Tag: disney

Permission to hug? “Zootopia 2” (2025)

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directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard
© 2025 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

As I promised, here’s my recommendation of “Zootopia 2”. If you haven’t seen the first film, you may check out my previous post and perhaps watch both parts together. Although, if you decide to see only the second film, you’ll still understand everything there, because the characters are introduced to us again and the story is not really connected to the previous one. But if you haven’t seen the first part, you may find my post a little spoiler, so just so you know. In this film, Judy and Nick (Ginnifer Goodwin & Jason Bateman) are work partners at the police department, but even though they managed to succeed last time, they are still very different from each other, which causes lots of problems. During one mission, Judy spots a shedded snake skin, which seems unreal, because there haven’t been any snakes in the city of Zootopia for years. However, the more they investigate the case, the more probable it becomes that there is, in fact, a snake somewhere here. Since they are considered a threat to the community, Judy and Nick must find it before anything bad happens. And soon, those two might realise that nothing is that obvious and simple… Intrigued? I hope so. What I definitely loved about this part is that it doesn’t stand out from the first one. If you watch them together, I bet you can’t really say they were made 10 years apart. The jokes are still there and I actually liked the main plot twist, because, again, the filmmakers take stereotypes and crush them into tiny pieces. I have to say I’m not a big fan of modern children’s animations, because they seem too complicated and, in fact, tiring to me. I get it, now, younger generations expect everything, everywhere, happening all at once. But it would be nice to see more animations like “Zootopia”, because there are still adults who like watching such films and we feel discriminated. On behalf of millenials, please, keep making such animations! Thank you in advance. Besides, in what other film you may watch a gazelle singing with the voice of Shakira? That’s a very unique experience.

My rating: 7/10
S.

What Do You Call A Three-Humped Camel? “Zootopia” (2016)

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directed by Byron Howard & Rich Moore
© 2016 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Recently, I’ve seen “Zootopia 2” and, while writing a post about, I realised that I haven’t recommended the first part on my blog. So today we’re moving back to 2016… wow. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! It’s about time to create a post about it then. Some of you probably already know this animation, but for those who don’t, sit comfortably and enjoy the plot: Imagine a world without people. Awesome, right? Instead of them, we have animals, who can talk and do everything humans do. There, we meet Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a very ambitious little rabbit who wishes to move to the city of Zootopia and become the first ever bunny policeman. Or… police-bunny. I’m trying to be politically correct, ok? So, Judy is assigned to do rather basic boring stuff at work, but then things get complicated and she is given an urgent case to solve – but she must do it quickly. In order to succeed, she has to cooperate with Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a smart but rebellious fox. As we know, bunnies and foxes don’t really go together, but, surprisingly, those to make a great team. Will they manage to solve the case? It’s for you to see. Even though I was already an adult watching “Zootopia”, I enjoyed it very much. If you miss good old animations for children, then this one shouldn’t disappoint you. The characters are well-written, the plot is fun to follow and you may spot numerous jokes that are actually hilarious. Besides, I’m sure that you’ll love their sloth – because if you’ve ever been to any office, you’ll definitely have flashbacks. Fun fact, at first the filmmakers wanted to make Nick the main character, but then decided to switch roles with Judy, and I actually believe it was a great choice. Not only they created another inspiring female character (even if she’s not human), but also made Nick in the supporting role a more insteresting element of the whole story. Generally, the film is fast, entertaining and educational, so to me, it makes a very good animation. If you still haven’t seen “Zootopia”, it’s about time! Especially since I’ll be writing about the second part soon, so stay tuned.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Embrace the light while it burns because it won’t always last forever. “Elemental” (2023)

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directed by Peter Sohn
© 2023 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

I haven’t been much satisfied with Disney’s recent animations and I know that this one isn’t a perfection either, but it put a smile on my face, which is enough for me to recommend it. If it’ll make you feel better, that’s already a reason to watch. At first I thought it’s some kind of alternative to “Inside Out”, but I’m assuring you the story is totally different. We end up in Element City where various elements coexist, although not without conflicts. A couple of fire elements move to the city and aren’t much welcome because other elements see them as walking troubles. After all, they are literally fire. The couple finally settle down, have a daughter and open their own little store. When their child, Ember (Leah Lewis), gets older, the father wants her to run the family business so he could retire in peace. Unfortunately, Ember has difficulties with her temper and finds it difficult to deal with annoying clients. I mean, I feel you, girl. Anyway, soon and by accident she gets a chance to meet Wade (Mamoudou Athie), who is a water element. Even though those two elements completely differ from each other, they will realise how much opposites attract. And if you haven’t guessed that yet – yes, this is actually a love story. It’s still a lovely animation for children, but the main idea is showing a romantic relation between two different elements. But not to focus on the romantic part only, I have to point out that this film is also a great tolerance lesson. Different elements represent different races/cultures. It is presented how each element group stick together and feel best surrounded by other elements like them, but also how elements might be discriminated and excluded from different activities. I actually loved the idea for this film and the way they covered the topic of racism and xenophobia so well. I believe that not only children will learn the lesson, but I’m pretty sure their parents/guardians might also reflect a bit. The thing that I definitely didn’t like was the main adventure – or rather lack of it. I mean, if I was bored, then I guess a little human would have left the room before I yawned for the first time. So yeah, no fun adventure in this one, at least in my opinion. But the characters of Ember and Wade caught my attention and I was actually cheering for them. *SMALL SPOILER* Honestly speaking, I was more excited about their first hand touch than when I had my own first kiss as a teen. In the end, I wanted a relaxing animation, I got a relaxing animation with a cute romantic cherry on top, so I’m happy and hope you’ll be too.

My rating: 7/10
S.

The clear path is never the right one. “Onward” (2020)

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directed by Dan Scanlon
© 2020 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

This time I didn’t cry! I almost always cry watching Disney/Pixar productions, but this time it didn’t work. And I know why, but first let me tell you what this strange new animation is about. Imagine the world full of mythical creatures. We, as humans, aren’t much mythical so we’re not here. Sorry. But you can see all those orcs, gnomes, fairies and whatever you can imagine. The main character is Ian (Tom Holland), who’s an elf. He lives with his mother Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and his brother Barley (Chris Pratt). The boys’ father died before Ian was born, so Barley remembers him a little, Ian, however, didn’t have a chance to meet him at all. Now their mother is dating Colt (Mel Rodriguez), a centaur police officer (I know how it sounds and I had to tell you about it). Anyway, that’s not the point. The most important part is that Ian turns 16 and his father left him and Barley something special that was supposed to be given to them after they are both over 16. They receive a magical staff, a rare gem and a letter from their father, where he explains that using these things the boys can resurrect him for a day. Barley, as a huge geek, tries to do it several times, but fails. However, Ian gives it a chance and, by accident, resurrects… his father’s legs. Yes, his father’s legs. Moving legs, nothing else. So in order to see the rest of the man, the brothers decide to go on an adventure, find another gem and do more abracadabra. Still, they have only 24h before those legs disappear. To be honest, I had bigger expectations about this film. I mean, I love all Disney/Pixar productions with my whole heart, but this one was just too much. I feel like they wanted to make it modernly mythical, but, in the end, it’s just a bit annoying weird-creature circus. Still, I loved the jokes, I loved the animation and I loved the message that we get at the end. Besides, the story, even though it’s presented in a fantasy world, reminds us of our own reality, where people keep following new technologies and forget about the “magic of the past”. So even though I am still slightly disappointed, I’m giving a thumb up.

My rating: 7/10
S.