I agree about the surprise, but it was so well done that I'm able to look past it. Still, it kind of stings that we haven't had a true villain since Tangled.
He was a surprise in his true identity. But him being nefarious was established well early on in the film. As for the surprise villain complaint I don't see an issue with it in the films that have used it. So far the weakest among them have been big hero 6 as everyone knew who it was before it was revealed. But Hans serviced the story, Same with Sheep Mayor. So I can look past it. But in Moana the villain is not a twist and is the lava goddess according to fans at D23.
I cried twice- once during the young Nick flaskback to his attempt to be a Junior Ranger (little kids getting their dreams crushed always hits me real hard) and during the end with Judy saying how everyone makes mistakes, but try to be better and then Nick becomes a cop. (but those were happy tears).
My fave character (after Judy and Nick, of course) is Officer Benjamin Clawhauser. He's voiced by Nate Torrence (who I love) and his character is so hilarious. Plus I found it interesting that he is the character who is the most opposite of his stereotype- as cheetahs are supposed to be fast; yet he is the one that Judy first tries to educate about anti-rabbit bias (while not realizing that she holds biases herself.)
I just love Judy. An optimist is always my favorite type of character, and Judy sure has that locked down! But I also love that while she's an optimist, and has TONS of wonderful self-determination (another of my favorite qualities in someone) (one of my fave jokes is when Poppa Hopps asks young Judy if she ever wondered how her parents found happiness and she says NOPE!) but she's also flawed in the exact same way she's trying to instruct others in (as so many are.) When she says to Nick, "You are just so articulate," I couldn't help but shake my head and think, "oh no you didn't."
Another thing I found very interesting was Mr. Big's statement, when Judy is startled that Mr. Otterton could have been so savage. "We may be civilized, but underneath we are still animals." I've heard some people say the exact same thing about humans, and on both the right and the left, so this is not a political thing. But it's amazing when you think about it- here we are with all the trappings of civilization ourselves, and yet some like to blame "biology" for bad behavior or poor decisions. I'm just saying, in addition to messages of bias and prejudice, this movie gave me a lot to think about.
I mean, the world-building alone! IIRC, they said there were 12 zones to Zootopia, so there are still some to be seen (hopefully in the sequel?). There was Central City (is that right?), Savannah Square, Tundratown, Little Rodentia, the Rainforest District, am I forgetting any?
One thing I wondered, and this may be pushing too far but- if predators no longer eat prey, what do they eat? Birds and fish? (who were noticeably absent from having evolved). Just a few things I've been thinking about this amazing movie (I think about it a lot). LOL
I saw Zootopia this evening. It was one movie where I decided that I didn't want to know very much about going into it. I had barely read anything about it, and other than knowing that the characters were Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, I decided to just go to the movies and let myself be surprised, since I rarely do so.
I have to say, I love Frozen (this may seem off topic, bare with me). I have Frozen stuff galore. Elsa is on my wall in my room. I have Anna and Elsa dolls. I have Olaf in beanie baby form. The CD is still in my car. I have been learning "Let It Go" on the piano. I even have Frozen pencils.
And I liked Zootopia better. I don't know why (other than that I found Nick Wilde utterly charming; definitely my favorite character), but I just thought it went far deeper and had even more mass appeal than Frozen. For instance, I went with my friend tonight. We're both in our 20s. When I saw Frozen, I went with another friend (at the time, we were both 18). I have a younger brother who I often take to the movies. I did not take him to see Frozen because I thought it wouldn't carry that much appeal for him. I am thinking about taking him to see Zootopia.
I predicted the villain right when I saw her. It just seemed to me that she was a bit too helpful, and when she said she was a glorified assistant, she looked jealous. So I was suspicious. Then when she rose to power, I was definitely suspicious. I was actually more surprised at the lion mayor covering up what was going on.
I picked up on Nick Wilde faking the whole savage thing right away. When the animals went wild, their eyes turned black. Nick's never did, which tipped me off that he was faking somehow. Might have been interesting to see him actually go wild, but at the same time, it was kind of funny to see him fake in order for them to catch the bad guy.
EDIT: I also kind of predicted Nick would join the police force. It kind of seemed like Judy, as capable as she is, need a partner, and they worked well together.
I wanted to hug Nick when he told Judy about his past.
I agree. There can be relationships that are more a la Dory and Marlin (which I hope stays non romantic in Finding Dory). In this case, I could see them going either way. And love can be a friendship kind of love. With Nick and Judy, I kind of see it as more of a brother/sister kind of thing than a romantic thing.
Although I agree that the film makes some great points about social issues, I want a sequel just so we can see Nick and Judy as police force partners for more than just five minutes.
He was a surprise in his true identity. But him being nefarious was established well early on in the film. As for the surprise villain complaint I don't see an issue with it in the films that have used it. So far the weakest among them have been big hero 6 as everyone knew who it was before it was revealed. But Hans serviced the story, Same with Sheep Mayor. So I can look past it. But in Moana the villain is not a twist and is the lava goddess according to fans at D23.
One thing I wondered, and this may be pushing too far but- if predators no longer eat prey, what do they eat? Birds and fish? (who were noticeably absent from having evolved). Just a few things I've been thinking about this amazing movie (I think about it a lot). LOL
I kinda thought about this as well, not that a movie like this has to answer all those kinds of details. They did make it known though that only mammals had evolved to being "civilized", so I think it leaves open the possibility that other types of animals are still animals.
Building on that, though, I don't think there were any primates in Zootopia, were there?
I saw Zootopia this evening. It was one movie where I decided that I didn't want to know very much about going into it. I had barely read anything about it, and other than knowing that the characters were Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, I decided to just go to the movies and let myself be surprised, since I rarely do so.
