Zootopia – Savage The Whole Way Through

Initially, I wasn’t interested in seeing Zootopia at all. The previews didn’t wow me or anything, and even when it was so simple to go onto Netflix and watch it, I still had no desire to. There were so many people telling me that it was so an amazing movie though. My friends, my brother, and even my mom was giving it praise. My interest level was still nonexistent. Then, one of my friends told me to check it out and give a review, so that’s what I’m doing – RoyalBeast style. I had the movie up and it was ready to go, but before I watched the movie I wanted to check out the synopsis for the film.

In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Disney’s Zootopia (2016)

That didn’t tell me much, but it’s Disney, so let’s go with it. So I start the movie, and I see a rabbit running through the forest, and one of the first lines that can be heard is, “Ahh! Blood! Blood! Blood! *sounds of blood gushing out of a body* And death.” You know, I thought they said that the fox was cynical, but this movie started dark real quick. Still, it’s your average Disney movie. Show the protagonist, usually at a young age, explain their backstory real quick, set up the rest of the story, and there you have it.

The main character, that rabbit that you saw running through the forest at the beginning of the movie, and the one on the big posters for Zootopia, is Officer Judy Hopps. She’s a very optimistic and charismatic rabbit who’s always wanted to be a cop since she was younger, and she gets the chance to be. However, she’s up against a lot of challenges, mostly being discriminated against and looked down upon because she’s a rabbit. The wonderful thing about her is that she believes she can make a change and that’s something that a multitude of people can empathize with. If you look at the poster again, you see a very sly-looking fox. His name is Nick Wilde. Honestly, he’s my favorite character out of the two – out of the whole movie. See, Nick is a con artist, getting by day to day with the mentality that if people are going to only see you one way, then that’s how you should act. He even has the chance to have his backstory shown, and it’s a touching one, one that a lot of people can also relate to.

The supporting characters in Zootopia are great. I legit thought Mr. Big was going to be the big polar bear that walked into the room, but no, it turns out that he was a mouse. I guess I should’ve expected that as it’s usually how it goes in these types of movies. Chief Bogo was also great, and Idris Elba was a magnificent choice for his voice actor. I have to say though, his love of Gazelle was unexpected and slightly creepy in my eyes, but that’s just me. Speaking of Gazelle, my feeble mind was thinking it was a play on Adele’s name. Then, with the help of my brother and the credits, I found out that she’s actually Shakira, so bravo to the max for that role! Mayor Lionheart was another great role, and I always love it when J.K. Simmons voice acts – he never fails! Stu and Bonnie Hopps were some very caring parents, but it hurt me when they cheered about Judy not being a cop. I mean I could feel that myself, like jeez Mom and Dad just dance all over my crushed dreams. You also have Officer Clawhauser who’s another avid Gazelle lover and he actually lets the whole world know. And you can’t forget about Finnick, Nick’s original partner in crime. Now let me go ahead and tell you all straight up, he’s obviously from Souf Zootopia, like boy, let them know! Last, but not least, we have Assistant Mayor Bellweather. I liked her character and I have to say initially I didn’t see what her role was in all of this, but it sure did come.

Right from the beginning of the film, you can tell that discrimination and racism are the two key factors when it comes to the film among others, the races being predator and prey. The main predators that can be seen in Zootopia are foxes, bears, lions, and tigers. I guess I didn’t pay attention in science either because I found out that otters are predators too. Then, you have the prey – rabbits, sheep, mice, and the other 97% of Zootopians.

So, the movie is drawing me in. It’s a crime-buddy cop-mystery movie by Disney and I’m loving it. Judy has her little Mulan phase where she sucks at what she’s doing, but then gets better to defeat the Huns – I mean to become a cop! And there are so many scenes that crack me up. Three of my favorites I’d like to share with you all (click on the links) are listed below:

• Let It Go
• The Dancing Cat
• Speaking in Tongues (I had to embed this one in the review, it’s my personal favorite)

The movie is just golden! You’ve also got scenes where Disney keeps it as real as can be. If the kids didn’t know about nudists before they saw Zootopia, they know what nudists are now and they know what nudists do. Disney also decides to go ahead and let the kids know how the crime mobs do business. I want to assure everyone reading this that this is not a real representation of the mob. Watch General Hospital and check out Sonny Carinthos – he’ll show you all how the mob works and it’s not like the movie. But hands down, the best scene in the movie is the DMV scene. This scene right here was perfect the whole way through. Zootopia is spot on with how slow things go at the DMV, and oh my gosh, the way that the sloths drawl on, I loved it! We even find out at the end of the movie why the sloth is named Flash. He may move slow outside of a car, but he be booking it in them streets!

As I mentioned earlier, it’s a crime-buddy-cop-mystery movie. The mystery is that predators are disappearing left and right. Of course, we know that Judy, the main character, is going to find them. In fact, she and Nick do that in the middle of the movie. So, what does that leave for the latter half of the film? Finding out why they were disappearing and why only predators. You see, the predators were going “savage” – reverting to their primitive ways and attacking anyone and anything. At first, Mayor Lionheart is thought to be behind it, but when Judy asks why only predators are being targeted, you know who the true mastermind is behind it. Just watch the relationship between Mayor Lionheart and Assistant Mayor Bellweather – it’ll give you all the insight that you need. It was a nice little twist, one that I didn’t see coming, but pieced together it made sense. It’s the day-old tale of the victim getting revenge on the bully.

Everything ends up working out in the end because, you know, Disney. Though she made him mad, Nick and Judy become best friends and partners in the police force. They both taught others that things are not always what they seem, don’t judge a book by its cover, that things can change if given the chance, and it starts with you and me. It’s just like Michael Jackson said, ” If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, then make a change.”

It was a really good story, though somewhat predictable for us older viewers, but a tale as old as time and a lesson that will never get old and can speak to the world that we’re living in now. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and I do hope a sequel is made, but if not there are no complaints. As long as I can go back and enjoy the movie, I’m here for that.

So, how beast is Zootopia? With a wonderful story, an amazing cast, and the lovable quality that makes Disney movies so memorable, I give it 3/3 claw marks. But that’s not how we score movies on Not A Movie Buff. Although it was enjoyed the whole way through, the predictability of the movie combined with the other three elements keeps it from being perfect.