As many of you are aware, Disney have released a surprise teaser
trailer for their upcoming feature film Zootopia. The 55th feature in their canon is expected to premiere in March
2016, and the trailer gives little away concerning the plot. The main ‘original’
aspect of the movie that the teaser highlights is the fact that, while humans
do not exist in this world, all the animals are anthropomorphised, fully
clothed and civilised. But really, this seems a rather peculiar thing to have
to acknowledge in advance of its screening, as the animated genre is
already broadly familiar with this concept, and Disney features are,
themselves, no stranger to it; just look at Robin
Hood (1973) and Chicken Little (2005).
Cartoons have even utilised anthropomorphism since the days of rubber hose
animation in the ‘20s and ‘30s. In any case, the teaser succeeds in emanating a
semblance of originality, in that it implies that animals have evolved beyond
their basic natural instincts and collectively developed into a civilised
society (coincidentally very much like our own…).
Okay, so although the tagline claims it’s ‘like nothing you’ve
seen be-fur’ (which is quite possibly one of the worst taglines I have ever
heard), the concept behind it sounds a little derivative, but the character
designs look smooth and quirky, and it conveys a strangely sincere undertone
akin to that of an American crime drama – wherefrom, no doubt, many of the
laughs will derive. The others are likely to revolve around the double act comprised
by the fox-bunny partnership – comedy deriving from the pairing of oppositional
counterparts representing yet another common trope in cinema. Regardless, while
it indisputably covers old ground in these respects, it might yet make a
compelling film, as long as it maintains a solid, gripping and impactful
narrative, and the characters have chemistry. Without these factors, however,
the film may prove little more than a fur-gettable (sorry) affair.
Check out the teaser trailer below:
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