ANIMATED MOVIE REVIEW: Pixar’s ZOOTOPIA (2016)

YES I FINALLY GOT TO SEE ZOOTOPIA!!!! Yeah I’m a little late, but I had finals, you know? Anyway, here’s the review:

Same, Judy. Same.

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

Zootopia is a movie by the studio Pixar (heard of it?), released in March of 2016. It is an animated movie about a society of anthropomorphic animals who have evolved to live in harmony with each other – predators and prey alike. Our main character, Judy Hops, is a young bunny born in a small town named Bunnyburrow, and is an aspiring to police officer. After achieving her childhood dream, Judy moves to the capital city “Zootopia” to be part of the police force. However, being the first “bunny police officer” lands her in a tough position with all the other officers, and she soon finds that Zootopia is not the paradise she thought it would be. All alone in the city, she soon makes an unlikely alliance with a disillusioned fox, named Nick Wilde.

A lively film:

I cannot think of a better work to describe this film other than “alive”. It is populated with so many animals, and so many different settings – I dare even say that this is Pixar’s biggest film in terms of the work for designing and animating everything (from what we can see on screen anyway). Compared to other Pixar films, which usually stay roughly in one area, there was a lot of jumping from location to location – all of them very interesting and beautiful in their own ways. In addition, this film featured a variety of animals and played with their “personalities” (imagined personalities) perfectly. This film is super vibrant and organic and BIG.

City of Zootopia

Charming characters:

Of course, I am talking about the main leads, Judy and Nick. The dynamics between these two characters, and as characters alone, are really charming and fun to watch. Right from their first interaction to their last, their personalities seemed to be matched up perfectly. And this is due to their personalities being opposite of each other – where Judy comes off as extremely studious and Nick comes off as a little sleazy. Classic comedic dynamics for making jokes off of each other. Aside from the two mains, there are plenty of other characters who are very funny and lovable, and a lot of the really funny jokes come from the side characters.

You may remember this guy from the trailers…

Unique themes:

One thing that makes Zootopia really interesting is its exploration of its movie genre. It is considered to be a “buddy-cop” film (which, for those of you who don’t know, is basically what it sounds like – a movie about cops who are friends, or cops who become friends; it’s a comedy genre). They play with “buddy-cop” movie tropes and pairings like the classic “studious cop” and “sleazy partner” pairing, dealing with bureaucracy bullshit, etc. It’s a very refreshing take on the genre, and something I haven’t seen in animated films before.

Another thing that makes Zootopia so worthy of your two hours of time are the social issues addressed in Zootopia. I don’t want to give too much away, but Zootopia addresses social concerns in a very interesting and thought provoking way that is palpable for children, and not overly cheesy for kids – again, not something I am too used to seeing  in animated films targeted to children. I find that Zootopia is very different from other Pixar movies – and while I love Pixar movies, I mean this in a good way.

When you try to make new friends but you’re 1/20th their size : (

Recommended for:

I honestly loved Zootopia, and I would recommend it to… pretty much anybody. While it is a family film, and it looks like it is probably intended to target “younger” audiences, I doubt any adult walking out of the theatre would write Zootopia off as “childish”. It IS adorable – don’t get me wrong – but it also deals with important issues that I did not expect to appear in Zootopia. It sends such a positive message for any younger viewers who are in the audience to receive, and it has enough substance that any adult could take it seriously. And in addition to this, this movie is legitimately funny – I can guarantee some real laughs when watching this.

I don’t really know who I wouldn’t recommend it to. I guess if you don’t like animated films, this isn’t for you… (but then why are you reading this review?) My friend did say that he was expecting for more heart-string tugging moments because Pixar is always so good at those (and to be honest, I wanted a little more too), so he was a little let down by the lack of that (but it isn’t completely absent).

Bring your friends! Bring your little brothers and sisters! Bring your folks! Bring your kids! (But not if they’re under three and can’t sit still for the entire movie or are susceptible to crying during movies. Don’t bring your kids.)

Detailed-analysis and spoilers section:

SO, if you haven’t watched the movie, here’s where you should stop (and scroll down the the bottom for the ratings). Or go watch the movie and come back.

THE SLOTH!

