Zootopia 3D

Zootopia is a melting pot animal metropolis where animals from every habitat live side by side and “anyone can be anything.” But when rookie rabbit officer Judy Hopps (Goodwin) arrives in town, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of tough, hulking animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack an unsolved, challenging case, even if it means working with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde (Bateman), to solve the mystery. But the case leads these two unlikely partners to an uneasy conclusion that Zootopia’s “evolved” society is being pulled apart by unseen forces determined to use fear to take control of the city by turning predators and prey against each other. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurettes: Zoology: The Roundtables (HD 18:23), The Origin Of An Animal Tale (HD 09:15), Research: A True-Life Adventure (HD 09:58), Z.P.D. Forensic Files (HD 03:23), Scoretopia (HD 04:59), and Deleted Characters (HD 03:16); seven deleted scenes (HD 28:03); the “Try Everything” music video by Shakira (HD 03:21); upfront previews; and a digital copy.

The 2.39:1 1080p MVC 3D picture is terrific, with an understated dimensional appearance, yet perfectly natural in terms of depth and perspective. The variety of animals is wonderful, all exhibiting a convincing sense of volume and scale, particularly the larger variety. The sense of scale and depth is amazingly impressive, with realistic distance and perspective, without exaggerated out-of-screen visuals. The color palette is richly and warmly rendered with strong primaries and a natural sense of density. Colors at times pop, with well-balanced contrast. Blacks are deep and shadow delineation is superb in the numerous darker scenes. Resolution also is stellar, with detail exhibited throughout, especially in the textural context of the animals. Close-ups are wonderfully intricate in detail. The presentation is absolutely pristine and without crosstalk artifacts. Compared to the standard 2D presentation, the 3D experience is far more engaging and just as accurate in terms of visual fidelity. This is yet another reference-quality animated 3D experience that is sure to immensely entertain the family. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is wonderful but surprisingly subdued in terms of the orchestral score, for the most part, with a few segments that project prominently. The music sets the pace and is nicely recorded with a wide and deep soundstage that extends to all four surrounds, and nicely fills the soundfield with a sense of spatial dimension. Atmospherics are nicely weighted for realism, and sound effects at times effectively engage the low frequencies, such as the water flowing over a dam, punctuated with deep .1 LFE energy. The surround energy enhances the holosonic® presence of the soundfield and effectively uses all four surrounds with excellent directionality and panning. The portrayal of voicing to match the animal characters is excellent, though, spatial integration is often wanting. Still, the sense of natural reverberation within each scene is terrific. Animal movements are nicely accentuated with footfalls that shake from low-frequency impact by the larger types and nuanced sonics for the others. Animal movements are effectively directional as well. This is a wonderful soundtrack that really brings the story to life, with a fun mixture of voicing that will put a smile on every member of the family. (Gary Reber)