The Walt Disney Animation Studios are in the midst of their latest renaissance, and nowhere is it more apparent than in their latest release, Zootopia.

Following in the line of CG animated films from the House of Mouse which started in kind with 2010’s Tangled, Zootopia takes a very simple idea and emboldens it with incredible artistic skill and a keen eye towards a story which reflects the world which we live in today.

On paper, the story couldn’t be simpler - a small town rabbit named Judy Hopps dedicates her life towards becoming a police officer in “the big city" - the utopian “Zootopia", a city where animals of all kinds have come together in one urban populace. They speak English, they wear clothes. They have their own townships, they have jobs. They’ve completely civilized themselves. But it’s not all that Judy hoped for.

She - despite working hard and graduating as the valedictorian of her police academy class - is immediately put on the lowest rung of the totem pole, writing traffic tickets as a meter maid. Small mammals such as rabbits have never been considered in the police world, one populated by larger animals such as wolves, elephants, and cheetahs. But she quickly finds herself wrapped up with a grifter of a fox named Nick, and together, they find themselves involved in something much, much larger - that ties into an ongoing investigation into a number of missing mammals across Zootopia.

The number of films that Zootopia references - directly, or indirectly - is countless, but you’ll find elements of 21 Jump Street, The Godfather, and oddly, even Chinatown here, all covered with an adorable fur coating. But it’s this mixture of adult storytelling with a candy-coated shell that makes Zootopia such a delight to watch for the whole family. Kids will love the adorable animals - as will you - but adults will see the deeper second level to it all.

And speaking of that second layer, that adult area of depth, Zootopia also makes a very unique choice: to reflect the world of today, and not-too-indirectly discuss the modern concerns of minorities, distrust of police, and discrmination…but via animals. Disney has found the sugar to help the medicine go down, and while (in one of the few misfires of the movie), these issues are tied up in a neat, kid-friendly bow, I commend the guts to allow the movie to take such a bold direction.

Besides this frankly shocking level of depth, Zootopia is possibly the most gorgeous production to come out of Walt Disney Animation Studios to date.

While Frozen is clearly their biggest success in recent years, I found the environments of that film to be remarkably sterile, but I have no such complaints here.

Zootopia, the city, is made up of different environments for each grouping of animals, from deserts to frozen tundra to even a rainforest, all around a central hub city, and all of them are rendered in beautiful computer animated detail. It’s clear that the artists and animators had a blast here, with countless visual gags and easter eggs, and beautiful character design work that anthropomorphizes countless species while maintaining their structure, adorable noses and well lit fur.

These beautiful designs are matched with wonderful voice work, featuring great performances from Once Upon A Time’s Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps and Arrested Development’s Jason Bateman as the fox Nick Wilde. They’re teamed with a who’s-who of character actors, including JK Simmons, Jenny Slate, and - of course - Idris Elba.

I absolutely loved every frame of this film, and applaud the filmmakers for taking a timely risk with their storytelling. Beyond a great time at the movies, I hope that Zootopia can inspire conversations between parents and families for generations to come - and feel as if they’ll enjoy the road that brought them there.

Congrats Disney - your in-house animation team is officially making masterpieces of a Pixar level. I cannot recommend Zootopia enough.

Zootopia is in theaters now.