Let’s talk about the sloth real quick: Flash. Oh my – all the scenes with this sloth is super funny. The whole DMV scene was HILARIOUS! I lost my shit completely after Nick told his joke, and Flash tried to relay it back his friend, Priscilla. And man, the end – they pull him back up again when you forgot he even existed – what a nice way to tie everything up in a neat little bow.

Love yooooou

So uh, what do you think is up with them?

Nick and Judy, that is. Every fiber of my inner teenage girl that still remains was screaming for them to kiss or SOMETHING to confirm my feelings – but in the end, they didn’t. Nick did, however, teasingly say, “You know you love me,” to which Judy replied, “Do I know that? Yeah, I do.” That’s something, right? But my friend said they were “just friends”?! I call bullshit. CAN SOMEONE CONFIRM THIS FOR ME?? I’m dying. Though I don’t know how breeding would work with the two of them.

So cute ^_^

TLDR; and ratings section:

Recommended for: People looking for a movie that you won’t be bored by to watch with your kids, people looking for a genuinely funny animated movie, people looking for a unique twist on the “buddy-cop” comedy genre. And basically anybody.
Not recommended for: People looking for something that tugs on your heartstrings, people expecting the classic Pixar “formula”.

Visuals: 9/10 – Look, you already know that Pixar is going to bring it – they have all the resources to so they have pretty much no excuse not to. Even so, Zootopia looks great – it’s vibrant looking, modern, and populated with life.
Audio: 7/10 – I think where Pixar didn’t “bring it” for me this time was the music – it was very average, and I didn’t really come out of the movie having a song I would try to look up later. I did love the voices they cast for the main characters though.
Overall enjoyment: 9/10 – Like I mentioned before, Zootopia is extremely funny, and unexpectedly thought provoking. It is a refreshing movie to come out of Pixar, that plays on movie tropes not commonly used in animated movies. I am really hoping for a sequel for Zootopia, because I have fallen so completely in love with the characters.

 

ANIMATED MOVIE REVIEW: Satoshi Kon’s PAPRIKA (2006)

WOW. SO um… I just finished watching Paprika and wow… No words. But I’ll force some out so that I can process what I just watched…

Paprika’s eyes from the movie poster.

Synopsis and spoiler-free analysis portion:

AHEM. Paprika (パプリカ) is a Japanese animated movie directed by Satoshi Kon (今 敏, Kon Satoshi). It is a sci-fi, psychological thriller centering around a new, unstable technology called the “DC Mini” which allows people to enter each other’s dreams. The protagonists are Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a scientist who is working on the DC Mini project, and Paprika, a mysterious female therapist who uses the DC Mini as a means to deliver psycho-therapy to patients plagued with nightmares. One of Paprika’s patients is the police detective Toshimi Konakawa, who has been suffering from nightmares from an unsolved case. The unstable technology soon creates problems for all those who are involved with it.

Paprika holding the DC Mini.

Dr. Atsuko Chiba (foreground) and detective Toshimi Konakawa (background).

“Is this real life? Or is this fantasy?”:

Wow. What a wild ride Paprika was. Holy shit. I have to say, while I was watching the movie, I was so freaking confused – even scared sometimes. I think my brain is still intact. I seem to be able to digest the movie a little now. People have compared this movie to Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2008), with the main similarity of course lying with the DC Mini, which gives the user the ability to manipulate dreams. If you thought Inception was confusing… oh boy. Inception seems like a walk in the park after watching this movie. Inception at least had the decency to explain the plans to you.

And HOLY were parts of this movie CREEPY. The pictures I provide for this post does not even begin to outline the weirdness that is in this movie (because I don’t want to spoil anything). It’s not particularly gory or anything, but there are things that happen in this film that will make your skin crawl. It’s a scary ride – but scary good.

Ugh. The dolls were the creepiest of all.

Creativity points:

I have to hand it to Kon and everyone who worked on this film – this film was creative. I can’t even imagine how this was put together. It was just like a big snowball of “what if this happened?” It was like nothing was out of bounds – which is what I love about animated films. It was very colourful. Animation was really cool – the fluidity of some shots were so realistic that I gasped out loud when I saw it (because it freaked me out). I really wish I could insert a gif but you know. No spoilers. Freaky things like that are best to be experienced on your own, in the context of the film.

I too question what I watch sometimes.

