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Author Topic: One Chapter at a Time - The Elite Eleven of Pixar + BONUS CONTENT  (Read 558764 times)

oldkid

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Re: One Chapter at a Time - The Elite Eleven of Pixar + BONUS CONTENT
« Reply #1400 on: September 04, 2016, 03:51:59 PM »
Judy Hopps is well established here.  We get to see her as the underdog (so to speak) with great ambitions and the boldness and drive to see it through.

I don't think we really see her shine until later in the film, though.  Right now, we get to see a bit of ourselves in her, although she is a lot bolder and a little smarter than we.  We like her, and in the small town context, we can see her do good. 

I especially love how all this small town context isn't left behind, like Smallville in Superman.  We revisit it in different ways throughout the film, so we can see it differently as Judy grows in her outlook.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

1SO

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Re: One Chapter at a Time - The Elite Eleven of Pixar + BONUS CONTENT
« Reply #1401 on: September 04, 2016, 06:09:30 PM »
This Marathon is full of instantly likable characters, but I would put Judy near the top. Going back through, I think the last time I was so instantly rooting for the lead was Ratatouille. Wall-E is close, but being a robot puts a little emotional distance that I don't have with this human rabbit. There are a lot of cool lead characters like Sully, Hiro, Lightning McQueen, The Incredibles. Woody is cool. Carl there's sentiment. Same with Marlin and Nemo. Judy Hopps, I'm not worried that she is going to overcome any problem, which means to be a good film that problem is going to have to be really big.

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The Elite Eleven: Bonus Content - Zootopia
« Reply #1402 on: September 04, 2016, 10:32:28 PM »

Zootopia - The Police Academy
"You're dead, Fluff Butt."

More great exposition delivery. At the Academy, the instructor gives the first mention of Zootopia being divided into different environments. The simulated obstacle courses wets our appetite to see this city, putting us into Hopps' perspective when she makes the initial trip later. The sequence also shows Hopps using her brain to get around these physical challenges meant for larger animals. (Nit-pick, doing sit-ups while reading a book looks cool, but anyone who's ever done a sit-up knows this is visually impossible.)


The 2nd half of the Chapter introduces Mayor Lionheart and Deputy Mayor Bellwether. (A bellwether is the leading sheep of a flock that usually leads the herd towards some type of change. So, Spoiler Alert.) I haven't mentioned it yet, but in terms of visual quality Zootopia may be the best of the Bonus Content. Besides the stylish lighting (especially in the night scenes) and level of detail with each environment there's some great design work here, on par with Wreck-It Ralph. (While the two films share a director, the Art Director and Production Designer are different.)

The Chapter ends at the train station with more character comedy from Judy's parents. It's not much funnier than the humor of Inside Out I wasn't a fan of, but it's natural here, not trying as hard for the laugh. The bag of anti-fox products is undercut by the fact that most of us know going in Judy is going to partner with a fox, so this isn't a humorous bit as much as a set-up for something larger down the road. The sentimental goodbye is drawn out because at this point I'm anxious and excited to see this big city the film is moving towards.
Rating: * * * - Good

1SO

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The Elite Eleven: Bonus Content - Zootopia
« Reply #1403 on: September 06, 2016, 12:46:35 AM »

Zootopia - Welcome to Zootopia
Try Everything.

I'm wary of animation show-off scenes, which is what this is. The story largely stops so we can get a closer work at all of the Art Direction. It's something common to this visual form. The worst example would be Ghost in the Shell which stops all story and character for vistas of the city set to "One Minute Warning" by Brian Eno and U2. My personal favorite is the Goblin Parade in Pom Poko. There isn't enough of a point to justify taking 7 minutes for it, but the creature design is endlessly creative. Finding Nemo has a good one towards the beginning where we see Andrew Stanton's vision of the ocean. It's brief enough to never feel unconnected from the characters. The one in Zootopia, when Judy Hopps takes the train into the city, is closest to the one in Big Hero 6. That one has the great Shakira song and the clever structural and environmental modifications to the city.

