Zootopia (2016)

IMDb plot summary: In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.
Directed by Brian Howard and Rich Moore. Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, and Jenny Slate.

(Some mild spoilers.)

Disney's been seriously upping their game lately, achieving Pixar levels of entertaining movies that also have surprisingly important messages for young kids. With Zootopia, charming and likable characters come together to deliver a poignant message about hidden racism. The most powerful moment here is after Judy gives her press conference and returns to her fox friends, oblivious to the fact that she's just slighted him and every other predator, because she doesn't think of him as "one of them" anymore. Judy is a kind person who wants to like everyone, but even she doesn't realize the way she's internalized some of these "us vs. them" messages and how that comes across in her speech. That's a level of depth most "accept others" movies never get to, and Zootopia did something that few animated kids' movies manage outside of Pixar: it made me think.

On top of that, it's a genuinely enjoyable movie. Judy and Nick play wonderfully against each other, and the world is a creative one. Aside from a couple one-note gags that run too long (note that the sloths scene from the commercial is not one of them), this is a really solid flick and well worth a watch.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Zootopia > True Romance
Zootopia > The Artist
Zootopia < In the Bedroom
Zootopia < Kiss Me, Stupid!
Zootopia < Billy Elliot the Musical Live
Zootopia < Reservoir Dogs
Zootopia > Australia
Zootopia > Hannah Arendt
Zootopia < Christmas in Connecticut
Zootopia < Chariots of Fire
Zootopia < Catfish
Zootopia < Cloud Atlas
Final spot: #580 out of 2438.