Judy Hopps is a rabbit that wants to be a Police officer. Now Rabbits aren’t meant to be policemen (that job goes to the bigger, stronger animals) they usually settle down and become carrot farmers. That’s not good enough for Judy, so she trains and trains. Eventually achieving her dream and becoming a police officer. That’s when she’s sent to the big city Zootopia a place where all mammals have evolved and predator and prey live together in harmony. Can Judy make it in a job where no one thinks she belongs and why are all these animals disappearing suddenly? It’s a strange case, but Judy is up for it. With some help from a fox they start to unravel what exactly is happening here in Zootopia.

Now walking into Zootopia I knew one thing. This was a Disney animated movie. That usually means Adults and kids can enjoy the film they’re watching, and one won’t suffer through it. It’s a hard balance to get, but Zootopia nails it. This is a movie that has a great message of following one’s dreams and not letting anyone get you down saying that you can’t make it. While also having some interesting things to say about race relations and prejudice. While the story can just play out as a normal mystery, it also tells a surprisingly adult story in the mix too, and I think it might be a bit off putting for some people.

I’m not saying it’s a bad movie. No Zootopia is a fantastic film, some people might just not be prepared for the messages this movie’s offers. I certainly wasn’t. It hit hard with questions on racism by contrasting prey and predator, and the fear that might come with it in Zootopia. All while throwing a compelling story in the mix as well.

Ginnifer Goodwin does excellent voice work as Judy Hopps our main character here and Jason Bateman does the voice of Nick Wilde, a sly fox that teams up with Judy. This is an impressive, fully realized world these animators have come up with and you get a great sense of what these characters are living in. It tells a great, shockingly deep story that might go over some kid’s heads in the audience. I honestly think I heard more adults laughing than kids throughout the run-time of this film.

Zootopia is a fantastic animated film. One that I think others will have a hard time beating this year. It’s a dense more thematically deeper film than I think most people will be expecting, but it’s one the whole family can enjoy. Parents will be buzzing about its more adult jokes and themes in the front seat, and kids will be buzzing about how cool Nick Wilde is and how many colorful characters and places this film was full of in the back seat. Heck, even I want a Nick Wilde shirt after watching this film. Definitely check this one out. It’s a fun, colorful film that is just the breath of fresh air that you might need after a hard week of midterms.

Rating: 4.5/5 A fun and colorfully animated film that almost anyone will get enjoyment out of.