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Zootopia

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Oh wait, I still can.

As part of my general life goal to stay on top of Disney releases, I saw Zootopia.

It's really good y'all. Like, real good. I was not expecting the funny animal movie to actually be a nuanced and carefully thought out discussion of prejudice and racism both systematic and personal that tackled the subject matter in a pretty raw way without ever naming names, but here we are.

Go see it I guess.
 
fuck why would you do this to me

one of my friends has been gleefully declaring her intentions to drag me to see it ever since she made me take some Buzzfeed quiz saying it would be my movie of the year (She got Rogue One because the quiz is bullshit)

whyyyyyyy
 
open_sketchbook said:
Oh wait, I still can.

As part of my general life goal to stay on top of Disney releases, I saw Zootopia.

It's really good y'all. Like, real good. I was not expecting the funny animal movie to actually be a nuanced and carefully thought out discussion of prejudice and racism both systematic and personal that tackled the subject matter in a pretty raw way without ever naming names, but here we are.

Go see it I guess.
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So what I'm hearing Zootopia buddy cop rpg when?

On the movie itself, I will third that is is a wonderful discussion on prejudice and does something that, frankly even adult movies shy away from.

Having the main character be prejudice without softening it. We as a society tend to go one of two ways with it. Either having only bad people as prejudiced or downplaying it, treating it as an amusing little quirk (discworld had this problem with Vimes). The main character is prejudice, and the victim of prejudice without either demonizing them or downplaying the hurt that it causes.

Nor is the main character alone in this. Every single character who you get to know shows that they have biases, sometimes unconscious sometimes conscious about other animals.

Interestingly, the original script was apparently rather different.
The anti predator was much more overt, with muzzles and shock collars already required, and the climax was Judy trusting nick enough to remove his. I'm honestly very glad that they didn't go with that. That sort of over the topness would have fallen right into the "only bad societies/people are prejudice" since the society would be dystopian for the predators. It wouldn't act as a mirror to our own society , but instead people could laugh it off as even most overt racists don't advocate shock collars and muzzles.

Equally such a movie requires less of Judy, since she would only have to be willing to show basic decency to be the hero. Instead of the more demanding task of recognizing her own flaws and to apologize for them.
 
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clockworkchaos said:
So what I'm hearing Zootopia buddy cop rpg when?
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No lie, the movie kinda had the feel of an rpg session. The opening felt a lot like a session zero with collaborative worldbuilding ("and there should totally be, like, a rainforest bit! an a desert!" "side by side?" "sure!"), there were side quests for Judy and roleplaying XP was definitely thrown down over Nick's backstory.
 
Uh, why the whole furry thing with the movie? People do know Mickey Mouse and Looney Tunes have been around since forever, right? Anthropomorphic animals isn't a new thing in cartoons or films.
 
They pandered immensely and obviously to the furry demographic :V

It's not a problem, but it's a thing they did.

Good movie.
 
That was one of the best movies I've seen in quite some time.

I was told it handled its themes regarding racism well and was not disappointed. It also had many other well executed aspects. Pretty much across the board really.

 
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clockworkchaos said:
Having the main character be prejudice without softening it. We as a society tend to go one of two ways with it. Eithier having only bad people as prejudice, downplaying it, treating it as an amusing little quirk (discworld had this problem with Vimes). The main character is prejudice, and the victim of prejudice without either demonizing them or downplaying the hurt that it causes.

Nor is the main character alone in this. Every single character who you get to know shows that they have biases, sometimes unconscious sometimes conscious about other animals.
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Indeed, I think that's the moment that puts the film over the top. While, Judy had heard the predators are reverting to their ancient natures from the badger scientist, she wouldn't have stated that in front of so many people if she didn't believe it. I can honestly say that I have never seen the issue of bigotry handled with such nuance and maturity. Moreover, I feel that unlike so many works that only work to address overt, de jure prejudice like Jim Crow, or anti-sufferage movements, this looks at the kind of prejudice that is most prevalent and insidious in our modern society.

With an entertainment company with a history as long and storied as Disney, I don't like to proclaim some movie that's been out less than a month to be The Best Ever, but I can't think of a Disney film that's better. The jokes always land, the pacing is tight, and it hits it's theme out of the ballpark. Fantasia has mood and atmosphere, but little substance. Hunchback has the substance, but is marred by tone deaf comedy.
 
