Monday, March 14, 2016

Zootopia

One of my biggest pet peeves is preachy animated movies for children. But Zootopia is truly  very funny, clever and so gently preachy that only adults get that part. What confused us was how many times we laughed out loud and no one else did. Were the parents just tired? Ginnifer (or however she spells it) Goodwin does a lovely job voicing the bunny lead, Judy Hopps.  Jason Bateman is her foil as the clever fox, Nick Wilde. The basic premise is that predators have been tamed and all animals get along. Don't get too involved in the details, because if predators didn't eat their prey, they'd starve and don't even THINK of how many bunnies would be all over the earth. So, let it go, let it go. Then sit tight and have fun. This is a very witty script. I did have the feeling that the younger children in the audience had absolutely NO idea what the action was about. It is a mystery story- and Judy and Nick have a bit of an interspecies attraction by the end. Look- it is just fantastic. I promise you. A little long- maybe that is why the littlest viewers were getting crabby pants. But even my husband loved it. It is 100 times better than UP. And don't miss the fact that Judy the bunny carries a carrot phone, not an apple.