‘Zootopia’ review: Inventive, funny animated predators and prey

Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush

Voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate

Rated PG

A police procedural. A buddy comedy. A social commentary.

Disney’s new animated film “Zootopia” is a lot of things, and it’s almost easy to forget that it’s a movie for children, even if it stars an adorable little bunny.

That rabbit is Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), who has dreamed of becoming a police officer ever since she was young.

Problem is, in the world of “Zootopia,” there are animals who are historically predators and ones who are prey. While the animals have all evolved to civil beings, those genetic stereotypes still remain. So the aggressive predators typically get jobs like police officer.

Thanks to an initiative by Mayor Lionheart (J.K. Simmons) and Assistant Mayor Bellwether (Jenny Slate), though, Judy is the first rabbit to join the force, which is filled with bigger animals like rhinos and elephants.

Chief Bogo, a Cape buffalo voiced by Idris Elba, wants no part of having a rabbit on his force. He sends Judy off to ticket cars, where she meets a con man, Nick Wilde (Jason Batman). He is a fox, the natural predator for a rabbit, which makes for plenty of drama.

Though she’s been written off because of her size and species, Judy lands herself on a missing otter case that, with Nick’s eventual help, builds into something much bigger.

“Zootopia” is slyly funny and clever. But it also has an important message about the dangers of stereotyping and passing judgment on people because of their background. It’s all wrapped together with a compelling mystery and beautiful animation. Bring the kids … or don’t.