Movies Old and New: Zootopia

One Sentence Synopsis: In the city of Zootopia, predators and prey live together in perfect harmony, but when police officer Judy Hopps (played by Ginnifer Goodwin) and sly con-man Nick Wilde (played by Jason Bateman) discover a conspiracy that could put that balance in danger, they must overcome their differences and get to the bottom of the mystery.

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As I began compiling my thoughts together on Zootopia, I couldn’t help but think back to another hugely successful Disney Animation Studios film, Frozen. I mean, can you blame me? They are quite similar, believe it or not. Both films were box-office gold mines at release, and both garnered massive media attention for their thinkpiece-worthy, progressive nature. And, strangely enough, I felt the same thing walking out of both…

“This is good… but not great.”

Furthermore, the film’s share a key reason as to why I felt this way— story. Frozen’s female empowerment and supposed overcoming of Disney tropes were heralded as this innovative step forward for its storytelling department, but the more I thought about it, the more I saw it as merely Disney finally understanding its audience and their longing for complex, evolved narratives. 

In other words, just because Disney decides to evolve, that doesn’t make them innovative or unique, it just means that they are finally catching up with everyone else.

We find ourselves in a similar situation with Zootopia, except it’s probably worse.

Zootopia is inarguably a film about our current political landscape, despite intention or lack thereof; several moments in Zootopia feel like direct parallels to a variety of conflicts that society is currently facing today: civil rights, racial profiling, post-feminism, police brutality, drug use, and the list goes on…

...but you know this already because everybody has seemed to pick up on that. In fact, the film is being showered with praise for addressing these ideas, and for the record, I am all all in favor of this as well. The dangers of prejudice and stereotyping are very real, and it’s good to expose children to this in a way that they can digest.

However, instead of it feeling like a well-intentioned, mature dialogue, Zootopia’s lack of subtle allegory makes its messages come off as distractingly blatant. One specific exchange in the film involves such a direct, line-for-line corollary to the n-word that I almost did a double take. I am all for good-hearted messages, but if you’re going to have a serious discussion about these themes, then do so with some subtlety and nuance. But that’s just the thing: this isn’t really much of a discussion. Zootopia features clear good guys, and clear bad guys, and unfortunately, that simply isn’t how it works. The kinds of themes explored in this film are not merely black and white; these are topics that can be approached from multiple angles. Alas, this movie doesn’t seem to have any interest in exploring those intricacies. Here, we see another situation where Disney decided to attempt a more complex story in their movie, and are being praised for raising the bar when, ironically, the complexity seems to be absent.

I wouldn’t be spending so much time discussing this aspect of the film if it weren’t so important. This is a defining characteristic of the film that simply doesn’t work. I understand this is a children’s film, but that does not excuse it from mishandling an elaborate topic. It’s also worth discussing at length because, narratively speaking, it’s really the only thing that makes Zootopia stand out from any other Disney film up to this point; you’ve undeniably seen this story before, and you’ve undeniably seen these characters before. Disney Animation Studios does not shy away from recycling with its plot, but thankfully, they manage to make up for this in other departments.

The world of Zootopia is easily one of its best qualities. Of course the animation is gorgeous, as that basically goes without saying when you’re dealing with any Disney production, but it’s really the creativity when it comes to the world-building that impressed me. The concept they are working with, animals acting like humans, is a comedic gold mine in and of itself, but the film goes out of its way to create an entire universe with this idea, and the result is one of the most thoroughly believable locations I’ve ever seen in a Disney movie. It really says a lot about execution when even the simplest of visual gags have you curious to explore the environment you happen to be immersed in, and that is what's accomplished here, with flying colors.

Zootopia’s voice cast is spot-on. A particular standout is Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde, who’s voice almost fits the character all too well. Ginnifer Goodwin is also great as Judy Hopps, and the several different talents sprinkled throughout the film’s minor characters (J.K. Simmons, Idris Elba, Alan Tudyk, Jenny Slate, hell even Tommy Chong) offer fantastic variety. It’s important to stress that none of these characters are particularly inventive, yet they are nonetheless relatable and fun to watch, something that only Disney manages to get away with in the Animation world.

The only other notable aspect to discuss is the comedy, which has its moments. If you are at all invested in the film’s marketing, you know that the scene involving sloths at the DMV is easily the highlight, and while the film never really gets to that same level of hilarity throughout, there are many chuckles to be had otherwise. As mentioned previously, the world-building gives us plenty of visual gag, and while some are more subtle than others, a lot of them work and that is what’s important.

Again, Zootopia is a good movie. There’s no denying that it’s a well-made film and is very enjoyable to watch. However, because of it’s subtextual problems and it’s overall narrative blandness, I personally see this as one of the weaker entries to come out of Disney Animation Studio’s rejuvenation. While movies like Wreck-it-Ralph or Big Hero 6 aren’t as complex thematically, at least they manage to tell strong stories because they don’t bite off more then they can chew. Zootopia tackles a lot about society and community, and while I implore more animated films to address these themes head-on, it needs to be a conversation, not a lecture; as the film went on, I felt like I was being overwhelmed with an agenda, and that’s the last thing I want to feel like while watching a Disney flick.

