Zootopia 2
After having saved the Utopia from its former mayor, Bellwether (voice of Jenny Slate), newly anointed police partners Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin), the bunny who graduated at the top of her class, and Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman), the fox who ran con jobs, are dressed down by Chief Bogo (voice of Idris Elba) after their efforts to arrest corrupt customers officer Snootley (voice of John Leguizamo) cause too much destruction and the glory is grabbed by two of their fellow officers. Relegated to group therapy for dysfunctional teams, Hopps and Wilde instead sniff out another evil plot to upset the balance of their home where predator and prey coexist in peace in "Zootopia 2."
Laura's Review: B
"Encanto" writer/director Jared Bush, who co-directed "Zootopia" with this film's other director Byron Howard, appears to follow this year's rule of sequels featuring crime fighting animals, as "Zootopia 2" makes their heroes arrest targets just like what happened to Mr. Wolf's crew in "The Bad Guys 2" earlier this year. Bush has a blast sending up buddy cop movie tropes while delivering yet another political message. If "Zootopia" was about gaining power through divisive politics, its sequel addresses gentrification, again through a lens of class and racism.
That customs officer was under suspicion because of snake sightings, the reptile long banished from the city for the danger they represent. But when Hopps and Wilde sneak into the Zootennial gala, celebrating the city's defining weather walls as outlined in a journal written by a Lynxley family ancestor, they encounter pit viper Gary De'Snake (voice of Ke Huy Quan) in the act of stealing said journal. The panicked Gary assures Judy he's not dangerous and that the journal will be part of the evidence he needs to prove that the Lynxley family, now led by patriarch Milton Lynxley (voice of David Strathairn), is involved in a land grab, its expansion of Tundraland about to wipe out the Marsh Market, and he has Milton's son Pawbert (voice of Andy Samberg) on his side.
Judy's decision to believe Gary will test her newfound partnership, Nick apparently more interested in self preservation than bravery in the name of public good. But Nick also has trouble expressing his emotions, so his repeated warnings that something is 'not worth dying for' may not be alluding to his own skin. After getting tips at Mr. Toad's speakeasy in Marsh Market, Nick will follow Judy as she rushes into the Red Line of the aquatic Tube Station despite being warned she may not survive it, Nick, indeed, saving the day when she runs out of air. They'll shimmy up ropes to the deserted alpine Honeymoon Lodge, a former snake refuge, with the ZPD on their heels, but while Judy is able to escape with the aid of Gary and Pawbert, Nick gets left behind, arrested by his colleagues. But you can't keep a good fox down, Nick escaping jail with the help of beaver Nibbles Maplestick (voice of Fortune Feimster) to arrive at a Tundraland power station just in time to help Judy and Gary uncover a century of lies.
"Zootopia 2" is chockablock with new characters, like the Fabio-esque Mayor Winddancer (voice of Patrick Warburton), a horse with a flowing mane, and Gary's Gram Gram voiced by June Squibb, as well as returning ones like Jenny Slate's Bellweather, mob boss Mr. Big and a DMV sloth, all characters reflecting realistic traits of their species with Disneyfied faces. Vocal talent is expertly cast, "Everything Everywhere All at Once's" Ke Huy Quan a standout as the lisping, one-fanged snake. The world they inhabit is like a Disneyland attraction that treats us to various global environments, from low elevation swampland to alpine peaks and the metropolitan city that houses Zootopia's police department. Composer Michael Giacchino's ("Up," "The Batman") score is sweet, Shakira, represented as a gazelle, once again provides vocals for this movie's single, 'Zoo,' cowritten with Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin. Movie references abound for adult amusement, from Disney riffing on its own animation sequels to a "Ratatouille" cameo and Bellweather appearing jailed like Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs."
"Zootopia 2" isn't the fresh surprise the Oscar winning original was almost ten years ago, but it's still a great adventure grounded in real human behavior that will entertain kids of all ages.
Disney releases "Zootopia 2" in theaters on 11/27/25.