Recommended for:

Thought this film isn’t gory or gruesome, I still wouldn’t say it’s for the light-hearted. Some pretty dark stuff happens in this film. Since it’s animated, it probably won’t be as bad for most people (unless you really are that squeamish). Seriously though, if this was live action, I don’t think I’d sleep for days. If you liked Inception, or movies about dreams or psychological thrillers, this is a good one to watch. Animated movie fans, this will be a treat. Guaranteed to be a treat for your eyes.

Only scratching the surface of weirdness in this picture. One of my favourite stills though.

In-depth analysis (SPOILERS AHEAD!):

Turn back now or regret it forever. Unless you’ve already watched the movie.

What I liked about it:

Well, I think it’s already pretty obvious. The creativity, of course. It’s a cool idea they had for this technology; and the things that happened inside of the dreams themselves were pretty crazy. I liked that it wasn’t predictable AT ALL – which I find that after watching and reading so many things, a lot of movies are. But this one wasn’t. I had no idea where the boundaries between dream and reality were, the way I’m sure the characters had no idea. And when they finally reveal it, my mind is blown a little. A really good one was when Chiba goes into a dream while in Himura’s room. She is chasing after him, and she tries to jump over a rail, which eventually, collapses into nothing.

My favourite part of the really big dream where the detective goes to save Paprika/Atsuko. I specifically liked the ending of that segment, where he ends up on “floor 17”, or the floor with the victim of the murder he was trying to solve. His reaction to finally catching the “culprit” was priceless, and it made me really happy, because I felt really bad for him throughout the movie for some kind of reason.

I also really liked the scenes where Osanai has Paprika pinned down in his weird butterfly room. That was really creepy and such, but really interesting to watch. When Osanai reached his hand into her body, I did NOT expect him to be able to go under her skin to tear her mask off. Boy did these scenes make me feel uneasy. But I couldn’t look away.

Konakawa on floor 17.

What I didn’t like about it:

I was kind of let down by Paprika as a character… I don’t really know why though. I think I expected her to be more lovable – she is supposed to be the “woman of your dreams” after all – but she fell kind of flat for me. But of course, that’s probably because she doesn’t really exist, so you can’t really expect her to “develop” the way the other characters developed. The “real” her is Atsuko Chiba. But I didn’t like Chiba’s character that much either. She just felt kind of flat to me… It was sweet when they show her “dreaming” inside the bigger dream, where she dreams about being with Tokita. I liked that. I think the problem was that I didn’t get to spend as much time with our protagonist(s) as I liked, so it was hard for me to fully enjoy them as a whole character. I’m not fully satisfied with the end product of the characters.

Aside from the two main characters, I felt that the villains were kind of generic and boring to watch, especially the company president. How many times have you watched something where an old guy who all the characters trust, is actually the one behind all the mishaps in his quest for power? It’s not exactly groundbreaking. And he just wasn’t that convincing as a villain. I wish they delved more into the psychological aspect of dreams, rather than having an actual “villain”. He didn’t seem to have a really good handle on how to manipulate the dreams to his advantage.

I feel like some things weren’t really explained in this movie as well. What happened to Osanai and their company president? Are they just dead? Won’t the police get involved with that? I guess I can just infer what happens after. Also, why was the baby Chiba able to destroy the president in the end? It just seemed kind of like a random solution to what happened. I guess it doesn’t have to all make sense. I really think I just need to rewatch it.

Chiba talking to “Paprika” reflected on the window.

TLDR;

Recommended for: Satoshi Kon fans (how have you not watched this movie though? He only has four), fans of Inception, fans of sci-fi psychological thrillers, fans of animated movies

Not recommended for: People who don’t like to be mind-fucked, people who can’t handle any level of horror

Ratings:

Visuals: 9/10 – They were really good. I don’t know what else to say about them. I think character design maybe could have been better. Some of them seemed a little prototype-y.
Story: 8/10 – I don’t really have many complaints about it… Just that there seems to be a bit of rushing here and there, and maybe the characters could have been developed better. Also, I feel like some of my questions were left unanswered. Maybe I just need to rewatch it again. I still find it to be super cool and creative though.
Overall enjoyment: 7.5-8/10 – Despite giving it higher scores, I’d give it a 7.5 to 8 out of ten. Why? I didn’t really fall in love with the characters, and some things that happened seemed a little random. Maybe this score will change if I rewatch it.

P.S. Now that I’ve written all of this down, it all seems okay now : )