Zootopia

Original Rating: 4/5 I think in recent years, I'd forgotten just how brilliant of a film 2016's Zootopia truly was, but watching it now, almost a decade after first seeing it, I'm reminded of the same feelings I had when I first saw it as an eight year old... And somehow, I think I like it more now. It's no doubt the animation is absolutely brilliant, as comes with the development of new technology, but Zootopia just seems to go above and beyond. I mean, I stuck around for the credits and got to see just how many people are involved in such a big scale animation project, and how much creativity there is imbedded in such a grand work of art. Everything from the various shades of fur on every different type of mammal to the rich scenery and cityscapes, an incomprehensible amount of work has gone into it, and, my god, does it look amazing. While I often go back to films such as 1994's The Lion King to appreciate how expressive 2D animation can be, when discussing 3D animation, the gold star example is undoubtedly Zootopia. Every minute expression on the mammals' faces says so much that it plays as though real actors are playing real live action roles on screen. The power of silence is explored so brilliantly just because of the perfection of this film's animation technology. This film also made me laugh a surprising amount of times. I mean, I know it's meant for kids and adults to both enjoy but I found myself laughing at jokes I didn't get nine years ago (Breaking Baaaaaaaad 🐏), and jokes that I'd been laughing at since the day I saw the official trailer (Flash 🦥). I was literally in pieces during the DMV scene, but now, understanding what a DMV is really like, it's all the more hilarious. But I think what seperates this film from other animated films that I love (Madagascar, Ice Age, etc.) is the writing. There are animated films that I deem to have the greatest writing ever like 2007's *Ratatouille, and though it offers a great, sweet message to take home, I think this film actually handles an even better message. It's a very risky idea putting something like this in a kids film because there's no telling whether films will fully understand the subtle messaging of this film, but Zootopia knows how to make it an experience for everyone. When I was eight, this film was about how anyone can be anything they want if they mean it. Now, while my original interpretation still does stand, Zootopia* is so much more. It's about racial prejudice, it's about the media's influence on every single bit of news, it's about the corruption in the world, it's about how Utopias can never truly exist, and it's about the Ragean era's Crack cocaine epidemic and the CIA's involvement in it. I miss when Disney was actually woke and cared about the things that were important to people. I miss when Disney knew the definition of subtlety and managed to make real cinema worth applauding. Nowadays, though everyone keeps jabbing Disney for being too "woke", I think they're wrong. In fact, Disney has become more conservative in the last few years than anything. That's because everything they put out, may it be a Latina *Snow White or a Black Little Mermaid, nothing shows as much care and awareness about real issues as their older films did. Instead, CGI dwarves and dropping Rotten Tomatoes ratings seem almost as though they are insulting the communities they're trying so hard to represent. It seems like the type of spoof film idea Fox and Friends would come up with in their free time. So, I implore Disney to reflect upon their previous work; see what people loved, see what touched their hearts, see what changed their perspectives and their lives, and please deliver a good Zootopia 2* this November. It's called a hustle, sweetheart. IB Level: 7+ 5/5 **6 August 2025 chymp**