Wednesday, March 16, 2016

First Impression: Zootopia

When I first heard about Zootopia it was because one of my favorite film composers, Michael Giacchino, was going to write the score for it. Giacchino usually does a fine job with animated films and so I was looking forward to the score. After all her certainly delivered with his impressive score for Inside Out. Then I saw the trailer for Zootopia featuring Judy Hopps and her adventure at the sloth populated DMV, and I was cracking up. The movie looked like a fun one, but I wasn't in any rush to see it. But then the reviews started coming out and I was surprised. Was Zootopia more than it appeared? We figured it was time to check it out. There is a lot to talk about with this film and I want to give it another viewing before I dive in. So here are some first impressions

Three Things I Liked:

  • Some gorgeous visuals in this movie - it is packed with details and visual jokes
  • Likable and relatable characters that you root for
  • Has a thematic core that is very relevant and delivered in a way that isn't heavy handed
Three Things I Didn't Like:

  • Giacchino's score is surprisingly lacking his usual personality
  • The horrible trailers for kids movies that I endured before the film started
  • Why is that Shakira song so damn catchy!
Overall
Color me surprised, this movie was a blast. It was entertaining, fun and had some stellar animation. Seriously see this movie for no other reason than to enjoy the amazing visual design of the city of Zootopia. The humor is great. The characters a lot of fun. The mystery is intriguing. But it is the theme of judging people by their looks or their physicality that makes this movie really something special. Not only is the message delivered, but it plays a key role in the story and the way the characters relate to each other. It is a timely message, but one delivered so well you don't mind hearing it again. And did I mention that Shakira song was damn catchy?

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4 comments:

  1. Richard BellushMarch 18, 2016 at 10:47 PM

    Sounds like this might be worth a look.

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    Replies
    1. Roman J. MartelMarch 22, 2016 at 8:01 AM

      I think so. The creativity in the design alone is worth it. But some of the humor is really great. More of a family film than a kid's movie, if you take my meaning.

      Delete
  2. El VoxMarch 19, 2016 at 8:22 AM

    This will probably be a rental for me, which is pretty much the norm these days unless I'm truly bowled over by the premise or reviews. Heck I haven't seen Inside Out yet.

    There's one though that I've been very curious about and have thought about going to go see and that's 10 Cloverfield Lane, and I didn't care for Cloverfield that much. So I'm glad there's not that much of a connection.

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    Replies
    1. Roman J. MartelMarch 22, 2016 at 8:03 AM

      Yeah I'm on the fence for "10 Cloverfield Lane" too. It looks good, the reviews have been good, but I'm not sure it is worth a theatrical viewing since it all takes place in a single location.

      Normally we'd wait for "Zootopia" to come out on DVD, but we were feeling spontaneous and kind of silly, so we just went for it. It was a good time all the way around (except for those hideous kid movie trailers... wow).

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