In case there were any lingering threads of doubt, it’s official: having crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide, Disney’s “Zootopia” is a certified megasmash. It’s also one of the most purely enjoyable films to see a release this year; having just narrowly missed the mark for our recent Best Films of 2016 So Far list. “Zootopia,” as many critics have noted, is also as overtly political as a film starring a chipper bunny cop is likely to be. The film tackles such uncharacteristically weighty themes as institutional racism, gender imbalance and even political fear mongering without ever descending into preachiness. It’s best enjoyed, first and foremost, as a zippy, colorful and inventive thrill ride: familiar enough for children, but deceptively subversive enough to please their parents.
Of course, there’s something a bit cheeky about a children’s film taking aim at corporate culture and the herd mentality when the folks at Disney are writing your checks. It’s a point that is not lost on the creators of this latest Honest Trailer. The brief trailer manages to make more than a few really solid points, even if you count yourself as an ardent fan of the film (which I do). Matt Zoller Seitz’s review for RogerEbert.com rightly pointed out, for instance, that for all the film’s supposed progressivism, many of the stereotypes that the creators work so hard to combat do eventually turn out to be true: Jason Bateman’s fox does turn out to be a slippery conniver, while the weasel turns out to be, well, a weasel, etc. You get the picture. There’s also the movie’s somewhat forgettable Shakira-sung pop anthem “Try Everything,” which is not half as fun or inventive as the movie that surrounds it. It’s a fun watch, if you’re into these sorts of things, though I think we can all agree that it’s truly a shame that Idris Elba’s water buffalo police chief never earned the name “Buff-a-Luther.” Hey, that sequel will be coming sooner rather than later, right?
Watch the Honest Trailer and let us know what you think.