I think one of the strongest points of the movie was simply the strength of the main two protagonists and their interactions.

open_sketchbook said:
It's really good y'all. Like, real good. I was not expecting the funny animal movie to actually be a nuanced and carefully thought out discussion of prejudice and racism both systematic and personal that tackled the subject matter in a pretty raw way without ever naming names, but here we are.
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Despite my complaints about it, I did like it a lot, including its message. And I agree that it pulled an interesting trick by having it be about bigotry, but without being a metaphor for a specific kind of bigotry, as well as the kind of subtle unthinking and invisible bigotry that exists as much as the blatant kind. I can't recall a work which pulled it off with that kind of flair, and few have tried such at all. Indeed, I probably wouldn't have made my complaints at all, if the plot being about bigotry didn't make its occasional missteps and issues in handling it more glaring.

clockworkchaos said:
On the movie itself, I will third that is is a wonderful discussion on prejudice and does something that, frankly even adult movies shy away from.
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It was a pretty nice handling of the 3rd act misunderstanding/twist:
The protagonist wins the plot, then blows the press conference with unthinking remarks, then turns out to have not actually won the real plot. Also the 3rd act understanding was the protagonist bigoted misunderstanding of things, not their counterpart misunderstanding what they said. He understood what she said just fine, she just didn't understand what she was saying or why she was saying it. And even then, its fairly obvious that she could've pulled it off if she actually had time to rehearse or think about it, rather than ambushed on the spot by a press conference.

DracoDracul said:
With an entertainment company with a history as long and storied as Disney, I don't like to proclaim some movie that's been out less than a month to be The Best Ever, but I can't think of a Disney film that's better. The jokes always land, the pacing is tight, and it hits it's theme out of the ballpark. Fantasia has mood and atmosphere, but little substance. Hunchback has the substance, but is marred by tone deaf comedy.
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I think I agree with Nostalgia Critic that Hunchback would've been better if the realness of the Gargoyles had been made ambiguous. Doing so let's you keep the comedy, but at the same time made them also sad, as you realize that their antics are just a lonely borderline mentally unhinged man playing with his imaginary friends.
 
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firefossil said:
I think I agree with Nostalgia Critic that Hunchback would've been better if the realness of the Gargoyles had been made ambiguous. Doing so let's you keep the comedy, but at the same time made them also sad, as you realize that their antics are just a lonely borderline mentally unhinged man playing with his imaginary friends.
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More than that, it needed their role scaled back. For instance, "A Guy Like You" should have been cut both because it's an awful song and because it's a comedy song as Paris is burning.
 
I'm impressed that it made a talking-animal-characters movie feel original- and get deeper into the animal stereotype thing that I've seen.
 
Is anyone else concerned that at the end of the movie
both our protagonists are mobbed up? ;) I mean, they have and use mob ties! I worry for our fair city's future.


Also: Fanart request. If you find anything Zootopia/Pacific Rim, post it!

Are Nick and Judy Drift Compatible? What would their Jager look like? Bogo giving speeches? All vital questions!
 
trob030490 said:
Anyone else catch the shots fired at Frozen?

:p
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firefossil said:
I think I vaguely recall there being something like but have already forgotten what it was. Or maybe it was something else.
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It wasn't so much a shot as a bit of tongue in cheek when the chief yells at Judy "life isn't some animated musical where you sing a song and fix everything, so just let it go!"

It's a cute movie, and the jokes landed pretty well.
 
Having seen both Deadpool and Zootopia within a day of each other, I liked Zootopia better.
I also found it better than Big Hero 6, and perhaps a little more than Wreck-It-Ralph.

It's some of the best interpersonal character interactions and breadth of emotional scenes I've witnessed in an animated movie.
 
CornyBones said:
Having seen both Deadpool and Zootopia within a day of each other, I liked Zootopia better.
I also found it better than Big Hero 6, and perhaps a little more than Wreck-It-Ralph.

It's some of the best interpersonal character interactions and breadth of emotional scenes I've witnessed in an animated movie.
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Agreed, I liked Big Hero but the world and cast here seemed wider. Ralph and Zootopia... I'll have to think on that, both rank high for me ^^
 
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