Disney Movie Challenge: Zootopia (2016)

 Disney Movie Challenge

Zootopia (2016)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 59 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Raya and the Last Dragon in 2021. 

A lot of people accused Disney of subtly inserting social messages into their films.  The two that I remember Fox News complaining about are Frozen , which they accused of having a LGBTQ agenda, and The Muppets (2011) which they accused of an anti-capitalist agenda.  In 2016 it seems Disney finally decided to make a film without a clear social message and absolutely no subtly.  Zootopia comes out swinging with it’s clear anti-racism message and there is no way to miss it.  

The movie is about an idealistic bunny named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) who dreams of becoming the first bunny cop in Zootopia.  Zootopia is a city where “anyone can be anything”.  Despite the odds Judy manages to fulfill her dream and get on the police force.   But Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) still doesn’t see Hops as a valuable asset to the force and assigns her parking duty while everyone else works on a big case.  She tries to prove herself by handing out 200 tickets in one day, but her big break comes when a weasel robs a flower store and she chases and arrests him. While trying to convince the Chief she is a capable police officer who can do more than be a meter maid a otter comes into the office to report that her husband is missing.  Judy makes a deal with Bogo to find the missing otter in 48 hours or she will resign.  To find the otter she must team up with a fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman).  Nick is a con artist but Judy needs his connections to help uncover the truth.  They uncover a plot to turn the predators “savage” and unleash their primal instincts to attack and kill.  The public is notified of the plot a panic ensues where all the prey become fearful of every predator. Zootopia turns into a city full of suspicion and mistrust.  While Judy wants people to see her for more than a cute bunny she must learn to see others as more than a predator.  After realizing she made things worse instead of better she leaves Zootopia for her farm but upon stumbling on a clue she reunites with Nick and finally figures out what really is going on.  

Once again Disney pushed the envelop of animation technology.  This time by creating new software to make realistic fur.  The software “iGroom” used individually placed hair (Judy and Nick had 2.5 million individual hairs) and was able to manipulate the fur to make it look plush and naturalistic.  The voice acting in the film was pretty good.  Jason Bateman is by far my favorite but Ginnefer Goodwin really gives Judy the perfect optimistically naïve voice.  

The story itself is pretty heavy handed. Teaching kids not to judge others by how they look or where they come from is important, unfortunately as an adult I find it a bit too much.  At some point in the film I just found myself saying “I get it”.  There is also an extended reference to The Godfather which most likely goes over kid’s heads. While kids get the idea of don’t judge a book by it’s cover I’m not sure they will grasp the larger societal issue of Racism.  The first time I tried watching it when it first came out on Blu-Ray my kid took the disc out of the player and threw it across the room.  So, he really didn’t want to watch it.  This time he paid a bit more attention to it but I don’t know how much he got out of it.  

Overall: A good looking film with good voice acting, but a little too on the nose messaging took away from the story.  Kids will enjoy some of the silly gags but not sure how much they will get out of it.  

Random Facts 

The title of the film was changed for international release due to Disney not being able to copyright the name Zootopia in various countries.  For most of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa it is called Zootropolis.  In Germany it is called Zoomania due to a children’s Book called “Zootopolis”.  

The news co-anchor thats a Moose in the standard version is different animals In other countries.  He is a Koala in Australan and New Zealand version, a Jaguar in the Brazillian version, a Tanuki in the Japanese version, and a Giant Panda in the Chinese version.   

Zootopia is the third non-Pixar Disney Animated film to win Best Animated Film at the Oscars. It biggest competitor was the other Disney Animated film to come out in 2016 Moana.

Alan Tudyk plays Duke Weaselton the small time crook. Tudyk also voiced the Duke of Weselton from Frozen. 

Disney Movie Challenge: Big Hero 6 (2014)

Disney Movie Challenge

Big Hero 6 (2014)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 59 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Raya and the Last Dragon in 2021. 

After Disney bought Marvel Studios in 2009 everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they cranked out a Marvel Animated movie, but no one would have expected one based on the obscure comic “Big Hero 6”.  When Don Hall was working on Winnie the Pooh he started going through the Marvel Archives looking for a comic he could adapt.  For some reason the title of “Big Hero 6” stood out to him and started looking at the story.  While some of the characters are the same as in the comic a lot of their backstory changed.  The biggest example is Baymax who is a lovable robot in the movie, in the comics he was designed to be a bodyguard and was implanted with human memories

The film takes place in a fictional land called San Fransokyo where 13 year old Hiro is a genius but uses his talents to win money scamming people at robot battles.  His older brother Tadashi is in college trying to convince Hiro to use his brain for more than bot fights.  One night after rescuing Hiro from an angry mob, Hiro's brother Tadashi takes Hiro  to his school to introduce him to his friends (Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred) and show off all the cool tech they are building.  It’s there that Tadashi shows Hiro the robot he built called Baymax.  Baymax is designed to be a healthcare assistant and used to help people.  Hiro falls in love with the school, the cutting edge tech they are developing,  and everyone there.  He makes it his mission to get into the school.  To get in he has to enter a science fair and show off something great.  For the fair he uses the concept from his fighting robot to make microbots.  Microbots are tiny robots that can be controlled with the mind and combinted to do anything.  He wows everyone and gets a spot in the school.  But as they are leaving the science fair an explosion happens and Tadashi runs into the fire to save the school principal.  Unfortunately Tadashi dies in the fire and Hiro believes his Microbots have been destroyed. This leaves Hiro hopeless and he gives up on his dream to go to school.  But he soon discovers that Baymax is still functional and that someone is using his microbots for nefarious purposes.  This sets him on a collision course with the Kabuki Mask wearing villain.  But he will need a team to help him win and get his revenge for the death of his brother.  He recruits Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred to join the team and uses their inventions to turn them into superheroes.  He also converts Baymax from a health care assistant into a fighting machine.  Together they will have to learn how to work as a team and decide what they are actually fighting for.  

As I mentioned this movie is loosely based on the comics.  Outside the character names and some of their personalities everything was changed.  It probably helped that it was an obscure comic so not many were going to be super upset about the major changes.  While there are lots of fantastical elements in the film it feels more grounded in reality then the comics sound like they were.  Don Hall and his team went to a Robotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University to see what the cutting edge of robotics looked like.  There they were working on making robots with vinyl which became the inspiration for Baymax’s design.  They also based the powers of each hero in the group on technology instead of having backstories that involve superhuman powers (in the comics GoGo could turn into a fiery blast just by saying her name).  As with a lot of Disney animated films they pushed the limits of technology once again.  They used a new rendering program that gave them new lighting possibilities that were used to make Baymax look more translucent.    They also used new programs to create the cityscape and add people.  

For some reason the first time I saw it in theatres I thought it was fine but didn’t like it that much.  But with each subsequent viewing I like it a little bit more.  There is a lot going on in the film and I think it wasn’t what I was expecting when I first saw it.  I still feel there is something in the beginning that doesn’t quite work but I can’t put my finger on it.  It might be because it’s hard to believe that something like microbots could actually exist (of all the technology in the film this one feels the most far-fetched) or that a 13 year old kid could invent them.  There is also something about Hiro's personality that is a bit off putting.  I'm not sure if it's arrogance or something else but he is very unlikable in the beginning.  That all changes after Tadashi dies and the film starts clicking for me.  I love that the movie starts as a tale of revenge but is really about grieving the death of a loved one.  We see Hiro go through different stages of grief and with the help of Baymax learns that he has friends to help him.  In addition to being about grieving we have the more fun superhero team building story.  We follow as each team member learns to use their weapons in addition to learning how to work together as a team.  All the elements work well as individual story lines but come together in fun and surprising ways. 

Stealing every scene he is in, Baymax is the real star of the film.  There are so many memorable robots in film history that to create a new one that stands out is pretty amazing.   Since Baymax was programmed to help, that is the only way he sees every situation.  This naivete leads to some funny interactions.  They also use every aspect of Baymax for comedic effect. There is the way he deflates to get through a window, the scotch tape gag at the police station, and then the drunk Baymax when his battery starts to run out. The most incredible thing of all is that Scott Adsit is able to inject Baymax with a personality while delivering all his lines in a monotone robotic voice.   

Overall: A fun action packed film that has lots of laughs but isn’t afraid to deal with the deeper emotion of grieving.  Kids will certainly get a kick out of the action hijinks but the film also gives adults something to think about.  

Random Facts

The first Disney animated film I saw in theatres since Pocahontas in 1995.  It’s also the last Disney animated film I have seen in the theatres.  

A post credit scene was added late in production after Don Hall watched Guardians of the Galaxy and realized that fans would expect it.  

While not said in the movie the history of San Fransokyo is that after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake the city was rebuilt by Japanese immigrants.  

Second year in a row that a non-Pixar Disney movie won Best Animated Film at the Oscars (Frozen won the year before)