Disney Era Analysis – Zootopia
As mentioned in the first blog post in this series, I’ll be writing analysis content on all 60+ Disney animated feature films and their film making eras.
The seventh era is the Revival Era, which ran from 2009 to 2019 and started with The Princess and the Frog. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Revival Era is known for: its return to the “old formula” (storytelling similar to the Renaissance Era), improved and advanced computer-generated (CG) animation, evolution in its storytelling by adapting stories from sources other than old books, and well thought-out stories paired with improved animation.
So how well did Zootopia measure up to these famous features?
Return to the “old formula” (storytelling similar to the Renaissance Era):
This film returned to the “old formula” in the following ways:
- Judy’s journey of wanting to become, and eventually becoming, a police officer, is an underdog going on a journey of self-discovery, which was a common trait of characters and films from the Renaissance Era.
- The Judy-Nick buddy combination is similar to the pairings of Aladdin and Genie in Aladdin, and Timon and Pumbaa in The Lion King.
- The world in this film is of anthropomorphised animals with no humans, similar to The Lion King.
- The opening segment of the bunny being hunted in the jungle at night is a clear reference to the opening of Tarzan.
Improved and advanced computer-generated (CG) animation:
According to the film’s Wikipedia page, the software Disney had used in the past with animating fur was not ready for creating realistic fur for this film. This led to Disney’s IT engineers developing the fur-controlling software, iGroom, which enabled the animators to have more control over the brushing and shaping of fur, as well as create unique fur styles for each character.
This film also used Hyperion, which was first used on Big Hero 6, however it was expanded with a fur paradigm to facilitate the creation of realistic images of the animals’ dense fur. The film also utilised Nitro (previously used in Wreck-It Ralph) to make the fur more consistent, and Bonsai (previously used in Frozen) to make a variety of trees with detailed foliage.
Evolution in its storytelling by adapting stories from sources other than old books:
Zootopia is an original story, however it was described by co-director and screenwriter, Byron Howard, as an “all-animal adaptation of The Three Musketeers. The film also shares many similarities to Disney’s 1973 adaptation of Robin Hood.
Well thought-out stories paired with improved animation:
According to the film’s Wikipedia page, the plot of Zootopia emerged from Howard’s desire to create something different from other anthropomorphic films, where animals either live in the natural world or in the human world. His concept was animals living in a modern world designed by animals for animals. To ensure that the concept was well-executed, the film’s crew consulted with the Americans with Disabilities Act specialists and HVAC system designers, and the Ford Motor Company for the various car designs.
The film’s Wikipedia page also states that the animators took their inspiration from studying the walking cycles and fur colour of various animals, and trips to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
My favourite animation moments in this film were the unique ecosystems that were on full display during Judy’s train journey from Bunny Burrow to Zootopia. I also appreciated the different scales on display in Zootopia to cater for all of the animals.
My overall thoughts:
Overall, I enjoyed Zootopia for its ability to be a well-told, well-written racial allegory, which was well balanced with comedic elements. I appreciated the film crew’s efforts to creative an inclusive world for all animals and ultimately juxtapose it with the racial tensions and issues that play out in the film’s second and third acts.
I also appreciated that this film was a contemporary buddy cop comedy, in contrast to the predecessors of this Era focusing on princesses, and revival of stories and technology from the past.
The next part of the Disney Era Analysis series will focus on Moana.
Fun Facts and Trivia (according to the film’s IMDb page):
- There are no reptiles, birds, fish or amphibians in the film – only mammals and occasional flies. This aligns with the film’s themes of Prey and Predator.
- According to the film’s co-director, Rich Moore, Mr. Big is an arctic shrew “because it’s the most vicious predator on Earth”. Arctic shrews eat three times their own body weight and even other shrews.
- This film is called Zootropolis in Europe because the Danish Givskud Zoo had trademarked Zootopia for that region.
- Chief Bogo wears glasses to read documents, this is a reference to the fact that buffalo have very poor eyesight.
- When Judy and Nick first meet Mr. Big, it’s the day of his daughter’s wedding. When they return to his office for help making Duke Weaselton talk, Mr. Big’s daughter is very pregnant. Since they are arctic shrews, which have a gestation period of 13-21 days, only a couple of weeks could have passed at the most.
- With a running time of 108 minutes, Zootopia is Disney’s second longest animated feature film, behind Fantasia.
References:
Loveday Writing 