Zootopia

We saw Disney's animated film, Zootopia, last night and I really enjoyed it. It started out as a typical "believe in yourself, you can do anything" movie and quite unexpectedly turned and became deeper
and more complex. The issues it deals with are topical and very important.

There's a lot to like in this movie. The characters are well drawn, interesting and motivated. The main character, Judy, a small-town bunny who wants to be a policeman in the big city, is the type of character I love; an empowered, ambitious, smart female, much like Rey in The Force Awakens. We've seen lots of animated movies featuring worlds created and populated by anthropomorphic animals, robots, fish, aliens, insects, and even monsters. I think the world of Zootopia is one of the most creative and well thought out I've ever seen.

The only thing that makes me a little uncomfortable is the underlying metaphor of racial tensions. I don't have any problem with the metaphor itself, but its execution in Zootopia is a bit troubling. I won't go into it, but this article articulates my discomfort very well. I'm not sure I totally agree with the author, but I'm not sure I disagree very much.

In any event, I'm looking forward to seeing Zootopia again.