Animal metropolis: Zootopia welcomes everybody to its fold with its mantra '€œIn Zootopia, anyone can be anything'€.

Walt Disney'€™s latest animation Zootopia delivers adult-oriented narratives through an enchanting and well executed delivery that is, in its own unique way, suitable for people of all ages.

The film depicts a fantasy world in which animals, both prey and predators, live together in harmony. A school play at the beginning of the film tells us that things were a lot different thousands of years ago.

During that period, predators hunted prey and each faction did whatever it could to ensure its own survival. Eventually, both predators and prey came to the conclusion that it would be better for them to share the world together in peace.

The play introduces us to a young Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a bunny from the rural town of Bunnyburrow.

The ever-optimistic Hopps has a dream of becoming the first bunny cop and to serve in Zootopia, a modern megalopolis that host animals of all species. While Hopps has a firm belief in her dreams, her parents and friends are full of doubt, because there has never been a bunny cop before.

Despite the doubt from Hopps'€™ peers, 15 years after performing in the play, she manages not only to graduate from the police academy but also top her class, and get assigned to Zootopia.

Upon Hopps'€™ graduation, as the first ever bunny cop, she is given the honor of receiving a special medal from Zootopia'€™s lion mayor, Leodore Lionheart (J.K. Simmons), and his assistant Dawn Bellwether (Jenny Slate), who is a sheep.

The Walt Disney Animation Studios do a great job in creating Zootopia, which is divided into several districts '€” Sahara Square, Tundratown, Rainforest District and Little Rodentia. The glistening lights, modern infrastructure and well-dressed animals quickly captivate Hopps as she arrives.

Zootopia, however, also quickly disappoints the optimistic yet naïve Hopps. She learns that despite Zootopia'€™s status as a megalopolis for all animals, discrimination and prejudice remain in force in society.

For example, despite the fact that Hopps is the top graduate of her class, the Zootopia police chief, Bogo (Idris Elba), does not trust her, and she is labeled a mere fluffy cute bunny by her colleagues. She is overlooked for serious police investigations, such as the case of 14 missing predators, and put to work as a parking meter officer.

During Hopps'€™ work as a parking meter officer, she also learns more blatant facts about the prejudice and discrimination in Zootopian society. She sees an ice cream vendor refuse to serve a fox, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), drawing on prejudices that all foxes are manipulative and not to be trusted.

Shady looks: Mr. Big, the most fearsome crime boss in the city, is voiced by Maurice LaMarche.

Hopps stands up for Nick'€™s civil rights and manages to get him a popsicle. However, Hopps becomes even more disappointed after she finds out that Nick is indeed a small-time con artist. Despite Hopps'€™ disappointment, she soon forms a friendship with Nick, whose cynical views on life and society teach the ever-optimistic bunny about the harsh nature of reality.

Together, Hopps and Nick then embark on a joint investigation to search for Mr Otterton, an otter and a predator who is also mysteriously missing along with the 14 previous predators. Their investigation leads them into the depths of Zootopia'€™s underworld, including a near-fatal meeting with Mr Big (Maurice LaMarche), a rodent who is the leader of the megalopolis'€™ most feared mafia family.

Hopps and Nick eventually manage to locate all the missing predators in a secret lab supervised by the mayor. Bogo and his police squad then arrest Leodore for kidnapping, but further investigation by Hopps and Nick into the case unravels a malicious scheme and political conspiracy that could sink the whole of Zootopia even deeper into peril.

Director Byron Howard and his two codirectors '€” Rich Moore and Jared Bush '€” marvelously manage to encase a myriad of complicated issues '€” racism, prejudice, class warfare, equality, freedom, justice, dreams, broken hopes and even the idea of genocide '€” in symbols that are easy to comprehend even for children.

It seems that it is not a coincidence that the two most powerful figures in Zootopia '€” the lion mayor and the police chief, who is a buffalo '€” represent the strongest of the two factions, predator and prey, respectively. This seems to represent the importance of checks and balances in a democratic society. The lion mayor is a carnivorous predator in charge of public policymaking while the police chief is a strong herbivore who guards civil rights to ensure all residents are safe and sound.

Despite the complicated issues and, at times, the bleak comment on society in Zootopia, the film is not a noir dystopian presentation. Instead, Howard and his team keep Zootopia as colorful and as entertaining as it can be, with occasional comical moments, without sacrificing the depth of the film'€™s main message about society and its dynamics.

Unlikely ally: Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman (left), is a small-time con artist who finally agrees to help rookie cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) investigate a case.

'€“ Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

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Zootopia

Running time: 108 minutes
Directed by: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, J.K. Simmons, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Maurice LaMarche
Production company: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios