Zootopia 2 Review: A Refreshing Reminder Of What Disney Animation Is Capable Of Achieving

By the time "Zootopia" hit theaters in 2016, the idea of making a cop the underdog hero in a kids' movie was already ... let's say, "dicey." But with "Paw Patrol" ruling the preschool airwaves, Hollywood had clearly learned that "cute animal + tiny uniform = merchandising gold." Disney's entry was a classic buddy-cop romp following Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), an overachieving rabbit from the rural Bunnyburrow who becomes the first of her kind on the Zootopia police force. Constantly underestimated, she overcorrects straight into rule-breaking territory and reluctantly teams up with Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a con-artist fox, to crack a major case and expose corruption.

The film doubles as a somewhat clunky "Biases Are Bad" primer for kids, which makes its tidy ending — Judy and Nick becoming partners at the ZPD — feel awkward when you remember the real-world systemic racism baked into policing and the prison industrial complex. "Zootopia," for everything that it does right, will never be able to escape the shadow of it being copaganda for kids, something that in a post-2020 world doesn't have the plausible deniability it once did.

However, it also grossed over a billion dollars at the box office, making continued stories inevitable. The questionably titled but very enjoyable "Zootopia+" series on Disney+ provided snapshots of the day-to-day goings on of the denizens of "Zootopia," but without the beating heart of the film — Judy and Nick — at the center, it was a cute addition to the world that had audiences still craving more. Fortunately, "Zootopia 2" is the rare example of a follow-up film that can live up to the high bar set by the first movie, an all-time great sequel for the House of Mouse, and one of the best buddy-cop movies in years.

"Zootopia 2" picks up with Judy and Nick struggling as partners thanks to their discordant personalities. After botching a smuggling sting, Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) threatens to split them up unless they attend group therapy run by quokka Dr. Fuzzby (Quinta Brunson). Judy, however, is convinced a snake is loose in Zootopia, despite reptiles being absent for a century, and refuses to drop her hunch. She suspects the creature plans to infiltrate the Zootenial Gala hosted by the rich, powerful Lynxley family, descendants of Zootopia's founder. Persuading Nick to go undercover, she discovers a pit viper named Gary (Ke Huy Quan) seeking an old journal about the city's weather walls, who insists the contents prove reptiles aren't the villains they're believed to be. When patriarch Milton Lynxley (David Strathairn) frames Judy and Nick as accomplices, they escape with Gary and the journal, now fugitives racing to uncover Zootopia's true history.

If "Zootopia" was a film teaching the important lesson not to judge a book by its cover, "Zootopia 2" is an exploration of how the stereotypes that pit us against those who are different from us came to be, and the lengths the wealthy elite will go to maintain a status quo that keeps some communities demonized to the point where others are so ignorant of the truth that they're willing to ignore the continued oppression at best, and actively encourage mistreatment at worst. The social commentary is more manageable than the massive scope of the first film, but it makes for a more mature story. Gary and the plight of the reptiles serve as an allegory for the countless groups of real-life people painted as dangerous monsters, and Judy quickly realizes that to enact any real change and find real justice, she has to work outside the ZPD.

While Judy, Nick, and Gary are on the run, they stumble into a handful of new lands we never saw in the first film: Marsh Market, The Toad — a "From Dusk Till Dawn"-style speakeasy where reptiles seek solace — and an abandoned honeymoon lodge perched on a cliff that feels straight out of "The Lonely Goatherd." Guiding them is Nibbles Maplestick (the always-hilarious Fortune Feimster), a beaver conspiracy theory podcaster who absolutely knows something's off in Zootopia. Their trek through Marsh Market is one of the film's high points and one of the clearest signs that the franchise has massive room to run if Disney chooses to go full "Toy Story" with it — which, let's be real, they seem poised to do.

Maybe it's because I'm fat, white trash, and grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, but seeing marine mammals in cut-off denim, blubber out and spirits high, living joyfully even from society's margins, hit me in a way the first film never did. Little touches, like watching a hippo get a tramp stamp or hearing a jazz band echo through The Toad, felt like home. Honestly, I'd watch an entire spin-off set in these communities. Russ the walrus plumber (voiced by co-head of story David VanTuyle) is destined for fan-favorite status, as is Danny Trejo's plumed basilisk lizard, Jesús.

Personally, I'm going to need Disney+ shorts of fake trailers for the films of Mayor Brad Winddancer (Patrick Warburton), a movie-star-turned-politician horse who is absolutely going to inspire some deeply cursed fan art. But the biggest win? Gary Da'Snake fits in effortlessly, and I'm shocked more people haven't tapped Ke Huy Quan for voiceover work. For an animal many kids (and adults) consider "scary," Quan's gentle, soothing voice is absolute perfection.

Like the first film, "Zootopia 2" utilizes gorgeous animation to craft a world chock-full of Easter eggs and references to other films (there are two horror movie jokes that made me audibly cackle with delight like a storybook witch that I will not spoil for you), that might feel tiresome to anyone weary of whimsy, but I'm an easy mark for a good pun so the background signs of Zootopia are like catnip for me.

But a buddy-cop movie is only as good as its buddies, and the evolution of Judy and Nick's relationship is the number one reason worth watching. By focusing on their personal journeys and the development of how they work together as a team, the specificity of their friendship (perhaps something more??) provides a great outlet for those watching to question their own approach to doing what's right, even if it's scary, and determine the lengths they'd be willing to go to protect the people they love. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde have solidified themselves as an all-time great duo in the animated Disney canon, and I beg that this won't be the last we see of them.

In the end credits, a title card reads "A movie made by everyone at Walt Disney Animation Studios," and it feels like a message running parallel with the one in "Zootopia 2." It's easy (and necessary) to criticize powerful institutions controlled by a handful of wealthy decision-makers, but we must never lose sight of the everyday folks working tirelessly to make things better for the time being. "Zootopia 2" may be the gateway to teach young viewers to question who sets the rules, and be inspired to break those rules if it means doing what's right. "Zootopia 2" may not be as politically biting as something like "BEASTARS," but if you need the Mouse to validate your politics, you don't actually have politics.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"Zootopia 2" hits theaters on November 26, 2025.