Zootropolis

All the best family movies can be unpeeled, layer after onion layer, stripping off the mass entertainment to reveal complex and sophisticated ideas within. And Zootropolis, another high-quality film from Disney Animation, is no exception. Ostensibly a comedy set in a world of talking animals that have risen above their base instincts to coexist in harmony, this perceptive and elegantly structured film is also a commentary on cultural sensitivity and political correctness. Heavy subjects are handled with the lightest of touches, but the jokes can occasionally touch a nerve, "You can't just touch a sheep's wool!" says Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), the city's first bunny police officer, and the film's endearing central character. Dismissed as a piece of box-ticking by the Mayor's animal inclusion program, Judy finds herself relegated to traffic patrol. But with a spate of missing animal cases, Judy is forced to team up with her natural enemy, a wily fox called Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). The animation is packed with deft sight gags; the play of light on fur is rendered in a way that brings these creatures to life. But the real vitality is in the smart and funny writing.