Still, it’s hard to deny that I had some fun with Zootopia when I looked past its politics… but something tells me I would’ve had a lot more fun if I didn’t have to.

7/10 - Good

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Movies Old and New: Hail, Caesar!

One Sentence Synopsis: When 1950’s Hollywood star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is kidnapped and held for ransom, it’s up to studio “fixer” Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) to get him back while making sure the scandal doesn’t make the gossip columns.

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Before I truly dive in to Hail, Caesar!, let me preface the review by saying this: I think the Coen brothers are smart, inventive, and dynamic filmmakers. Based on some of the work I’ve seen from them (Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and True Grit are my personal favorites), I know that they can craft an excellent cinematic experience, but never sideline thematic depth in the process. Their films, as bombastic or stylistic as they may be, always have a lot to say.

It is this particular reason that keeps me from shrugging off Hail, Caesar! as a bad film, because besides for some undeniably good qualities, I’m sure that this love letter to 1950’s Hollywood is an affectionate satire that has a lot to say about that time period and all that historically came with it. Unfortunately, even the best of intentions can’t save a film that has a variety of storytelling problems that spread throughout its every facet, including the structure, the pacing, to even basic concepts of conflict and stakes. The majority of the film’s problems lie solely within its plot, but the problems are so glaring that it is impossible to ignore them.

The film’s main problem lies in its poor organization of conflict and resolution. Based on the trailer (not that it particularly matters pertaining to the film’s quality but nevertheless it was advertised a certain way), you would assume that Whitlock’s kidnapping is the key conflict, and in a certain respect, it is; that’s the conflict that kickstarts the film, rather quickly might I add, and it also has the makings for an engaging story. However, we soon get a variety of extra, seemingly smaller conflicts thrown in, and while they add some “accuracy” to film’s period value, the combination of these various subplots not only make for a messy movie, but it diminishes the value of other, more important/interesting elements. Whitlock’s story ends up being not quite as important as you would think, though this is also because the “big twist” pertaining to the kidnappers is rather dull, uninspired, and explored to no avail. It’s even arguable if all of the film’s events even legitimately connect in any way; I could see how they all play a role in developing Mannix’s personal dilemma sprinkled throughout the film, but then again, that dilemma is sprinkled, as in it barely gets enough screen time to get legitimately hashed out. The worst part about this scattered, muddled sequence of events is that most of them are resolved within one or two brief moments, making the entire investment from minute one worth almost nothing; in this sense, Hail, Caesar! is infuriatingly boring, and with the exception of one interesting twist, wholly unremarkable.

This basic problem causes a domino effect in which several other issues begin to affect the film’s substance: the pacing of certain scenes is far too drawn out to warrant its minimal payoff, every character (aside from Mannix) is a caricature with no dimension (with some even being borderline useless), the dialogue mostly ends up being shallow conversation that doesn’t have enough spark to resonate, and any thematic intrigue is either heavily masked or so deeply subtextual that a liberal amount of interpretation would be needed to muster something up. Hail, Caesar! is just a clear example of how poor storytelling can spell doom for a film.

Now, as I said earlier in this review, there are things to enjoy about Hail, Caesar!, whether or not they are enough to save the film from its pitfalls. The cinematography and production design are easily the standout of the film on a technical standpoint. Both Roger Deakins and Jess Gonchor (long-time collaborators with the Coen brothers) have crafted an excellent look and feel that fully immerses the audience into the era its depicting. Certain highlights include specific genre films being recreated, and it works out of sheer authenticity. It’s colorful, it’s intricate, and it succeeds with flying colors.

Though not particularly revelatory, the cast is full of talented veterans. Josh Brolin is the clear star, giving what is the only visibly three-dimensional performance the film has to offer. Other headliners (Clooney, Ehrenreich, Fiennes, Johansson, Tatum) give solid performances, with none of them being particularly memorable. Some of them are even strangely one-note, with only one or two scenes actually featuring them. It’s a solid cast, clearly, but very few performances end up being exceptional, or even a high point of the film.

Comedically, Hail, Caesar! has a few amusing scenes, and a few chuckle-worthy moments, but to call it a laugh-out-loud comedy is perhaps pushing the envelope. Certain jokes completely miss, other jokes hit bullseyes, and some garner a laugh with a full acknowledgment of how random/idiotic it actually was. I will applaud the film for avoiding any sophomoric or downright vulgar humor in the process, but the film certainly lacks a sort of panache that keep laughs consistent.

Even with all of these elements, Hail, Caesar! just ends up being a disappointing effort from two of the most prolific and accomplished filmmakers in the industry. As previously stated, I’m sure the Coens are saying something, and probably something that means a lot to them, but whatever it is, I couldn’t see it. But even if the theme was clear, and even if the message was strong, I just can’t look past this large of a failure in storytelling, and one that is so fundamentally flawed.

It’s good for a laugh or two, and features a solid starring vehicle for Brolin, an actor who deserves to have the career he does, but in the end, its placement this early in 2016 is absolutely fitting; films released this early (in many instances) lack the quality to compete with the year’s later fare, and something tells me Hail, Caesar! won’t be putting up much of a fight.

4.5/10 - Weak

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