Zootopia

[D82]

I saw Zootopia today and I really liked it. I think Disney Animation continues its winning streak. Judy and Nick were both great characters and the film had an interesting plot, plenty of heart and also a good message. There were some funny moments too and some references to other Disney films, one about Tangled among other recent films that I found particularly funny. I didn’t remember that Michael Giacchino was the composer until I saw his name on the credits. It’s strange but, aside from some African inspired music at the beginning, I hardly notice the score for the rest of the film. Maybe because I was too involved in the film’s plot to pay attention to it, I don’t know. I'll have to see the film again to hear the music.

I remember someone in this forum said very early on that he/she believed the mayor’s assistant would be the villain. I didn’t think that user was right then, but the more I knew about the character from trailers, characters descriptions, etc. the more I suspected she would be the real villain, especially when people here mentioned that there was a surprise villain in the film. Though there have been too many of that kind of villains lately, I think it worked on this occasion, partly because learning who the criminal is is part of the fun of films like this that involve solving a case. I just hope Moana won’t have a surprise villain too.

[D82]

The first reviews have appeared online and they're quite positive so far:

Early Buzz: ‘Zootopia’ Is an Action-Packed Neo-Noir Comedy With a Surprisingly Political Message
http://www.slashfilm.com/zootopia-reviews/


Also, here you can listen to samples of the film's soundtrack (track titles contain spoilers):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... 1_1&sr=8-1

[disneyprincess11]

Also, here you can listen to samples of the film's soundtrack:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... 1_1&sr=8-1

#20 IS A MAJOR MAJOR SPOILER! BEWARE!

[D82]

Yes, I should've warned about that. I thought people must know track titles can be spoilery, but it never hurts to remind it, so thanks disneyprincess11 for doing it. I've added a warning to my previous post too. And speaking of that, some of the reviews also revealed too much of the film's argument for my taste. That's why I posted a link to an article with spoiler-free excerpts from them instead of a link to each of the reviews.

[ce1ticmoon]

I'm actually growing increasingly excited about this one. Wasn't really feeling it earlier, but the recent marketing has captured my attention. BH6 was enjoyable but ultimately very average for me, so I'm hoping for a nice turn-around here.

[Mayhem]

#20 IS A MAJOR MAJOR SPOILER! BEWARE!

We got another "Phantom Menace" situation here?!

[D82]

We got another "Phantom Menace" situation here?!

What situation are you referring to? It's been a while since the last time I saw The Fantom Menace.

[DisneyEra]

Meanwhile on the "other side" of Zootopia:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zXiaDhAEwY[/youtube]

[jazzflower92]

Meanwhile on the "other side" of Zootopia:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zXiaDhAEwY[/youtube]

And the funny thing is American idol is now on it's last season, this would have been more prevalent if it was during it's heyday in the mid 2000's.

I have a feeling that Zootopia is going to beat out the other furry movies this year, because all of them really feel either really cliched or gimmicky to the point it hurts. After seeing how much work Disney has put into constructing the world of Zootopia, it's kind of going to make other animal movies this year look inferior.

[kiseki]

There are a ridiculous number of furry movies this year after all...

Sing looks like it would age terribly, but I'm cautiously optimistic about The Secret Life of Pets due to its comedian cast.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Please stop calling it "furry movies". Call it "talking animal movies" or something instead. Furries is a form of fetishism or lifestyle, and has nothing to do with animated movies for children and families.

[estefan]

I have a good feeling about Sing, mainly because it is directed and written by Garth Jennings. He also made the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, which opened with this delightful musical number:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojydNb3Lrrs[/youtube]

If the guy behind that pitched me an animated musical starring an all-animal cast, I would greenlight that in a second.

[disneyprincess11]

Yeah, even though Zootopia & KFP3 are clearly superior to the other animal movies, Sing! looks really cute, at least

[D82]

So Illumination Entertainment is releasing two animated features this year, right? The Secret Life of Pets and this one. Both with animals as the main characters. The former looks slightly better to me, but who knows, maybe it'll be the opposite. One thing's for sure, Sing will have a lot of references to American music programs and singers that I won't get.

