Disney’s Zootopia 2 – Review

Hollywood’s fixation with sequels often runs on a timer. When a film does well, studios scramble to greenlight the next instalment, usually aiming to hit that three-to-four-year window before the original fades from public memory. It’s a system built on momentum, not patience, and the House of Mouse has seemingly perfected the formula with a twist. When Disney’s Zootopia 2 arrives nearly a decade after the 2016 original, it bucks convention not because Disney is unfamiliar with the sequel treadmill, but because it’s never rushed to stay on the hype train it built. The gaps between their sequels stretch into the high single digits, sometimes even decades. Fantasia 2000 (1999) followed the original after 59 years, and The Jungle Book 2 (2003) took 36 and Zootopia 2 arriving nine years after Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin, Once Upon a Time) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman, Ozark) first teamed up, falls right into this rhythm. 

Of course, long waits come with their own risks. The original Zootopia was a surprise cultural flashpoint – an earnest buddy-cop comedy cloaked in social allegory, with the anthropomorphic wildlife from the animal kingdom tackling topics like prejudice and systemic bias in a way that felt fresh and sharp. But Disney’s recent run of sequels (2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet, 2019’s Frozen II, and 2024’s Moana 2) have mostly stumbled, lacking the originality or resonance of their forebears, and while it’s fair to enter Zootopia 2 with a touch of scepticism, it lasts for as long as the opening chase scene.

Rather than retreading familiar ground, Zootopia 2 expands its world and sharpens its wit without sacrificing charm. It feels designed for the audience that grew up with the first film (now nine years older) while still remaining accessible to a new generation. Kids will laugh at the colourful antics and energetic pacing, but there’s a refined cleverness threaded throughout that gives adults plenty to chew on. Against the odds, Disney has finally broken its sequels of diminishing returns.

Veteran Walt Disney director Byron Howard, of Tangled (2010) and Encanto (2021) fame returns, this time accompanied by screenwriter-turned-director Jared Bush (Moana, Moana 2). Taking place right after the first movie, Judy and Nick are colleagues now in the ZPD (Zootopia Police Department), with badges, beats, and a camaraderie that feels worn-in, but not necessarily stable. After a botched attempt to take down a smuggling ring, Chief Bogo (Idris Elba, Luther) threatens to split them up unless they undergo counselling by Dr. Fuzzby (Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary), a chipper quokka therapist.

While the therapy setup offers opportunities for character introspection (and gags galore), it’s Judy’s hunch about a reptilian presence in Zootopia that gives the plot its teeth. A piece of shed snake skin and a trail of cryptic clues point her toward the city’s biggest event of the year – the Zootennial Gala, a centennial celebration hosted by the well-connected Lynxley family, descendants of Zootopia’s founder. Nick is roped into going undercover alongside her, and what follows is a spiralling mystery involving lost history and elite power structures.

As Nick and Judy dive into the new case, Zootopia 2 gradually reveals the extent of its worldbuilding ambition. New districts like the Marsh Market are introduced with a keen eye for visual humour and urban satire. Technically, Disney’s animation team continues to raise the bar – fur textures ripple with nuance, atmospheric lighting breathes life into each frame, and crowd shots are bustling with species-specific detail. Action takes centre stage this time, with chase scenes that come fast and frantic and a tempo that rarely lets up. The pacing is more aggressive than the original, matching the sequel’s broader scope with kinetic energy, though it occasionally risks tipping into overstimulation. Michael Giacchino’s (Ratatouille, The Incredibles) score sharpens that edge further, shifting between high-stakes tension and playful mischief. 

A good sequel also understands what makes its universe tick and chooses to build outward, and this extends to the new characters who feel like natural additions rather than gimmicks, with the overly enthusiastic beaver Nibbles Maplestick, who dabbles in conspiracy theories (Fortune Feimster, The Mindy Project), Pawbert Lynxley (Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), a lynx who has something to prove, the polished actor-turned-politician Mayor Brian Winddancer (Patrick Warburton, The Emperor’s New Groove), and Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once), a pit viper who’s trying to help his family.

Gary, in particular, seemed primed to be the breakout star. He’s featured prominently across promotional materials, positioned like a third lead alongside Nick and Judy. But surprisingly, his presence in the actual film is minimal until the final act. That late arrival doesn’t diminish Ke Huy Quan’s performance – he brings warmth, charm, and a steady emotional centre to the role – but it does leave one wishing for more.

Where Zootopia 2 stumbles is in its antagonists. There’s a noticeable recycling of tropes, particularly in the third act, where the film leans heavily on a twist villain reveal that feels painfully familiar. Not only does it echo the original film’s own surprise antagonist in Bellwether (Jenny Slate, The Secret Life of Pets), it also borrows liberally from Frozen’s (2013) Hans-Anna betrayal, down to a scene that plays out almost shot-for-shot – a disappointing move that undercuts what could have been a bolder, more nuanced conflict. Instead, the film plays it safe with a resolution that feels pulled from the Disney playbook rather than earned through its own story.

Still, even with its safe choices, Zootopia 2 has enough emotional insight and character richness to make the journey worthwhile. The core of the film remains character-driven, anchored by the continued evolution of Nick and Judy’s partnership. Their relationship is where the sequel finds its footing, being messy, sincere, and stubborn in all the right ways. Rather than shortcutting character development with a single revelatory moment, the film lets their dynamic unfold with care. Judy’s relentless optimism and Nick’s cautious pragmatism clash and complement each other in ways that feel honest to where they left off in the first film.

Judy’s desire to pursue the truth, particularly as she fights to solve a case affecting the city’s reptilian residents, is driven by a bunny hero complex, an urge to prove herself, to do good even when the world seems indifferent. Nick, having lived through years of cynicism, urges restraint. It’s that tension between Judy’s headlong idealism and Nick’s lived-in realism that fuels much of the emotional weight of the film. And when they do find common ground, it is a quiet, mutual understanding born out of care and shared hardship. They’re still very different, but their willingness to meet each other in the middle is what gives their arc its staying power.

Anyone under the impression that the first film offered a clean solution to systemic discrimination will be promptly corrected. A subplot involving aggressive redevelopment and forced relocations puts the issue of gentrification front and centre even if at times, the script over-explains its own machinations, pausing to outline the next plot beat before it happens, but that’s par for the course in a film still calibrated for younger audiences. What matters more is that it’s even trying as it’s rare to see a mainstream animated film casually toss out themes of colonisation and racial scapegoating, let alone try to unpack them accessibly.

Despite the hand-holding, there’s a real sense that Zootopia 2 was made with intent – it’s thoughtful, occasionally angry, and always entertaining. It talks about propaganda, urban displacement, and how easy it is to look away when it’s not your species on the chopping block and more importantly, it doesn’t offer easy answers. 

Instead, it asks something quietly radical – that we pay attention, stay curious, and never stop trying to make a difference… even when the world doesn’t reward it.

Disney’s Zootopia 2 slithers into cinemas on 27 November.

Natalie

Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she’s not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Caleb from Love and Deepspace.