As I’ve grown older, I’ve found that Disney movies have lost some of that magic I first fell in love with. Whether that is because I’ve noticed some aspects of the movies that went against my personal views (such as romanticizing Stockholm Syndrome in “Beauty and the Beast”) or that I realized they weren’t as good as I once thought as I got older, my love for animated princess tales diminished greatly. I still love Disney, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve become much more critical of the films I once thought could do no wrong.

Ever late to the party, I sat down to watch “Zootopia” this weekend at the urging of one of my best friends. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the movie. I had heard rave reviews about it since its debut, but didn’t find myself compelled to watch it from the trailers I had seen.

Frankly, I wish I had gone to see it as soon as it came out.

This movie helped return my love of Disney to its childlike wonder. With a compelling storyline, complex characters and plot twists you really don’t see coming (not even being sarcastic, I spent a good three minutes with my jaw open at the end of the movie), I fell in absolute love with this movie.

“Zootopia” became something so much more than just another Disney film about following your dreams and persevering through the hardships. No, instead it introduced complex ideas such as racism, profiling and prejudice.

Without distributing any spoilers, these topics are introduced in the opening scenes and are largely prevalent throughout the film. These are usually not introduced in movies marketed towards children, and I applaud Disney’s ability to do it in a way that didn’t come across too preachy or exuberant, but instead showing it in realistic ways that are parallel to our everyday life in the U.S. and around the globe.

I was also glad to see that Disney strayed away from the usual storyline tropes and decided to try something much more unique, focusing instead on letting the story unfold rather than trying to fit it into a nice little box that rings success.

At first I was scared the movie would be a disappointment, but “Zootopia” is one movie I highly recommend everyone see.