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The Champion, Thursday, March 10-16, 2016
LIFESTYLE
Page 11 B
by Michael Rechtshaffen
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Just
when it was looking like animated
animal movies had run out of
anything original to say, along
comes the smartly amusing,
crisply relevant Zootopia to handily
demonstrate there’s still plenty of
bite left in the anthropomorphic CG
menagerie.
Boasting a pitch perfect voice
cast led by a terrific Ginnifer
Goodwin as a righteous rural rabbit
who becomes the first cotton-tailed
police recruit in the mammal-centric
city of Zootopia, the 3-D caper
expertly combines keen wit with a
gentle, and very timely, message of
inclusivity and empowerment.
The engaging result should
easily appeal to all creatures great
and small, giving this premium
Walt Disney Animation Studios
effort a paw up on spring break
entertainment, not to mention
the summer arrival of Universal’s
animated The Secret Life of Pets.
As the Zootopia Police
Department’s sole bunny officer,
idealistic Judy Hopps (Goodwin)
discovers that breaking barriers
can be an uphill climb, especially
when the other cops in the force
are mainly of the more imposing
elephant/rhino/hippo ilk.
Although intrepid Judy can’t
wait to collar her first perp, Bogo
(Idris Elba), Precinct 1’s gruff
cape buffalo police chief, has other
plans, assigning her to parking duty,
where she proves her worth by
writing 200 tickets before noon on
her first day.
But when a number of Zootopia’s
residents abruptly go missing,
Bogo gives Judy the green light to
do some big time police work and
she finds herself partnering up with
Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a sly,
world-weary scam artist of a fox, in
a 48-hour bid to crack the case.
Nimbly directed by Byron
Howard (Tangled, Bolt) and Rich
Moore (Wreck-lt Ralph), along
with co-director Jared Bush, who
shares screenplay credit with Phil
Johnston, the romp serves up
plenty of sharply observed satire
(a DMV manned entirely by sloths
is played to hilariously protracted
effect) wrapped up in judicious life
lessons that never feel preachy or
shoehorned-in.
While Goodwin and Bateman are
a voice-casting dream team come
true as a dysfunctional duo who
learn to follow their instincts over
preconceived notions, they’re joined
by a nicely diverse supporting
ensemble that also includes
J.K. Simmons, Tommy Chong,
Octavia Spencer and Shakira as a
gazelle pop star who performs the
film’s original song, Try Everything,
co-written by hit-makers Sia and
Stargate.
Also making their lines count are
Jenny Slate as a not-so-sheepish
sheep who serves as Zootopia’s
predator-averse assistant mayor
and Maurice LaMarsh as an arctic
shrew version of Don Corleone
named Mr. Big.
Visually, the "Zootopia” canvas
pops-with or without the 3-D
glasses-thanks to a gorgeously
vibrant color palette and whimsical
architectural scales orchestrated
by production designer David
Goetz. His work is in keeping with
an all-mammal parallel universe
comprised of distinct microclimates
like sunny Bunnyburrow, icy
Tundratown and self-explanatory
Little Rodentia.
Composer Michael Giacchino,
meanwhile, in his first non-Pixar
animated feature assignment,
delivers a typically buoyant score,
playfully tossing in music cues
that pay affectionate homage to
Bernard Herrmann and Nino
Rota.
“The Book of Life,” a Disney
release, is rated PG by the Motion
Picture Association of America for
"some thematic elements, rude
humor and action.” Running time:
95 minutes.