Disney seems to be becoming increasingly more comfortable making films more. Their latest attempt, zootopia, is less Frozen- style musical dash and much more Wreck -It Ralph, targeted at producing character and comedy with equal parts cynicism as well as heart. Does it work? For the large part, yes; visually stunning and more funny than you might think, the movie is a delight to sit through for grownups and children. However, many of its brightest areas endure from some intriguing problems.

Zootopia PosterJudy Hopps, unlike her family, is convinced the way she was born is no reason to not follow her visions. Obviously, being a bunny in a world full of creatures much, much larger than she is, her dream of becoming a police officer looks bleak at best, and no one but her considers this type of thing is possible. But joining the academy and upon demonstrating her mettle, she is overjoyed to discover she is assigned to the megalopolis Zootopia, where she hopes to change lives. However, her boss, Chief Bogo, sees her as little more than an aggravation. Delegated to traffic obligation, Judy discovers her grand dreams slowly expiring until she sees the opportunity to take on the case of a lost otter. Her only lead is into helping her, a fox who Judy ropes, slippery con artist Nick Wilde. As Nick and Judy learn to trust each other despite their qualifications, they find the missing otter is not quite the easy case it seems.

Zootopia is a showcase for the cartoon Disney is famous for, if nothing else. Though a little disappointing that it'sn’t left in two measurements that are classic, the 3D animation is vibrantly colored, expressive, and still amazing. The city of Zootopia allows to get an enormous selection of backdrop while keeping the story tightly knit and fast moving. One of the highlights includes a chase through a section of the city inhabited by the smaller rodents, in which even Judy’s small size results in a lot more than a few interesting visuals as she tries to prevent acting as a mini-Godzilla.

The story, in the interim, is twisty and good fun, and loaded with comedy…and it must be, with longtime Simpsons alum Jim Reardon onboard to do some story work, also it shows in everything from facial expressions to visual gags to the cynical humor that loads up most of the running time. Nary a fart joke is anywhere to be located, and even the pre-release “They’re creatures, so everything is an animal pun!” posters seem to have already been left by the wayside in genuine release; the only time that old cliché comes up is late in the film as Disney makes several digs at itself. It works for what it is, and doesn’t wear out its welcome.

Where I found a lot of the humor in the movie amusing, ZootopiaBut, it is also one among its biggest weaknesses: Zootopia, despite its message, dearth of offensive material, and lively colors, isn't really a movie aimed toward children. Most children are probably not going to get it much as their parents while the sloth scene repeated ad nauseam across the web is likely to make anybody who has stood in line in the DMV laugh. And a lot of the humor is incredibly skeptical…if this wasn’t a Disney comedy about foxes bunnies, along with other animals of sizes, Judy’s struggles would be almost soul-crushing. Much like how Upward spent its first ten minutes brilliantly showcasing, without dialogue, the happiness and heartbreak of a complete life, so too does Zootopia capture the struggles of an idealist faced together with the realities of the world around them, which can be a tough lesson for anybody to deal with, particularly children whose worst fear is getting their mathematics homework done by the next day. To create things subtle, Chief Bogo lectures about how life isn’t honey and all sweets wrapped in joyful musical numbers, Judy. That’s right, a Disney movie makes fun of Disney movies are really so happy all of the time. If this isn’t cynicism, I don’t understand what's.

Which also leads to another point: the ethical lesson. Of most of the people in the picture, the character seems like the past man who needed to get it, and it feels a little shoehorned in, when it shows up.

In the long run, though, all these are minor quibbles. It is also argued that these “problems” are things which will resonate together with the children that go to view this upon the close endless repeat screenings it really is certain to get in every family. Underneath a cop/detective story is a subject of hope, understanding and trust; “not everybody is they seem at first glance” isn't merely an ideal that is important throughout Zootopia, but also for the rest of us at the same time, regardless of who we are. Of course, this is an ethical told to us by creatures wearing slacks, so take it with whatever grain of salt you'll need.