Nonetheless, the premise of a land where animals of all kinds have evolved to live together in flawless harmony – or at least ideal on the surface – becomes an all too human kind of story. With “Zootopia”, a new program allows the team to make the most realistic looking fur this side of Mother Nature.
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For Judy, “Zootopia” promises a world where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything.
No wasn’t an option for Ginnifer Goodwin when the call came from Disney: How would she like to voice a spunky bunny? That would be Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a con-artist fox with sketchy connections. Not only does “Zootopia” effectively add to already proven character types, but it makes you glad you were wrong along the way.
“Something really important that John said was, ‘If you’re going to do a talking animal film, you’ve got to do one that no one has ever seen before.’ That really became the mantra”.
At Disneyland, they’ll be on Hollywood Boulevard at Disney California Adventure. “Making changes are tough but I am glad that the studio just won’t settle and always wants to make the final product great”. After a 2015 with feminist blockbuster heroes like Furiosa and Rey, Judy sets the early bar for 2016. Part of the reason for the weird critical vitriol aimed at last year’s perfectly good The Good Dinosaur was that it appeared under the Pixar brand, while offering the unfocused story and mixed thematic signals we’ve come to expect from Disney.
Moore: In the world of Zootopia, the animals are separated into two groups: prey and predator. After all, who do you think takes a kid to the theater to see the movie, in the first place? “We tell stories with images, Michael tells stories with music”.
There are innumerable winks to such films and TV shows as The Godfather, Godzilla, 28 Days Later and Breaking Bad.
There’s not much of a Zootopia presence in the theme parks yet.
Goodwin’s other enterprise – playing Mary Margaret Blanchard/Snow White in Sunday night’s fan fiction favorite “Once Upon a Time” – returns March 6 even as she finishes filming the fifth season. For all the serious messages and allegories, they still wouldn’t go down so easily if they weren’t wrapped in a package of fun. In fact, it is really a cross between Who Framed Roger Rabbit and 48 Hrs, and not just because it has a rabbit and a 48-hour ticking clock. The movie is not heavy handed but it clearly is trying to address issues about racial profiling, the subtle prejudices we give ourselves permission to feel OK about and how inappropriate our actions can be because sometimes we don’t know better.
The screenplay offers an amusing satire of cops and crime movies, with a healthy mix of sight gags and one-liners that provide some big laughs.
Zootopia is overall a total blast, full of humor and plot twists ’til the end.
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This winsome dynamic also comes from that of their voices. At the top of the teasing chain is Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), a cape buffalo who assigns Hopps to parking duty on her first day.
