In August 2013,  Skuffcoyote told me about a new Disney animated film that had been unveiled at the biannual D23 Expo. It was called  zootopia.

That day a countdown began. For the next two and a half years, I waited through all of the succeeding Disney films, spreading the word to whomever cared to listen about this magnificent city which lay over the deep horizon. While plenty of “furry” CGI films had made their way into theaters in recent years, this one felt different. It feltlike it was being made for us; the same way preceding generations had embraced Robin Hood and The Lion King. When the first teaser debuted in June of 2015, I was like white lightning. Difficult as it seemed, I tired closing myself to anything that could reveal plot, scene and character details; an increasingly difficult position as more trailers, screenshots, and merchandise spilled out over the succeeding nine months. Then the movie opened in Europe and the first reviews started rolling in. The buzz was good. The week that February ended and March began, I kept my eyes on Rotten Tomatoes. The review count rose steadily; it did not drop below 100%. I was officially overenthused, which caused more than a little worry. Beforehand nothing less than 90% would satisfy me. Now I felt all in. No way could the movie every live up to expectations.

On March 3rd, 2016, the countdown finally reached zero. Lo and behold, it was  vancoufur weekend; the only furry convention in North America was happening right in my own backyard. By then, thanks to lobbying from a number of furs, Silvercity Riverport had booked the film into IMAX 3-D. This was more than just another movie; this was an event. That evening, I broke from the convention to join one of many groups that would find their way over to the local multiplex. Before going inside,  crazyjoe1952/SilverFox and  saskprairiedog/Nick Wilde posed on the front steps (they were allowed to continue into the theater headless). Then it was time for the 10PM advanced screening.

So, after all that waiting and speculating, what did I think of the film?

Well, let me put it this way: You know that episode of The Big Bang Theory, “The Opening Night Excitation,” when everyone finally gets to see The Force Awakens, and after all the wonder and worry it cuts to the guys in the theater after the film…and they are all just lying there in their seats totally blissed out of their minds?

Yeah.

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