I have to say, I love Frozen (this may seem off topic, bare with me). I have Frozen stuff galore. Elsa is on my wall in my room. I have Anna and Elsa dolls. I have Olaf in beanie baby form. The CD is still in my car. I have been learning "Let It Go" on the piano. I even have Frozen pencils.
And I liked Zootopia better. I don't know why (other than that I found Nick Wilde utterly charming; definitely my favorite character), but I just thought it went far deeper and had even more mass appeal than Frozen. For instance, I went with my friend tonight. We're both in our 20s. When I saw Frozen, I went with another friend (at the time, we were both 18). I have a younger brother who I often take to the movies. I did not take him to see Frozen because I thought it wouldn't carry that much appeal for him. I am thinking about taking him to see Zootopia.
I predicted the villain right when I saw her. It just seemed to me that she was a bit too helpful, and when she said she was a glorified assistant, she looked jealous. So I was suspicious. Then when she rose to power, I was definitely suspicious. I was actually more surprised at the lion mayor covering up what was going on.
I picked up on Nick Wilde faking the whole savage thing right away. When the animals went wild, their eyes turned black. Nick's never did, which tipped me off that he was faking somehow. Might have been interesting to see him actually go wild, but at the same time, it was kind of funny to see him fake in order for them to catch the bad guy.
EDIT: I also kind of predicted Nick would join the police force. It kind of seemed like Judy, as capable as she is, need a partner, and they worked well together.
I wanted to hug Nick when he told Judy about his past.
I think Frozen gives fairy tales a glimpse of having a strong message attached to a film with musical numbers and goofy trolls. But Zootopia escalates things by having that message be a HUGE and all encompassing thing. Jennifer Lee (Director of Frozen) actually helped quite a bit with the story for Zootopia, so hopefully she takes back some of the more compelling themes and dedication to story here to Frozen 2.
not to mention they could have been used in the wrong way and cause uproar (aka not the first time that people make racism comments.. like claiming black people = primates )
I agree. There can be relationships that are more a la Dory and Marlin (which I hope stays non romantic in Finding Dory). In this case, I could see them going either way. And love can be a friendship kind of love.
Absolutely! Some would even say that friendship love is the more enduring. (not judgin, just saying)
That reminds me of a beautiful piece of fanart for Zootopia, that had young Nick in his ranger outfit and young judy in her class play cop outfit, running along, hand in hand, as best buddies. Non-canon of course, but beautiful artwork.
It was on a tumblr called clawhausersdonuts, that has a lot of good fanart and seems to be furry-free (for those who are allergic).
Absolutely! Some would even say that friendship love is the more enduring. (not judgin, just saying)
That reminds me of a beautiful piece of fanart for Zootopia, that had young Nick in his ranger outfit and young judy in her class play cop outfit, running along, hand in hand, as best buddies. Non-canon of course, but beautiful artwork.
It was on a tumblr called clawhausersdonuts, that has a lot of good fanart and seems to be furry-free (for those who are allergic).
Saw this at the AMC dine-in theater at Disney Springs yesterday and all I have to say is that we loved Zootopia!! The film was beautifully done with the visuals and the details within them appearing to be very pleasant to the eyes. No one knows how to create worlds better than Disney. The story was great with the message behind it being clear: Never give up on your dreams despite what others including family may think whether it's possible or not.
The references throughout the movie were hilarious, the villain twist was cool... However, I have to agree that I don't particularly care for the villain mystery game that Disney has been incorporating in their latest films. I loved when the villain was known as 'the villain' from the get go of the film. Now I feel Disney is just repeating the same formula when it comes to that. Beyond that, beautiful film. Nick becoming a cop was so darn satisfying. This needs theme park presence.
Saw this at the AMC dine-in theater at Disney Springs yesterday and all I have to say is that we loved Zootopia!! The film was beautifully done with the visuals and the details within them appearing to be very pleasant to the eyes. No one knows how to create worlds better than Disney. The story was great with the message behind it being clear: Never give up on your dreams despite what others including family may think whether it's possible or not.
The references throughout the movie were hilarious, the villain twist was cool... However, I have to agree that I don't particularly care for the villain mystery game that Disney has been incorporating in their latest films. I loved when the villain was known as 'the villain' from the get go of the film. Now I feel Disney is just repeating the same formula when it comes to that. Beyond that, beautiful film. Nick becoming a cop was so darn satisfying. This needs theme park presence.
I'm so thrilled you loved it, too! It seems that every time I turn around, I hear another wonderful review, sometimes from the most unexpected corners, like Penn Jillette raved about it on his podcast.
As for the villian twist, I totally get where you (and other who mentioned it) are coming from (although it didn't register with me), but in their defense- it's not just Disney. EVERY body (movies, tv, books) seems to be on the "it's gotta be a twist" bandwagon these days.
Saw this at the AMC dine-in theater at Disney Springs yesterday and all I have to say is that we loved Zootopia!! The film was beautifully done with the visuals and the details within them appearing to be very pleasant to the eyes. No one knows how to create worlds better than Disney. The story was great with the message behind it being clear: Never give up on your dreams despite what others including family may think whether it's possible or not.
The references throughout the movie were hilarious, the villain twist was cool... However, I have to agree that I don't particularly care for the villain mystery game that Disney has been incorporating in their latest films. I loved when the villain was known as 'the villain' from the get go of the film. Now I feel Disney is just repeating the same formula when it comes to that. Beyond that, beautiful film. Nick becoming a cop was so darn satisfying. This needs theme park presence.