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Zootopia is the best reviewed movie of 2016 so far, according to review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. It has a 100% based on 92 reviews as this piece was written. The movie, which deals with a furry world as explicitly laid out in the original teaser trailer, is perhaps the single most anticipated movie in the history of the furry fandom. It seems the hype may not have been in vain.

Rotten Tomatoes's "critics' consensus" for the movie is as follows:

The brilliantly well-rounded Zootopia offers a thoughtful, inclusive message that's as rich and timely as its sumptuously state-of-the-art animation -- all while remaining fast and funny enough to keep younger viewers entertained.

Some have noted that Zootopia is on pace to become the single best reviewed movie in Rotten Tomatoes history. The current record holder is Toy Story 2, with 100% from 163 reviews. The linked article points out that, while it is likely the movie will eventually receive a "rotten" review, a 99% or 98% is likely, and that a negative review is likely to come about because the reviewer disagrees with the movie's message, rather than the actual quality of the movie.

The movie's message, however, is one of the most praised aspects of the movie; multiple reviewers have noted that the movie is surprisingly timely. The movie features themes of prejudice and bias, using differences between various species of animals to explore this theme. Just last week, Oscar host Chris Rock's opening monologue addressed similar issues after the Academy failed to nominate a single black actor in the 20 possible nominees of the acting categories for the second year in a row, noting that while the Academy is not "burning cross racist," it could be described as "sorority racist."

Speaking of Oscars, the "O-word" has been popping up in reviews; the movie has been compared favorably to 1967 Best Picture winner In the Heat of the Night, which shared a similar genre (detective, not furry) and themes with Zootopia. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times (who noted the movie is "one of my favorite animated movies, period") began his review with a prediction:

Just a few days after the stardust has settled on the 88th Annual Academy Awards, allow me to tell you about the first surefire candidate for a nomination for NEXT year’s Oscars.

The year is still early, and such predictions are mostly about the Best Animated Feature category rather than Best Picture, but with the still expanded category, it isn't out of the picture that Zootopia could become the fourth animated Best Picture nominee.

Or even, dare we hope to dream, the first animated Best Picture?

Flayrah will have a review of Zootopia out tomorrow; don't expect us to deviate much from the consensus!