ZOOTOPIA (2016)

5/19/16 - Zootopia (2016) - 6+/7-/10

Genuinely cute, endearing, and well-meaning, Zootopia may be heavy-handed in its dissemination of its message but it is a fun and slick looking vehicle for a worthy message. Pertinent, playful and edifying.

This is a beautifully animated film, that provides a vibrancy and and a well conceived/constructed living world. The characters are fairly stereotypical, but that is in service to the plot and upfront. It felt well cast, especially in the fox/Jason Bateman role, which carried a chunk of the film for me. The others are fun and fitting.

Does the film suffer from a certain predictability and elementariness? Yes. This is a kids film that isn't meant to function too deeply, but for what it is, it does a fine job walking the line. Plus, the broadness of the social dialogue occurring in the film, though averting nuance perhaps to its detriment, serves a major purpose and exudes a poignant germaneness to rival even the most conspicuous Oscar-bait dramas.

You may feel a bit of the "too many cooks" syndrome, but it still stands as an enjoyable and finely constructed animated social treatise. It is not an amazing film, but it is super well done and so much better than much of the money making dreck that so often prevails in the kiddie multiplex spots.