Zootopia (2016)

Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush

Screenplay written by Jared Bush, Phil Johnston

Story by Jennifer Lee, Phil Johnston, Josie Trinidad, Jim Reardon, Jared Bush, Rich Moore and Byron Howard

Starring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba and Jenny Slate

Easily the best animated film of 2016-- this film is great for kids and adults all around. Zootopia tells the stories of animals in a very humanized seeming world, with many social issues that we are dealing with as a society today. It also has many genuine laughs, clever animal stereotypes and so much more. 

Zootopia is a mammal metroplis that is home to the largest of elephants, the smallest of mice, the slyest of fox and the slowest of sloths. Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) is a bunny who is new to the Zootopia police department-- the first bunny they have ever had on the force actually. Hopps soon learns how hard it is to be on the police force, and that she is constantly being underestimated because she is a small "cute" bunny (cute seems to be a hateful slur to bunnies in this universe). Set on a track to prove herself, Judy jumps at the opportunity to solve a mysterious case. She teams up with a wily fox, Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) to solve the big case that even the chief of police (Idris Elba) cant crack. 

The film dawns on some pretty heavy topics such as racial and social prejudices. It sheds light on certain biological predispositions to crime from certain species. It states that everyone should have the chance to change what people think of them. The main characters face so much prejudice themselves, as Judy is always being overlooked in what she's capable of because of her stature and generally cute nature. Nick falls under that umbrella of a species who is predisposed to crime because he is a sly and sketchy fox. This movie sets out to prove that you cant change who you are but you can change people's perceptions of you. While the adults watching this movie may have a lot of underlying messages to uncover, there are a lot of laughs for the kids too. What is great about the humor in this movie is that it works on so many levels. For example, the scene with the sloths. Children will buckle in laughter over the notorious slow moving animals, but what the adults will enjoy about that scene is all the sloths in Zootopia seem to be working at the notoriously slow DMV. 

Aside from the humor and overall message from this movie, it also just has very great animation. The layout of the fictional and animated metropolis of Zootopia is very cool looking-- as well as the animation of the characters. Plus, we get Shakira as a gazelle singing a new song. So much to love about this movie! 

8/10