The first Zootopia is, in our opinion, maybe the best film Disney Animation has made in 30 years. Part fun detective story, part clever world-building, and filled with humor and heart, it’s everything that you want from a Disney movie and more. So, of course, a sequel was inevitable. And, of course, it was probably also inevitable that the sequel couldn’t live up to that. Nevertheless, with Zootopia 2, Disney Animation gives us just enough of what we love and remember from that first movie to make a solid, albeit flawed, sequel.
Zootopia 2 picks up almost immediately after the events of the first film. Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) have become pseudo-celebrities after saving the city in the first film but quickly find themselves struggling to maintain that success as police officers. They’re shunned and ostracized but eventually catch a whiff of something big. Something that can change the course of Zootopia history.
That something has to do with Gary, a snake voiced by Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan. One thing you didn’t even think about in the first Zootopia is that there are whole species and types of animals we never saw in that film. One in particular is reptiles, and Zootopia 2 spends a good amount of time explaining why reptiles aren’t in Zootopia, why snakes in particular are feared, and ultimately why that may all be smoke to cover up a much more sinister plot.
Nick and Judy begin their case. – Disney
And so Nick and Judy begin an investigation into Gary, his whereabouts, plans, and more. It brings them to whole new sections of the city and introduces them to all sorts of new characters. A few standouts are a family of powerful lynx voiced by David Strathairn, Andy Samberg, Macaulay Culkin, and Brenda Song; the new mayor of Zootopia, Brian Winddance, a stallion voiced by Patrick Warburton; and Nibbles Maplestick, a conspiracy theory-driven beaver voiced by Fortune Feimster. Each of these characters is awesome and additive, but Nibbles is the standout, playing a key role in Nick and Judy’s case.
The problem with Zootopia 2 is that, even with all those excellent new characters and the return of all your favorites from the first film, there’s a noticeable imbalance in the narrative. We’re told how hugely consequential this case is, but it never quite feels that way. That’s because most of the action is isolated from the grandeur of the city, taking place in far-off sections without many characters. So, while we get more and more info about Gary, his fellow snakes, and the legacy that’s being hidden, we see it through a very limited perspective. That allows the film to focus more on the friendship between Nick and Judy, which is great, but also just makes things seem smaller than they really are.
We do love Nick and Judy, though, so getting to see each of them explore how they have and are changing each other is rewarding. It just never feels like that fits in cohesively with the case they’re solving and what it means to Zootopia as a whole. They even get separated for a good section of the film, which makes that disconnect even more distracting.
© Disney
Once Nick and Judy find their way back to one another for the final stretch of the film, though, most of that goes away. While Zootopia 2 is a little wonky to start, the third act of the film reminds you why this sequel exists in the first place and almost captures that magic that made the first film so special. By the end, you’ll feel like dancing in the aisles, just like the characters on screen.
It also helps that seemingly every single frame of Zootopia 2 has something special in it. Not only is it all animated beautifully, but there are jokes, references, and Easter eggs flying at you faster than you can even see them. More often than not, you’ll wish you could hit pause and rewind to see what specific signs said or if you really saw a cameo or reference you thought you did.
Basically, Zootopia 2 isn’t quite Zootopia, but what is? It’s incredibly rare for sequels to be better than their original, and this one just isn’t. That said, it’s a good sequel and a good movie that does justice to this world and these characters. We hope to see more of them in the future. Just don’t make us wait another 10 years.
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, Zootopia 2 opens on November 26.
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