Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Judy Hopps is an ambitious little bunny. Stuck in a zillion-rabbit town, she longs to join the police force. Topping her class at the police academy, and despite the misgivings of her conventional, veggie-farmer parents, she heads off to Zootopia, the Big Carrot in the film’s all-animal universe, to forge a career in the ZPD.

Judy is crushed, however, when her first assignment is parking patrol. But events turn in a surprise direction as she’s soon assigned to find a missing otter. Reluctantly assisted by fox/hustler Nick Wilde, she uncovers a plot threatening to push the city of Zootopia into chaos.

Zootopia, however, is not just about cute animals doing cute and funny things. It’s clearly a message movie, and while its messages are good-hearted, they’re also a little heavy-handed. As old-time movie mogul Jack Warner once (sort of) said, “If you want to send a message, use e-mail.” While the film isn’t dour, it isn’t funny in the same sense as Tangled or Bolt (to name my two favorite Disney animated, non-Pixar films). And as for the kumbaya relationships here, an alternate but abandoned concept for the film’s predator-prey dynamic, described in the extra features, would have made for a fascinating movie but a much darker, less kid-friendly one.

All that aside, there’s much to enjoy here in the many interesting characters, the buddy-cop plot (though perhaps a bit too complex and long for the youngest viewers), great character voicing (notably Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy, Jason Bateman as Nick, and Idris Elba as Bogo), brilliant animation and another great score by Michael Giacchino.

While Zootopia is available in either a 2D Blu-ray package or a separate release including both 2D and 3D versions, we received the 2D-only edition for review. And the film profits hugely from the extra brightness and punch available in 2D. The video here is exceptional—sharp as a tack, with brilliant colors. This would make for an exceptional UHD/high dynamic range release, should Disney every elect to go that route. Until then, this version leaves nothing to be desired. The sound is exceptional as well, falling a bit short only in the deep bass department (with the notable exception of a rumbling waterfall late in the movie).

The extensive extras are superb, including several roundtables featuring key players involved in the creative aspects of the film. Also fun are featurettes on the Easter eggs in the movie, the score, and deleted scenes.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Disney, 2016
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Format: DTS HD-Master Audio 7.1
Length: 108 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG
Directors: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba