Zootopia

A beautiful animation that herds a lot of metaphorical machinations together from beginning to end. The most important messages to me were that you can be whatever you want to be, overcome all barriers presented to you, no matter who or what you are and, all worlds, societies and cultures benefit and become better through diversity, difference and working together. If they'd farmed a few hoomans they could have ticked the climate change box as well (filthy and ignorant beasts that they are).

This is a wonderful animation film that definitely surprised me! Expecting it to be another average Disney film, I was delighted to find it was not quite so. First of all, the animation is extremely well done which makes the movie enjoyable to watch. The amount of details is astonishing and watching it twice was not a punishment for me. The plot is also surprisingly well thought-of, being funny yet dramatic and it keeps you on your seat while also making you laugh multiple times. Although a city full of anthropomorphic animals that dress and act like humans has been extremely popular since animation existed, I believe this Disney movie takes it to a new level. It really does feel like everything took years to develop as the environment is complex and believable and the animal characters resemble their real-life counterparts remarkably well. It's amazing how they could produce a movie with simple jokes suitable for kids yet still silently addressing real-life issues at the same time. At last, I definitely recommend this movie for the whole family as I deem it enjoyable for all ages.

As much as I liked movies like Toy Story and Finding Nemo, it made me curious about other CGI animated movies. I didn't actually see this movie in theaters, but I did rent it and was pleasantly surprised. Not everything is in black and white in this movie, and various stereotypes are broken. And things are not always what they seem. I loved the main characters and they all get my standing ovation. This, along with Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 are my favorites of the non-Pixar Disney CGI films. If you like anthro animals and want to see them in a somewhat modern setting with no humans, look no further!

A staple of children's movies is to give animals human characteristics, whether it is our feathered friends in the "Rio" series or our furry friends in the "Alvin And The Chipmunks" franchise. What is different about "Zootropolis" - called "Zootopia" in the USA - is that this is not one breed of talking animals existing in a human world, but every breed of animal inhabiting a world in which there are no humans. The colourful representation of this world, the engaging variety of characters, and the clever script with a message of tolerance and inclusion make for a wonderful movie from Walt Disney Productions.

The basic story is a kind of "Lethal Weapon" pairing of two unlikely partners in crime- fighting: a female rabbit called Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and a shady fox called Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). In pursuit of a missing person (sorry, animal), they encounter all sorts of adventures and a cast of characters ranging from sloths who will not be hurried to a Mr Big who turns out to be a tiny version of "The Godfather" concluding with a singing gazelle (Shakira). I took my five year old granddaughter to see the movie and she loved it, finishing up dancing in the aisles.

Zootopia leaves all other Disney 3D animations in the dust. The plot, characters, styling, quality of animation and script are so spot on. I could watch this film a thousand times and not grow bored. If you haven't seen it, stop what you are doing and watch it.