Byron Howard

Judy Hopps wants to be a police officer in Zootopia (2016), but being a rabbit gives everyone else an opinion about her suitability. Byron Howard and co-director Rich Moore make that difficulty part of a funny, thoughtful detective story. We warmed to Judy because her determination does not instantly make the other animals reconsider what rabbits can do. It is a sharp police comedy first, which is why we recommend it despite the problems with its teaching.

His directing work began with Bolt (2008), alongside Chris Williams, then Tangled (2010), with Nathan Greno. The latter returned to the Disney fairy tale in computer animation; Zootopia took him into a city organised around species and their assumptions about one another. With Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith, he went on to Encanto (2021), with its attention to family dynamics and Colombian culture. His interest in musical structure also informs how he thinks about animation timing.

For Zootopia, research into animal behaviour supports his attention to small changes of expression and the traits that distinguish one species from another. That helps the city hold our attention through both jokes and detective work. Our reservation concerns the use of predators and prey to explain human prejudice. The comparison asks too much of the animals, though Howard and Moore keep the film alert to the failings of those who mean well.

In Zootopia 2 (2025), co-directed with Jared Bush, Judy and Nick Wilde are partners who have not yet learnt to work well together. Ke Huy Quan’s Gary De’Snake gives them a lively new presence to contend with in a city that has no room for reptiles. We still recommend the sequel to those who liked the first film, but its conspiracy is busier and less sure-footed. The speed and density leave too much competing for attention. Start with Zootopia, and return for the snake rather than the conspiracy.