'Zootopia' is a beast of a movie with a valid message

 

Product placement ahoy!

Movie: Zootopia

Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore,Jared Bush,

Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira

Verdict:

Part buddy-cop dramedy, part racial allegory, Walt Disney’s latest offering is a touching and timely movie, blessed with well-rounded characters, smart dialogue, and top-notch storytelling that’s sure to leave you howling with joy on your way out the theater.

In depth:

What does it mean to live in a diverse environment?  Is it possible to be prejudiced without being malevolent?  These are some pretty heavy questions - too heavy, it seems, for Hollywood to tackle in any sophisticated way.  Every now and then a feature crops up, condemning all the usual suspects, parading a cast of dubious and unsympathetic antagonists, just to drive home the point that racism is bad.  But simple, everyday prejudice?  That’s been left mostly out in the cold, untouched for reasons I'm sure any psychologist would happily examine.  So it’s amazing to find the first mature treatment of so sensitive a topic in a 3d movie supposedly aimed at children.  But the facts don’t lie: Zootopia delivers a powerful message on tolerance and racism that doesn’t sacrifice its characters, plot, or humor, making it one of the most enjoyable and well-rounded family films ever released by Disney.

It all takes place in a world where humans don’t exist, and both predator and prey have presumably moved past their primitive instincts toward something…sorta like peace and harmony.  Country bunny Judy Hopps (Goodwin) aspires to be a police officer in Zootopia, the sprawling metropolis serving as the nerve center for this interspecies cosmos. Though from the beginning we start to suspect that not all is hunky-dory - particularly as young Judy contends with both a bullying fox and her own fretful parents - she remains unperturbed, and after a grueling run in the police academy sets off to fulfill her dreams in the big city.  It’s too bad that everything in Zootopia is hell-bent on crushing her fragile, hard-won optimism.  After all the fanfare thrown at her for being the city’s first rabbit cop, Judy finds her fellow officers, including police chief Bogo (Idris Elba) less than thrilled to have her on the force.  She’s immediately bumped down to parking duty, her hope of making the world a better place frustrated at every turn, before a flash of impulsiveness and a stroke of bad luck lands her before a sticky ultimatum: solve a missing predators case in 48 hours (sound familiar?) or turn in her badge in disgrace.  Her only lead is entrepreneurial con artist Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a sly fox with his own complicated relationship with Zootopia to work through.  As Judy and her unwilling partner race against the clock, she finds out there's a lot more to everything and everyone around her than appearances suggest - including herself.

"Yeah, seriously - don't."

From a set up that promises nostalgic flashes of Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in PG form, Zootopia quickly swerves into some pretty serious racial territory. The amazing thing is how it does so without losing any of its charm or comedic flare.  Like an agile predator, it nimbly straddles the line between buddy cop comedy and social commentary - often blending the two, like when Judy lays out “C-word privileges” to a fellow officer (“...a bunny can call another bunny cute, but when other animals do it…” ) or when Nick has an awkward “can I touch your hair?” moment with a sheep.  It’s a brand of hilariously uncomfortable humor aimed squarely at the parents in the theater -  reminding us, perhaps, of similar indiscretions in our own lives - and doesn't come across as preachy in the least.  But when the movie gets serious, it doesn’t pull any punches; few, if any, animated features from mainstream productions tackle the often insidious and overlooked existence of institutional racism and personal biases.  By sheer brilliance, the filmmakers avoid both moralizing and direct analogues to real life, eschewing simple fables of acceptable targets to examine the roots and wreckage of prejudice lying within everyone.

 

And this wouldn’t have worked had it not been for the strength of the characters inhabiting this world.

Pretty much exactly like the DMV in real life.

 Judy is a pure joy to watch, an energetic and enthusiastic persona obviously constructed with great care and foresight.  She’s the perfect blend of naivety and strength, believing in her ability to make her dreams come true, but not immune to doubt and insecurity, especially when her rose-tinted view of Zootopia cracks right before her eyes.  Goodwin injects our young heroine with enough sweetness to almost convince you that she’d fall for just about anything...before she slyly manipulates the tar out of many characters perceived as more cunning and ruthless.   But she isn’t just the innocent victim in all of this, fighting against an establishment with narrow expectations of her.  Judy’s flaws, like her impulsiveness and need to prove herself, are often her own worst enemies, and she comes with her own racial baggage, profiling foxes specifically and predators in general, which culminates with her delivering the film’s most troubling instance of institutional prejudice -  all without malice or any ill intent.