I'm trying to think of how specific this type of scene is to John Lasseter leading Disney Animation. Walt would do it too, in Three Caballeros and Sleeping Beauty. Fantasia is largely a series of animation show-off scenes. This isn't even my favorite environment from the Marathon. That would be the different worlds of Wreck-It Ralph, and I would greatly enjoy spending time in each. There's something different about this one though, three things that put it above the other show-off scenes in this Marathon.

1. Previous films would showcase the beauty of the existing environment. The natural wonders in Cars or the undersea world of Finding Nemo. Even Big Hero 6 is a mash-up of San Fran and Tokyo. Zootopia is a complete fantasy world, made up of different environments. Each one has to figure out how the animals who live there would be most comfortable. It can't just be heat/snow/rain, but building designs and roads and transportation vehicles. It's all incredibly detailed and thought out.

2. The scene continually cuts back to Judy. We are not in her world because this world is new to her too. Her eyes bulge as our eyes bulge, connecting the experience. Last time I can think of a Disney film doing this was Nightmare Before Christmas when Jack discovers Christmas Town. We want to see it all and the animators want to show it off to us.

3. The song "Try Everything" by Shakira. It's a general eye-rolling fact that Disney wins Best Song almost every year, and they're on track to do it again. (Not looking to start a debate about Sing Street, which is also deserving.) Shakira's song has the simple message of a children's song, but sonic complexity with a world music flavor. The instrumentation ties all the environments together, and there's the underlying digital percussion that sounds like a hopping bunny. Something Judy matches towards the end of the song.
Rating: * * * 1/2

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The Elite Eleven: Bonus Content - Zootopia
« Reply #1404 on: September 06, 2016, 11:51:25 PM »

Zootopia - New Home
"Greasy walls, rickety bed, crazy neighbors. I love it!"

The first half of this Chapter shows Judy her new tiny apartment, complete with loud neighbors ("Don't expect us to apologize for it.") Again, Judy's positive outlook twists the expectation about this lousy apartment. The next morning, Judy is up early and out the door, quick like a bunny. (All her morning movements have the 'woosh' of air sound, something I never noticed before.)


She arrives at the Zootopia Police Department. (I don't think there's a logical explanation for how she already had a police uniform.) We meet a new character, Benjamin Clawhauser, running the front desk. I've come to like this character more in re-watches. The clunky exposition and lousy joke about a donut lost in his fat folds starts things off on the wrong foot. What I like is he's a cheetah who can't move fast. That's funnier than anything here, including the overdone vocal performance.

"You probably didn't know, but a bunny can cal another bunny "cute",
but when other animals do it, it's a little..."

During the dialogue, Judy corrects Clawhauser when he calls her 'cute.' Up to now, everything about Zootopia has a direct relation to our own world, without the need to explain. This social gaffe is setting things up for later, showing how just beneath the surface are seeds of prejudice and political incorrectness, but it's oddly placed because Clawhauser's mistake isn't obvious.
Rating: * * *  - Okay
« Last Edit: September 06, 2016, 11:55:03 PM by 1SO »

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The Elite Eleven: Bonus Content - Zootopia
« Reply #1405 on: September 07, 2016, 09:01:12 PM »

Zootopia - Bogo and the Bullpen
"You probably forgot but I was top of my class at the Academy."
"Didn't forget. Just don't care."


I really like the character designs in this film, not too far from their basic animal shape with small human details. Their closer to their real life versions than the fish in Finding Nemo even though they're wearing clothes and constantly standing. You see a lot of the predators in this bullpen scene, but the best of the bunch if Chief Bogo. His horns look like parted hair, his arms shaped into muscular biceps and forearms, and the pair of glasses to give his distinction. (Also the gruff British accent of Idris Elba, who was the vocal VIP for Disney animation this year.)

This has both ends of the humor scale. The fist bump that pushes Judy away was rightly used heavily in the marketing while the "elephant in the room" is exactly the bad pun you fear it's going to be. In the middle are the pun-heavy names of all the other cops: McHorn, Rhinowitz, Snarlov, Trunkaby.

