‘Zootopia’ is fun for the whole family
There is something for everyone in “Zootopia,” the delightful new film from Disney Animations.
“Zootopia” is filled with detail, from the look to the story, but is also simple enough to be appreciated by the youngest family members.
“Zootopia” tells the story of Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), a country bunny who dreams of becoming a police officer in the big city.
Hopps realizes her dreams to a certain extent, joining the force only to be assigned to traffic duty. When she is finally given the chance to find the whereabouts of a missing otter, she teams up with a fast-talking con artist fox named Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) to try to solve the mystery, only to uncover an even bigger conspiracy.
For a film that underwent significant plot and character changes and features eight writing credits and three director credits, “Zootopia” feels seamless in its execution.
The world of “Zootopia” is fully imagined, with every little detail adding to the wonder of the creation. The shot of Hopps arriving in the city is as breathtaking as any live action sequence.
The story is your basic buddy-cop movie, with the message against stereotyping blended in very effectively. It’s a film that has elements of feminism and racial divide, but done so in a way that doesn’t play over the heads of the target audience.
The voices fit the characters well, and I was a fan of the hidden nuggets for adults, with nods to both “The Godfather” and “Breaking Bad” worked into the story.
“Zootopia” leaves it open for possible sequels, something I hope becomes a reality. This is a world that I enjoyed visiting – and wouldn’t mind revisiting sometime in the future.
Also in theaters
On the other end of the spectrum, “Gods of Egypt” (F) was a world that I couldn’t wait to get out of. It’s a brutal attempt to recreate the Egyptian folklore, with disastrous results.
In “Gods of Egypt” Brenton Thwaites plays Bek, a young mortal in ancient Egypt who joins forces with the god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) in his fight against his uncle Set (Gerard Butler) who has become king and forced Horus into exile.
Bek sees this as a chance to bring his love Zaya (Courtney Eaton) back from the dead, while Horus sees the alliance as a chance to gain his revenge on Set.
And that is pretty much all there is to “Gods of Egypt,” with some supporting characters thrown in here and there to pad the bloated 127-minute running time.
I would say that all of the budget for “Gods of Egypt” (estimated at $140 million) went for the special effects with little money for the script, but even the effects aren’t that good. Most of it is hackneyed CGI in front of an obvious green screen that makes it look like something from the Syfy channel. The production design is not inspired, and the costumes look like they were stolen from the set of the 1980 version of “Flash Gordon.”
The cast is bland, save for Butler who tries to chew the scenery up as the only person who doesn’t seem to take this too seriously.
Unfortunately everyone else, including director Alex Proyas (the man behind much better films “Dark City” and “The Crow”), does play it straight, thus denying the film of at least succeeding on a campy level.
The result is an instantly forgettable failure that has already cemented a spot on my list of the worst films of 2016.
“Gods of Egypt” is rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and action and some sexuality, and is now playing at the Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10 and Highland Cinemas in Glasgow.
— To read Micheal Compton’s thoughts on all movies, visit his blog at bgdailynews.com/blogs/reel_to_reel or on Twitter at twitter.com/mcompton428. Email him at mcompton@bgdailynews.com.
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman (voices)
Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush
Rating: PG for some thematic elements, rude humor and action
Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12, Highland Cinemas (Glasgow) and Franklin Drive-In
Grade: A-