zootopia“In Zootopia, anyone can be anything.”

Zootopia New PosterZootopia, a city where anyone can be anything. If you are an animal looking to expand your natural instinctive ways, that is. In Disney’s newest release, ZOOTOPIA, filmmakers go back to Disney roots, creating a fun, imaginative animal-only animated movie. There are laughs, plenty of real life references and even a few great messages. The only thing that separates ZOOTOPIA from other animated classics would be the PG rating, which could cause it to not be a “family” film for some.

ZOOTOPIA starts out with lead bunny, Judy Hopps, as she shares her youthful dreams of believing she can be anything she wants, in Zootopia. Her parents share a lesson in being more realistic, learning to be settle and that dreams just don’t always come true. You see, Judy wants to be a police officer, but not just any police officer…the FIRST bunny police officer. She encounters a bully, and fully recognizes that, despite her parents wanting her to be a carrot farmer with them and her 287 brothers and sisters, she must pursue her dream. Flash forward 10 years, Judy is boarding a train for Zootopia, ready to make her dreams come true.

The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when rookie Officer Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman), to solve the mystery.

I won’t spoil the movie for anyone, but as the general description of the movie says, Judy is a police officer, but it wasn’t easy for her at all. Showing her defeat along the way and her persistence in achieving this goal is a great life lesson for anyone at any age. The movie highlights that life is just not “easy street.” Achieving your goals is just not handed to you and you must continue to work hard in order to maintain them.

The movie is rated PG for “some thematic elements, rude humor and action.” I think it’s hard when animated movies have elements such as these and are given PG ratings. It can catch parents off guard. It’s not an inappropriate movie by any means. If your child is not used to these elements, be prepared to answer a few questions. “Mom, what’s ‘a hustle’ mean?” The movie also addresses life lessons in prejudice, discrimination and fear. And the occasional animal minimalist club (read: nudist camp. But, these ARE animals. See NDK’s review for that one.)

Judy closes the movie with a very appropriate message for everyone, “Change. It starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with us.”

The NDK Review: I liked ZOOTOPIA because the whole movie is all about animals. Judy Hopps was the first bunny police officer. I thought that was neat. Everybody thought that bunnies would not make a good police officer and they were only meant for carrot farms. Judy was right – anyone can be anything. I didn’t understand why some of the animals were naked and doing weird poses. I did like how Judy tried to convince Nick that he could become a good person and do the right thing. I would so watch this movie again.

Go see ZOOTOPIA in theaters starting today, March 4, 2016!

** Disclosure – My family & I were invited to a special screening of the movie, ZOOTOPIA in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are our own. No other compensation was provided. 

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