Finally, we get our first dose of the main mystery, 14 missing mammal cases. You know this is what our characters will eventually come around to and you know it's going to start with that otter. By itself, this Chapter probably deserves a lesser grade, but as part of the ramp up and opening of the world it's Good, especially with Bogo who, unlike Clawhouser, I needed no time to like.
Rating: * * * - Good

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The Elite Eleven: Bonus Content - Zootopia
« Reply #1406 on: September 09, 2016, 12:08:07 AM »

Zootopia - Mater Maid Duty
"I'm not gonna write 100 tickets.
I'm gonna write 200 tickets... before noon."


Here I go writing about Michael Giacchino again. I searched the thread and found only 39 mentions of his name, probably because he didn't join until The Incredibles. (Compare that with 84 mentions of John Lasseter and 96 of Andrew Stanton.) What can I say, I love the music here, entitled "Ticket to Write".

There's a funny joke about Hopps' vehicle topping out at a low speed, though we see it moving faster moments later. (BTW, if she's the first rabbit cop, who drove this tiny vehicle before her?) A nice character touch that Hopps' hearing can tell when a meter is about to expire, a single ear popping straight into the air.

Not as good is a joke where her ticket causes a rodent's car to blow away. The joke dampened by her reckless action that caused the mouse to lose his car. Also don't get her giving herself a ticket. I get the joke, but come on. Now her goody-goody side is going too far.

The Chapter ends with our first look at Nick Wilde, acting suspicious and doing it without his "son" that we meet inside the ice cream shop.
Rating: * * * - Good

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: One Chapter at a Time - The Elite Eleven of Pixar + BONUS CONTENT
« Reply #1407 on: September 09, 2016, 03:04:02 PM »
I think this is the chapter where Judy won me over. Her enthusiasm for a menial job portrays so much of what makes her character endearing and one worth rooting for.

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The Elite Eleven: Bonus Content - Zootopia
« Reply #1408 on: September 10, 2016, 10:05:12 PM »

Zootopia - A Jumbo Pop
"You want to be an elephant when you grow up?
You be an elephant."


Late in the film there's a dramatic twist regarding prejudice, and when it happened I was surprised because I didn't see the film developing that thread up to the moment. However, my detailed analysis is noticing there's a lot of build-up. I guess this is because the moments are easily taken as being closer to "follow your dreams" with Hopps' ambition to make her mark as the first rabbit cop. Prejudice takes the form of people telling her she can't reach her goals, but knowing the reveal they're actually examples of systemic discrimination and racism.

In this Chapter, we meet a father fox trying to by an elephant pop for his kid. Judy is moved by the gesture and becomes morally righteous when the elephant at the register asks, "there aren't any fox ice cream joints in your part of town?" She outsmarts the elephant, though I wish it wasn't by using health code violations we wouldn't know of, (or else we would've noticed right at the top when another employee blows a wad of inhaled peanuts onto some trunk-scooped ice cream. As far as we know this is normal.)

Having worked with Jason Bateman, I can attest that faked sincerity while not being actually insincere is one of his strongest gifts. This makes him a great casting choice for the sly fox, who we learn in the next Chapter is pulling a hustle, though you might figure it out when he goes the extra mile of having the cop pay for his son's jumbo pop. We don't need as much of the scene outside the shop, but Bateman sells the thankful father act so well. Also the facial animation on everyone is really strong here, and I love the little touch of the kid affectionately resting his head up against Nick's side.
Rating: * * * - Good

oldkid

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Re: One Chapter at a Time - The Elite Eleven of Pixar + BONUS CONTENT
« Reply #1409 on: September 11, 2016, 12:33:27 AM »
Before I watched it, I had already heard about Zootopia's racial sermon, so I was looking for it.  It always seemed obvious to me, but since I knew it was going on, I suppose it would be.

On a general level, Zootopia is pretty good, except the scenes that have Judy and Nick interacting: those scenes are top-notch Disney.  These two are my favorite buddy-cop pairing, ever, I think.  The way they play off of each other, use each other's strengths and their weaknesses for their own purposes.  I love the humor, the playful banter, the teasing, even the arguing.  This relationship is at the core of the film and it works so well that I want to put it at the top of some lists.  I'll make some lists so I can put this relationship at the top.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

 

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