ZOOTOPIA: Prey v Predator: Dawn of Justice

Directors: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush (co-director)
Writers: Byron Howard, Jared Bush, Rich Moore, Josie Trinidad, Jim Reardon, Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, J. K. Simmons, Nate Torrence
2016

Zootopia is structured around its message. Without the message, it becomes yet another run-of-the-mill, albeit impeccably crafted, Disney movie about anthropomorphic animals who learn to be themselves. With the message, it's a refreshingly smart and political mystery that has a lot to teach a lot of people. Unfortunately, I'm not fully on board with how the movie handles the message. Thankfully, I'm mostly on board with it!

The story begins simply enough, with small town rabbit Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) setting out to prove herself at the Police Academy. No bunny has ever joined the police force, you see, on account of their diminutive stature. Judy proves that it can be done, even in the face of harsh adversity from the academy, and gentle adversity from her parents. She graduates and receives assignment in Zootopia, a bustling metropolis with lush biomes for every kind of mammal. Centuries ago predator and prey were locked in an eternal battle for survival, but Zootopia was where they first banded together and decided to become one healthy community.

Except, Judy finds, the community is not all that healthy. Predators may not eat prey anymore, but there is still plenty of discrimination and corruption at the heart of the city. After dealing with the condescending Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) and a friendly fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) who turns out to be a con artist, Officer Judy Hopps has just about reached rock bottom with her optimism. But when some predators start disappearing, and others begin to revert back to their rabid predatorial instinct, Judy needs the help of Nick to unravel the mystery at the heart of the city.

THE GIFT: That Keeps on Giving

Director: Joel Edgerton
Writer: Joel Edgerton
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Jason Bateman, Joel Edgerton
Runtime: 108 mins.
2015

The Gift is an incredibly functional movie, accomplishing everything it set out to accomplish by using every tool at its disposal. Edgerton's directorial debut sees him attempting the triple crown--writing, directing, starring--and he nails each of those three roles. The Gift is lean and mean, with no wasted moment. So I can't say it's the movie's fault that it doesn't contain the spark necessary to vault into the pantheon of Instant Classic the way Nightcrawler did for me last year. I'm not the first to make that comparison, but it's a fruitful one; Nightcrawler may be messier than The Gift, but that movie's frequent high points court transcendence. The Gift is just more subdued, which is a choice rather than a flaw.

Perhaps a more generous comparison to establish is that The Gift is a far more subtle version of Fatal Attraction. The movie follows a loving couple who have just moved to a gorgeous hillside home in California. While out and about they encounter one of the husband's childhood acquaintances, Gordo (Joel Edgerton). Simon (Jason Bateman) doesn't recognize him right away, but later informs his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) that Gordo was something of a weirdo back in school. Thus it's no surprise that Simon rapidly becomes uneasy when Gordo keeps showing up at their house unprompted, butting in on meals and leaving gifts that eventually take a sinister turn.