‘Zootopia” has a running time of 108 minutes.
Why begin with this factoid? Because when it comes to discussing the storied tradition of Walt Disney animation, little things jump out at you.
And the fact that “Zootopia” is the second-longest-ever Disney animated feature — after the multi-segment classic “Fantasia” — is cause for pause.
It suggests there’s a lot of plot in this cartoon, and that turns out to be true. Engaging and quite funny at times, “Zootopia” gets a little bogged down in its own story line.
So all right, it isn’t another “Frozen” (a movie that gets some teasing here). But it is pretty fun on its own terms.
Our heroine is Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), a small-town bunny who dreams of being a big-city cop. She’s assigned to serve in Zootopia, a sprawling metropolis where all the animals — there are no humans in this world — are equal.
Except that some animals are more equal than others, if you get the Orwellian drift. Judy learns this when she meets Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a con-artist fox. People don’t quite trust him, because, well, he’s a fox.
Judy and Nick must team up to solve a missing-animals case. At the same time, they expose Zootopia’s tendency toward prejudice against foxes (and cheetahs, and other predators), a prejudice stoked by politicians playing up public fears for their own benefit.
Wait, are we talking about the 2016 elections or a cartoon movie? Disney’s animated team is busy teaching us lessons on social conduct, as they are wont to do.
This is less of a problem for the movie than the somewhat scattered storytelling. Also, there are more inside jokes and topical gags than usual for a Disney effort.
Most of this is forgivable, because the characters are likable (Bateman gets more of his droll personality into the fox than you’d expect) and there are a handful of laugh-out-loud moments.
Other ace voice work is done by Jenny Slate (as a sheep deputy mayor), Idris Elba (a water-buffalo police chief), and Tommy Chong (a yak at a nude resort — this is complicated to explain, but weird-silly in execution).
Special mention to the veteran voice actor Maurice LaMarche, who shines as a tiny gangster rodent called Mr. Big — a takeoff on the Godfather. If the idea sounds tired, LaMarche’s delivery is not.
The comic high point is a scene at the DMV where sloths work behind the counter and talk. Very. Very. Very. Slowly. If the movie is overlong because of that one hilarious scene, it was worth it.
“Zootopia” 3 stars
It’s no “Frozen,” but this Disney cartoon feature has fun characters and a few laugh-out-loud sequences, even if it goes on too long. A bunny cop (Ginnifer Goodwin) teams up with a con-artist fox (Jason Bateman) to solve a missing-animals case, an adventure that comes with plenty of lessons about tolerance.
Rating: PG, for action
Showing: Alderwood Mall, Edmonds, Everett, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Stanwood, Meridian, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall, Oak Harbor
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