I recently attended the press preview for Zootopia with my two side critics — my 5 and 3-year-olds. Zootopia opens TODAY. Should you take the kids to see it? Read my thoughts below!

ABOUT ZOOTOPIA

The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when rookie Officer Judy Hopps {voice of Ginnifer Goodwin} arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde {voice of Jason Bateman}, to solve the mystery. Rated PG.

MY THOUGHTS

Guys, this is a tough one to write. Please consider I am writing this as a mom to preschoolers, not a film critic. Please also consider I’m pretty open-minded, and am the type of parent that speaks straight to my kids.

The critics are going wild with rave reviews, which is great, but let’s not forget these films are supposed to be for KIDS. And this one is just not that great for kids, despite the happy-go-lucky commercials.

Let’s start with the bad: For one — how scary it is…if it’s any indication, my 3-year-old was nearly crying at a few parts, and I had to hold both my daughter’s hands during quite a few scenes with action and bullying. The look on their face said it all — they were scared. {If you’ve seen The Good Dinosaur, know that this was much more intense}. Now I truly know the difference between the G and PG ratings, and apparently we aren’t ready for PG quite yet.

Thankfully, so much went over their head, but the larger messages Disney is trying to portray fell flat. Maybe I’m too analytical, but it’s really hard to not see the similarities to America in the film, including a pop star sex symbol {played by Shakira}, drug use, politics, and racism — which, typically I’m all for discussing — but wasn’t prepared to be thinking critically about. To me, it was unsettling for a film I thought was intended for younger kids. I almost wish this was marketed as a Marvel film — at least then I would have known what we had gotten ourselves into.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of good, too. The animation is stunning. The landscape of the land of Zootopia is breathtaking, and the initial scenes got me excited. There are some hysterical parts {the DMV scene from the previews was even better on the big screen}, and it was full of adult humor, which was awesome. Also, the characters were adorable! You can’t help but fall in love with some, and the voices matched wonderfully.

Positive lessons taken from the film include ones of courage, tolerance, teamwork and empathy. There’s also some messages of girl power in there, which made me a happy mom with my girls in tow. There are plenty of teachable moments from the film. It was these moments that reminded me I was watching a Disney film.

With all that said, my young kids just didn’t get the bigger picture. If you’re curious about this film, go, just know the messages may fall on deaf ears. Also – if your children don’t sit still the greatest, this may not be a film to try. There were a lot of restless kids during this one; it simply didn’t always hold their attention.

I really wanted to love this movie, but it fell short of my high expectations. I put Disney on a pedestal {rightfully deserved}, but this was not well thought-out at all from a kid perspective. Because of this, I would recommend it for ages 6 and up, and even then, to be aware if you have a highly sensitive kid.

Give me the sugary sweet songs and positive messages from Frozen or The Lion King any day. At least I don’t have to worry about my kids having nightmares. The critics can have this one, as a mom to young ones, I wasn’t a fan.

Do you plan to see Zootopia?