying "Cartoons don't have to be for Kids!" for years. We have been creating our own adult, smart, serious and yes sexy anthropomorphized "Furry" characters for decades because Disney and other animation studios never did that very often. The furry fandom has been steadily building up a fan base of adult fans worldwide, and after being just a internet joke for years with a bad rep has finally started to be taken and marketed to seriously. Who knows what will happen to our fandom in the future, but I hope its a good thing. I don't want to see furcons like Anthrocon become trade shows like some anime and superhero cons have.
Zootopia hints at a future where movie companies don't always have to make G and PG anthropomorphic movies. I'd love to see a animation company really push the limits of CGI storytelling, animation and design with anthropomorphic characters in a PG-13 or R rated movie in serious adult situations and not have to make it cute and cuddly for the kids, marketers and the toy makers.
Oh yeah, so is it a Furry Movie? Absolutely! Go see it now!
Comments welcome!
I think the writers had to keep referring to it throughout the whole movie, otherwise audiences might have forgotten about it over all the action of Nick & Judy trying to solve the case. I've watch many animated movies that tried to have a serious message, only to gloss over it.
That it wasn't released during the summer when there is a rush of CGI movies helped it. Zootopia is already a monster at the box office: http://variety.com/2016/film/news/b.....en-1201722992/
And wow! I have a feeling that Zootopia would have Frozen type numbers at this rate.
Just want to throw it out there that the theater that I and 20+ other furs watched it in was packed.
And I'll be to seeing it again during Furry Fiesta next Saturday. Our GOH luncheon will be a noon private dinner theater showing of it!
Despite making a film with a more edgier and "modern" setting rather than yet another picturesque fairy tale, I think Disney executed it well. One of the reasons I much prefer Disney/Pixar animated films over other studios like Dreamworks is that the former seems more like a real work of art and not too commercialised. Let me give you an analogy: Disney/Pixar films are like Monet paintings whilst Dreamworks, in my opinion, are like Thomas Kinkade paintings. Disney/Pixar films rely more on a quality script, voice-over, and originality rather than using all these expensive CGI effects and blockbuster, multimillion dollar celebrities.
In regards to "Zootopia", I must say that not only did I enjoy the breath-taking landscapes (eye candy), colour schemes, attention to animal anatomy, but also the story as a whole. It had quite a bit of humour that people of all ages can understand (not too many in-your-face obvious pop culture references) and unexpected twists. Throughout the whole film I couldn't take my eyes and ears off "Zootopia." I like how the writers where able to put all these subtle and amusing puns and references in it. Did you know that in Spanish, Mr. Manchas (the black jaguar chauffeur) means Mr. Spots? There other references to other movies, including Disney/Pixar movies too.
As a person who likes foreign languages too, I found it amusing how the French and Spanish versions of the official trailer differ in script from the original; they are not word for word. There are also two versions of each the French and Spanish versions: for the French language version there is a Canadian French and an Metropolitan French version and for Spanish a Latin American and Castilian versions, all with their own accents and voice actors. The joke about the three humped camel that Nick told to Flash at the DMV remains more or less the same in all these versions.
Overall I hope there is a sequel.