[kiseki]

Please stop calling it "furry movies". Call it "talking animal movies" or something instead. Furries is a form of fetishism or lifestyle, and has nothing to do with animated movies for children and families.

Can't help it. I haven't been able to tweet about any of these anthropomorphic animal movies without a furry coming out of nowhere to retweet or fave. Or anywhere else, really, without others questioning whether they're becoming furries/discussing them sexually lol.

It's probably been mentioned already, but I just noticed how the moose anchor was replaced with a tanuki in the Japanese Zootopia trailer.

[disneyprincess11]

Wow! Talk about a rave!

http://io9.gizmodo.com/walt-disney-anim ... 1759519186

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Wow! Talk about a rave!

http://io9.gizmodo.com/walt-disney-anim ... 1759519186

I does sound promising, but didn't agree on all the comments.

Walt Disney Feature Animation first got on the map in 1937 with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. At the time, this film was a landmark: the first ever feature-length animated film. Then, basically for the next 30 years, Disney Animation thrived.

Actually, Disney animation was in serious trouble more than once during those years.

In 1966 Walt Disney himself, who had played a massive part in most of those movies, died. With that and more facing the company, the 1970s saw a considerable dip.

I saw Aristocats, Robin Hood and Rescuers as a kid, and didn't see anything wrong with them. I suspect that many who had grown up with Walt Disney's movies had become pretty adults by then, and could no longer see the movies through the eyes of the child they once were, which made them claim they were a low point. Maybe they didn't have the same budget as earlier films, but that did not matter for children who can't get enough animated features (with video on demand and cheap DVDs, the situation is very different these days, since kids can watch animated features practically every day if they want to).

Enter John Lassetter and Ed Catmull. In 2006, Disney officially bought Pixar outright and these two men—the executives who had installed the “brain trust” mentality at Pixar—were hired to do the same at Disney Animation. It took a few years, but slowly things started to change. First came Bolt, then The Princess and the Frog, then Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6 and of course Frozen, which remains the highest grossing animated film of all time.

I'm not sure if Bolt was an improvement compared to what could have been. Lilo and Stitch was far superior in my opinion, even if Lasseter is said to have disliked it (I don't think that has ever been confirmed or denied). And it has the kind of opening gimmick I really dislike; it looks great, only to turn out it's not real. It's either a movie, a dream or something in your imagination (like the opening of Toy Story 3). If it was a novel instead of a movie, the writer would most likely be told to change the intro.

Yes that means I think it’s better than Pocahontas, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It Ralph, and even Frozen.

Saying it is better than Pocahontas doesn't say much. But if it is better than Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6, it could be amazing.

From a time when Pixar was ruling everything and Disney Animation Studios was making Treasure Planet and Home on the Range, things have once again aligned.

I think Treasure Planet is far better than its reputation. While I disliked the attempt to portray the main character as a rebel living on the edge and always having confrontations with the cop, it was not bad at all. It feels like the writer of the article equals financial success with greatness and financial flops with bad movies.

[Disney's Divinity]

Saying it is better than Pocahontas doesn't say much. But if it is better than Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6, it could be amazing.

To me, it wouldn't be that hard to clear a bar of BH6 and WIR either.

[DisneyFan09]

Walt Disney Animation is officially as good as pixar now

Wow, what a delayed statement! You're four years too late And pardon my snarky remark, but I couldn't resist.

[D82]

Now that the US release is approaching, the film's promotion is increasing. Here are some new articles and videos:

Zootopia premiere
http://thedisneyblog.com/2016/02/18/dis ... ed-carpet/

New stills
http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney-exp ... ion-84306/

Frozen easter egg
http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney-dis ... egg-84402/

Behind the Scenes Recording B-Roll
https://youtu.be/IVW2QRkTkko

Scoring Sessions B-Roll Footage
https://youtu.be/ghPLcjPFqfc