In a world where all kinds of animals try to live in harmony, rabbit Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is going against the grain. She’s joined the police force – not usually the domain of “cute” (a racist insult in this world) little bunnies in a world where lions and lambs are meant to exist side by side – and even being a traffic cop doesn’t come free of prejudice. But when a string of disappearances starts to paint a sinister picture, she finds herself teaming up with a streetwise hustler – and fox – named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to crack the case wide open.
The mystery isn’t that mysterious but it keeps the film moving along, and while there’s a lot of jokes they’re generally more smirk-worthy than laugh-out-loud material. But the total package is a lot of fun, and the not-really-even-subtext about racial profiling and how stereotypes prevent us from seeing real people is extremely well-handled, as time and again we’re shown there’s more to these characters than the usual cartoon animal clichés. The gorgeous animation doesn’t hurt either: Disney’s animated films have been on an upswing for a while now (even if Big Hero 6 was just okay), but this is probably their best in a long while.