Nick had to grow on me for a bit, since he came off at first as just another “savvy” male foil to energetic female protagonist that’s become such a tired mainstay of anime and modern Disney features alike, with hardly an independent trait to call his own.  But once his backstory kicks in and Judy’s own shortcomings become more obvious, you appreciate his witty interjections and calm, thoughtful counterpoint to the often hot-headed bunny cop.  He reveals how much he’s personally suffered under Zootopia’s strained interspecies tolerance, and it’s obvious that however much he plays up the “scam-artist fox” stereotype, he’s too earnest and too disgusted by inequity to completely pull it off.  Bateman’s timing and humor really carry the day, and the chemistry between Nick and Judy isn’t just palatable - it’s damn-near explosive.  These characters, individually complex and fleshed-out, never overshadow one another, and while there’s enough fodder to keep the shipping segment of the fandom occupied, their layered and touching interactions - as close friends, partners, and confidants - have enough power to back a sequel or two, or even a television series.

Scenery porn?  Damn straight.

Besides the phenomenal story and characters, the 3d is gorgeous, as expected.  Judy arrives in Zootopia in a realistically rendered high-speed railway meant solely to showcase how much detail went into designing the animal metropolis - from the smokey clouds in the Rainforest District, to the frigid beauty of Tundratown.  But the scenery isn’t just there to be gawked at; it’s almost a character in itself, at times living up to the ideal of a beautiful, bustling city with unlimited opportunities, but only a trick of lighting and the right color palette away from exposing a seedier, darker underbelly, complete with mob bosses, hidden agendas, and unresolved tensions forged in millennia of predator/prey conflict.  The animators spared nothing in bringing this cityscape to life, and it should be a lesson to anyone interested in creative world-building.

With so much praise, there has to be some drastic misstep to balance it out, right?  Well, yes and no; it has its flaws, of course, but they're minimal at the very worst.  Disney’s recent obsession for the “surprise villain” shtick is getting old, and anyone tired of it will surely roll their eyes at the big "reveal."  However, the blow is softened by the weightiness of Zootopia’s plot.  The problem with these kinds of antagonists is that they’re too often given insufficient motive or development in order to keep the “shock” factor in play.  But Zootopia comes complete with its own “build your villain” package, thanks to the racial and political ramifications of only half-heartedly embracing diversity.  Was Hitler’s rise a product of 20th century Germany’s ethnic milieu?  Would the Rwandan genocide have occurred had there not been such a sharp line drawn between Hutu and Tutsi?  Who knows, but a little understanding of history puts Zootopia's bad guy in a pretty believable light.

Beyond that, and a little exaggeration when Judy finally confronts her own inner demons, I have nothing bad to say about it.  I admit I hissed through my teeth at everyone claiming this was the best thing since The Lion King, but that might not be far off the mark.  I don’t know if the crew at Disney has anything else in mind for Judy, Nick, and the rest of the cast, but this is one franchise I'd be thrilled to see take off.

Grade: A+

Movie Review: Tomorrowland

Movie: Tomorrowland

Directed by: Brad Bird

Starring: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson

Verdict:

Brad Bird’s aggressively optimistic Sci-fi utopia flick tries hard to dazzle with visions of a possible tomorrow, but while Raffey Cassidy’s performance as Athena simmers alongside the special effects, neither were enough to uplift the film’s horrendous pacing and tragically underwhelming plot to anywhere near its promise.

In depth:

For such an effects-heavy film, Tomorrowland was surprisingly muted in most of its previews, being more focused on building an optimistic vibe and buoyant, hopeful atmosphere, rather than on wowing the audience with special effects.  I was initially pleased with this angle, for despite my love of Blade Runner and the rest of the Cyberpunk canon, years of relentlessly bleak and nihilistic dystopian science fiction had ground me low, and while I couldn't stomach a return to the Space Age euphoria of The Jetsons and its relatives, Tomorrowland's exaltation of scientific possibilities as per the previews showed promise in filling a void left in me since Disney’s 2007 animated feature Meet the Robinsons.  Unfortunately, the previews went well beyond merely “doing justice” to the movie - they were downright disingenuous.  Like the film’s hapless protagonists, I felt duped, deceived by a glossy veneer of thoughtful utopian futurism which turned out to mask a spastic and unwieldy film, with seemingly minimal direction and only a heavy-handed “message,” delivered with all the subtlety of a back alley mugger, to greet me at the end.  

