Episode 24 - Zootopia

Disney's misguided cartoon about racism (they're actually against it this time), "Zootopia," received a 2016 Academy Award nomination for Animated Feature and is currently sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Yet the best analogy the filmmakers could come up with to approach this prickly subject was to cast the feared majority groups as predatory animals capable of "going savage" and the fearful minority groups as prey. Hmm. The fact that drawing these parallels is incredibly abhorrent somehow eluded them. The lead character, Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) is a spunky little rabbit who trades on her underdog status while constantly threatening and intimidating anyone who tries to get in her way. The secondary lead is Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman, who is pretty much the same sarcastic prick with a heart of gold that Bateman has played time and time again ever since "Arrested Development"). Zootopia's theme song, "Try Everything," by Shakira is easily one of the most annoying Disney songs ever written. It's not quite the same caliber as "It's a Small World," but it's certainly a contender. We mock this giant Apple commercial for its muddled metaphors and its terrible sense of humor, but we also wonder what exactly happened to one particular species of mammal that is eerily missing from this movie: we humans. Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at [email protected]. This episode is sponsored by So-So. Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.