Movie Review: ‘Zootopia 2’

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Review by James Lindorf

Byron Howard has been working with Disney since the 90s, getting his start on classics like “Pocahontas” and “Mulan.” Jared Bush joined the team nearly 20 years later, first working on “Big Hero 6,” but as of September 2024, he has served as Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation. The two have found their greatest cinematic success together, co-directing two “Best Animated Feature” Oscar® winners, “Encanto” and “Zootopia,” which also grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. It has been nine years since the first “Zootopia,” which is a bit longer than the current Disney average of just over five years for a theatrical sequel. The delay happened in part due to the team working on “Encanto,” Covid, Bush’s role in creative leadership at the studio, and writing two Moana films. In interviews, Howard and Bush have discussed the need to find the right story to bring us back to the animal metropolis. Audiences will find out if the story is worth the wait when “Zootopia 2” opens in theaters everywhere on November 26th.

Rookie ZPD officers Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) have never been closer as friends. Their new partnership, on the other hand, is experiencing some growing pains as they discover their strengths (and differences) as a team. Desperate to prove themselves, they are looking for the next big case and stumble into a decades-old mystery involving Zootopia’s most prominent family, the Lynxleys, and pit viper Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan), the first snake to be seen in the animal metropolis for 100 years. To unravel Zootopia’s biggest secret, they will have to go undercover and even become fugitives as they move through new areas of Zootopia created by their famous weather walls. “Zootopia 2” boasts an incredible roster of talent lending their voices. The cast highlights returning favorites, Idris Elba (Chief Bogo), Bonnie Hunt (Bonnie Hopps) and Don Lake (Stu Hopps), Maurice Lamarche (Mr. Big), Nate Torrence (Clawhauser), Shakira (Gazelle) and Raymond S. Persi (Flash the Sloth). Joining them for this tour of the city is Fortune Feimster (Nibbles Maplestick), Andy Samberg (Pawbert Lynxley), Patrick Warburton (Mayor Winddancer), and Quinta Brunson (as a quokka therapy animal named Dr. Fuzzby).

“Zootopia” was beloved for its animation style, creative world, humor, and its thoughtful, inclusive message about prejudice and racism. It doesn’t have the music that makes so many Disney films icons of childhood, but it is still in contention for the best film the studio has ever produced. Those are large shoes to fill, and bringing back the original creators and allowing them to take their time is the only way it could ever be possible. One way they went about meeting that task was to introduce new animals and new areas of the city.

There is an impressive number of characters this time around, and they are seen throughout over 2000 shots, 25% more than the average animated film. “Zootopia 2” features 178 unique characters representing 67 different species. That number climbs to nearly 2,000 unique models when you factor in changes to clothing and fur textures. That number balloons when you start looking at the coping and past aspect of computer imaging until they reach a music festival with 10s of thousands of characters. The biggest challenge among the new animals was the articulating scales for Gary De’Snake, which include 448 on his head alone and 2500 on the rest of his body. He also has a movement design unlike any other animal in the series to date. He zips around more than any cinematic snake since “Anaconda.”

Most of the new species can be found in the “Jewel of the City”, better known as Marsh Market. The town is essentially a marshland pier surrounded by water, with most of its shops offering seafood and fishing-related services. Try to picture a mix of Bayou and Venice creating something akin to redneck chic. It is home to animals not found elsewhere in Zootopia, mostly semi-aquatic pinnipeds such as sea lions and walruses, as well as water-dependent animals like dolphins. Marsh Market is home to numerous secrets and the film’s best action scene.

The world is primed for a return, but is the story with the long trip? In short, yes. In baseball terms, “Zootopia” was a pure no doubt homerun, and “Zootopia 2” only managed to be a triple. Still a very impressive outing, but not a guaranteed appearance on the scoreboard. The topic is not as tight, splitting its focus between what makes a good relationship and political issues similar to the first film. Instead of the Jim Crow era racism, we are going back in time to the government’s handling of indigenous people. The Zootopian leaders are taking away the homes of “lesser” animals, if not outright killing them, for being in the way of progress and greed. Each of those elements could have been the subject of its own film, and they can work well together if the integration had been smoother. There are two moments in the film’s climax where we stop for a heart-to-heart moment. An essential and worthwhile thing, but probably best done after lives are not actively on the line.

While the message isn’t working as well, they have bumped up the humor this time around with multiple laugh-out-loud moments in my audience. The jokes do skew younger and more towards slapstick than before, and the good or bad of that will depend on the viewer. While it leans younger overall, there are clear moments aimed at adults with references to classic movies like “Babe” and “The Shining.”

“Zootopia 2” doesn’t hit the highs of the first film, but it is hard to repeat near perfection, and they come pretty close. In a bit of a twist, the lighter tone makes this film more rewatchable because, while there is still plenty of darkness in Zootopia, it is not as front and center this time around. During my screening, people laughed, cried, and were moved by the message, and that is partly why I am giving the movie a score of 4.5 out of 5.

Rating: PG (Rude Humor|Action/Violence)
Release Date: November 26th, 2025
Runtime: 1h 48m
Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Producer: Yvett Merino Flores
Screenwriter: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Production Co:mWalt Disney Animation Studios