Our mournful tale centers around two decidedly different protagonists, both of whom have had their lives altered by contact with the eponymous location. We’re introduced to Frank Walker (Clooney), a bitter and cynical man who is apparently addressing an undisclosed audience about “how we got to here.”  The film throws us back to the 1964 World’s Fair, where an eleven-year-old Walker is gearing up to present his homemade “jetpack” to a very bored Hugh Laurie.  I’ll admit that this is the first - and sadly, only - hope spot in the entire film; the scenery was bright and colorful, and the quasi-philosophical exchange between the boy-genius and Laurie’s character Nix, though hurried and shallow compared to presentations in other movies, did strike at the story’s main nerve: that the invention of any dream, any idea - however fuzzy or incomplete - may spark the seeds of tomorrow’s innovations, if only by willing the heart to consider possibilities.  However, the best part of the beginning was undoubtedly the introduction of Raffey Cassidy as Athena, a young girl with a secret who takes a liking to young Frank and gives him the pin that functions as a pass to Tomorrowland - the hyper-futuristic, creative utopia where all the world’s best minds gather to make the impossible happen.  Yes, it’s true that “English little girl” is usually more than enough characterization to stand out in an American production, but in this case she actually has some meat to her.  Throughout the beginning and going the full nine yards, Cassidy was one snarky, sardonic, butt-kicking, heart string-pulling fountain after another, and the fact that she’s barely past the puberty gateway only makes her ability to meet most of the expectations placed on her all the more impressive.  Her charm and sincerity are all natural, and I wonder what her future has in store for her.

But still, it’s got to be pointed out that Cassidy’s acting chops, even allowing for her age, are only somewhat above adequate, and really only stand out because most of her castmates are sort of a let down.  While I usually enjoy Clooney in most of the films he’s in, this time he came up rather short, playing to stock the most conventional kind of curmudgeon-scorned you could possibly imagine.  However, the exemplary irritation in the acting department  resides squarely with Britt Robertson and her character Casey, the shrill and annoying magnet for most of my frustrations with Tomorrowland.  Playing opposite Clooney as the young, bright, and optimistic science enthusiast, Robertson promised to drive the film’s direction, perhaps bringing Clooney out of the dark and setting a good pace for the rest of the movie.  Unfortunately, she turned out to be a dud, a quintessential example of character shilling who, while smart, never did much more than shout and have her common sense observations called out as “brilliant.”  As with Clooney, her scenes and motivation all amounted to a big “ho-hum,” though I suspect that I probably wouldn’t have noticed as much were I fifteen years younger.  

Worse yet, her appearance coincided with where the plot takes a real nosedive...and pretty much stays at low altitude for over 90 percent of the remainder of the movie.  Story rot doesn’t even begin to cover it; everything spanning from the time she discovered the Tomorrowland pin, until she actually arrives there, was the most bloated, meandering and drawn out stretch of cinema I’ve seen in the past year.  This was supposed to be the point where the plot hits its “meat” - when we learn that not all is sunshine and sprinkles in Tomorrowland, and a contingent of creepy robots are sent to silence Casey from discovering the truth.   Unfortunately, we’re treated to a couple of robot fights, a few extended chases, and a lot of fluff and filler.  It had its moments, I admit - for example, seeing Frank Walker’s near Batman-levels of prepared ingenuity when the bad guys follow Casey to his home was good fun, and one of the best scenes in the movie.  But by and large this hour-long stretch, in an already overly-long 130-minute movie, limped on with little direction, dragging the viewer along while giving no incentive to command our attention other than a sub-adequate jigsaw plot.  Of course, piecing together the story’s “puzzle” might have been fun were there anything at the end of the road worth discovering, but alas, no; they don't even arrive in Tomorrowland until the last 30 or so minutes of the movie, after which everything resolves on the words of the villain’s rather illogical 2-minute diatribe, and not even the surprising maturity by which the movie’s message is presented could offset its heavy-handed delivery, or Tomorrowland's many failings in general.

So was there anything good in this movie?  Well, aside from Cassidy and her antics, the special effects were great, as to be expected.  They were dazzling on their own, but what really stood out was how they dovetailed into the movie’s wider theme of optimism and possibility; the effects, along with the various props accompanying them, had a very “classic” feel, almost as if they were cooked up in the mind of an imaginative ten-year-old - which, when you think about it, may have been the point.  Likewise, they weren’t splattered everywhere, giving the viewer new distractions every 3 seconds, but were used economically, mainly to punctuate how this or that event was in some way “amazing” - and to be honest, it usually worked.  Too bad that even this concession merely damns by faint praise, since the concentrated usage of special effects only highlighted the absolute barrenness of the rest of the film; the draw of flickering lights or a CGI explosion every minute has been the saving throw of many a sub-par movie, as they at least keep the adrenaline amped and the mind numb. But with no such salvation in Tomorrowland, the long desert between the first and last 20 minutes of the movie where nothing of real substance happened felt that much longer.

It’s easy to sneer at my harsh critique - to call me a tin bully, to chide me for cutting down a movie obviously meant to appeal to children.  But that all misses the point; there are many, many, many movies, for children and for adults, that push the same optimistic message of “dream big” with a grace, subtlety, or charm Tomorrowland couldn’t hope to achieve.  While it definitely contained within it the seeds of a solid, mature reconstruction of the future utopianism it tried to embody, we will have to wait another day for a film that can bring those seeds to bloom.

Grade: D