Sunday, April 24, 2016

Zootopia Review














Zootopia


Release Date: 17th March 2016 - Australia


Production Companies
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Animation Studios

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family/
Action/Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 108 minutes


Budget: $150,000,000

Box Office Gross: $1,025,521,689 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Officer Judy Hopps has become the first bunny cop of the police department and arrives in the big city of Zootopia, where prey and predator co-exist in harmony, but she doesn't quite fit in as she should.

Judy must solve a case to prove herself with the unwilling help of a fox named Nick Wilde. Together, the pair must learn to get along and discover a conspiracy that may threaten the co-existing balance of Zootopia.


Voice Cast
Ginnifer Goodwin - Lt. Judy Hopps
Jason Bateman - Nick Wilde
Idris Elba - Chief Bogo
J.K. Simmons - Mayor Lionheart
Jenny Slate - Bellwether
Nate Torrence - Clawhauser
Alan Tudyk - Duke Weaselton
Octavia Spencer - Mrs. Otterton
Shakira - Gazelle
Tommy Chong - Yax
Bonnie Hunt - Bonnie Hopps
Don Lake - Stu Hopps
Raymond S. Persi - Flash/
Officer Higgins
Maurice LaMarche - Mr. Big
Della Saba - Young Judy
Kath Soucie - Young Nick
Phil Johnston - Gideon Grey
Fuschia! - Drill Sergeant
John DiMaggio - Jerry Jumbeaux Jr./Moose/Pig Reporter/Jesse/Woolter
Katie Lowes - Badger Doctor
Gita Reddy - Nangi
Jesse Corti - Mr. Manchas
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister - Finnick
Josh Dallas - Frantic Pig
Leah Latham - Fru Fru
Rich Moore - Doug/Larry
Byron Howard - Bucky Oryx-Antlerson/Travis
Jared Bush - Pronk Oryx-Antlerson
Mark Rhino Smith - Officer McHorn
Josie Trinidad - Landlady
John Lavelle - Mouse Foreman
Kristen Bell - Priscilla
Madeleine Curry - Sharla/
Gareth/Little Hippo Whose Mother Is Given A Parking Ticket by Judy
David Campbell - David
Koalabell (Australia/New
Zealand Only)
Zach King - Muzzled Wolf
Pace Paulsen - Scout Bully 2
Fabienne Rawley - Jumbeaux's
Café Elephant Patron/Fabienne Growley
Jackson Stein - Jaguar
Pretend Actuary/Scout Bully 1
David A. Thibodeau - Gary

Crew
Story/Visual Development Artist/Director - Byron Howard
Story/Additional Visual Development/Director - Rich Moore
Story/Screenplay/
Co-Director - Jared Bush
Original Idea - Kellie D. Lewis (Uncredited)
Story/Screenplay - Phil Johnston
Story - Jennifer Lee
Story/Heads of Story - Jim
Reardon and Josie Trinidad
Executive Producer - John
Lasseter
Producer - Clark Spencer
Production Designer - David Goetz
Associate Production
Designer - Dan Cooper
Art Director: Environments - Matthias Lechner
Art Director: Characters - Cory Loftis
Visual Development Artists - Brett M. Albert, Justin Cram, Jim Finn, Mac George, Andy Harkness, Shiyoon Kim,
Jim Martin, Borja Montoro
Cavero, Nicholas Orsi,
Armand Serrano and Scott Watanabe
Lead Story Artists - John Ripa
and Marc E. Smith
Director of Photography: Lighting - Brian Leach
Director of Cinematography: Layout -
Nathan Warner
Head of Animation - Renato Dos Anjos
Co-Head of Animation - Tony Smeed
Head of Environments - Hans-Joerg Keim
Head of Characters & Technical Animation -
Dave K. Komorowski
Set Extension Supervisor - John Murrah
Layout Supervisor - Joaquin Baldwin
Animation Supervisors - Nathan Engelhardt,
Jennifer Hager, Robert Huth, Kira Lehtomaki
and Chad Sellers
Crowds Supervisor - Moe El-Ali
Lighting Supervisors - Gina Warr Lawes,
Alex Nijmeh, Amol Sathe, Mark Siegel and
Diana Jiang Zeng
Head of Effects - Cesar Velazquez
Visual Effects Supervisor - Scott Kersavage
General Technical Director - Serge Sretschinsky
Stereoscopic Supervisor/Department Leadership:
Walt Disney Animation Studios - Katie Tucker-Fico
Film Editors - Fabienne Rawley
and Jeremy Milton
Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor -
Addison Teague
ADR Supervisor - Daniel Laurie
Original Dialogue/Re-Recording Mixer -
Gabriel Guy
Re-Recording Mixer - David E. Fluhr
Music - Michael Giacchino
Executive Music Producer - Chris Montan
Music Supervisor - Tom MacDougall


Review
In recent years, the Disney animation department's renewal had scored with the infamous Frozen, which grossed a billion at the box office. It's been years since the craze of that landmark movie ended and two years after Big Hero 6. The studio has unveiled its 55th animated feature and latest production, ZOOTOPIA - a different spin on the animal kingdom. This animated feature has a Midas touch with fun, depth and complexity to the story and characters. I've noticed the film has taken liberties of inspiration from Disney's early movie and cult-classic Robin Hood. It tackles the hot-button issues of real-life society, like prejudice and police bias, that often integrate into an anthropomorphic CGI world. Disney is clever at grafting these messages into entertaining stories with a high standard of quality animation. It must mean that ZOOTOPIA is now a better movie than Frozen and a breadwinner of the House of the Mouse's animation unit.

ZOOTOPIA had a wide range of celebrity voice talents, with many well-known actors selected for huge parts. One of the best is Ginnifer Goodwin, who voices the officer with a cottontail - Judy Hopps. I was unsure about her being an actress due to her previous work in Once Upon a Time. However, her contribution to this film as the voice of Judy in ZOOTOPIA was excellent. Jason Bateman was sophisticated and witty in voicing the sly fox - Nick Wilde. We would have gotten to know more about Nick if the character had been in a more prominent role in the story, which would have been closer to the film's original vision. Idris Elba was known to many Marvel fans as Heimdall when he lent his booming distinctive voice as Chief Bogo, head of police.

I hope to see ZOOTOPIA again if it is available in other formats. It may be the best Disney animated feature released since The Lion KingAudiences of all ages will enjoy viewing the wonderful world of ZOOTOPIA and understand its message.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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