I missed out on seeing Zootopia in theaters, so when the announcement was made the film would be arriving on Blu-ray soon I was excited. I heard good things about Zootopia and it seems that Disney Studios is enjjoying another renaissance. The film tells the story of Judy, a farm rabbit who dreams big despite her parents wishes for her to stay on the farm (mostly out of their own fears). Of course she perseveres and becomes the first bunny police officer and is assigned to the city center of Zootopia.
The city of Zootopia is built around 12 different ecological zones to provide habitats and homes for every kind of animal. Instead of being taken on her merits she is assigned parking duty. On her first day she not only performs her duties she winds up crossing paths with Nick, a slick fast-talking fox who is working a big scam that she tries to stop but those scams wind up being legitimate.
More than just a story about a bunny in the big city where predator and prey coexist, there is also a big case to solve but officer Hopps (yeah, I know, a little too much) isn’t allowed to be included until a deal that places her job on the line comes along. Bunny and fox then wind up teaming up to crack the case.
Much like Cars, Zootopia at the heart of it all, is a buddy story about two mismatched characters. This is both the film’s greatest strength and weakness. While there are solid storytelling mechanics there are certain character stereotypes and tropes that just feel tired, no matter how well done they are. Unfortunately the resolution to the story is as contrite and predictable as you would expect. This falls into those strengths and weaknesses.
Ultimately I liked Zootopia. A lot. Despite the trappings of the buddy tropes and familiar storytelling elements what we have is the classic Disney tale of anthropomorphic animals with a lot of heart and a moral of following your dreams and how big changes can start with the smallest of beginnings.
Special features are pretty good, but could have been better. I was hoping for an audio commentary, perhaps with a picture in picture storyboard. What we do get is about an hour worth of content divided up into multiple small chunks. I miss the times when there were comprehensive behind the scenes featurettes rather than having to jump back through the menu every 5 – 10 minutes. There are bits on how the filmmakers used real animals as inspiration as well as reference and a separate one about how the story was shaped and changed. Then we get a 3-part (artificially chopped up) look at the characters, environments and animation of the film, and another 5 minutes on the music. A few deleted scenes and a look at some deleted characters are present, with a music video and a couple of minutes devoted to the various easter eggs and hidden bits in Zootopia round out the bonus material.
Zootopia is another solid Disney offering. Kids will want to watch it multiple times and parents won’t hate watching it along with them.