What if they are just animals; what if they can speak … in Zootopia, you can be anything you want. The animated flick revolves around a bunny and a fox (you read that right!) who join hands to solve a mystery.

The problem is that the bunny is a rookie cop and the fox is a con artist on the other side of the law. So all they have is each other, and together they are the best buddy-cop team in the animated universe.

And then there is the Predators and Prey division on which the whole plot moves around. Just like Inside Out, this animated flick has been created by intelligent people and that’s the reason why it appeals to both kids and adults.

That’s why when Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) becomes the first bunny ever to join the police force, nobody has any issues. When she is assigned traffic duty, the audience connects with her and when she finds her first lead, they cheer for her despite knowing it’s just an animated film.

There are predators, criminals and all kinds of bad guys, including a don who are on the opposite side of the law, but Judy’s conviction and Nick’s experience save the day. The real heroes are, however, the voiceover artists such as Ginnifer Goodwin, who leads the cast as the voice to the super hyper Officer Judy Hopps. Jason Bateman’s vocals fit the character of Nick The Fox, who is a con artist but doesn’t believe he is wrong; Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Alan Tudyk and most notably Shakira, star in supporting roles and set the screen on fire with their combined talents.

Zootopia has all the ingredients required to make a successful animated flick; there is comedy, suspense, mystery and thrill followed by the buddy-cop plot and brilliant direction.

Kids watching it will know that if you try, you can be anything you want irrespective of the opposition; for elders it carries a message that they shouldn’t demoralise their kids because the world is a big stage and anybody can be anything on it.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 19th, 2015