Review: Zootopia 2 amounts to successful Disney sequel fit for whole family

After almost nine years since the original “Zootopia,” Disney released the long-awaited “Zootopia 2” on Wednesday and successfully broke the company’s habit of releasing underwhelming sequels. 

“Zootopia 2” brought back what worked from its former: relevant humor, an interesting universe and a digestible understanding of humankind through what may be the only thing more diverse than it, the animal kingdom. The sequel beautifully built upon the first film’s foundations, adding nuance and history to what was originally a more black-and-white interpretation of injustice and inequality.

The sequel brings back its buddy-cop dynamic with Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) while introducing new characters like Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan) and Pawbert Lynxley (Andy Samberg), who add humor and develop the film’s universe. The plot centers around why the city of Zootopia has no reptiles and explains how the city built its “weather walls,” which allow every mammal in Zootopia to live peacefully in their respective habitats. With the added world-building, the movie revealed its deeper message about how power can manipulate people to defame and displace entire communities.

The sequel starts off swiftly, recapping the original and throwing you back into its world by starting right in the middle of the action. The film’s only downfall might be the speed at which the plot accelerates in the first half, which unveils a familiar “chasing the bad guy” storyline a little too fast to latch onto right away. For a kids movie in 2025, its rapid introduction feels fitting for a generation with decreasing attention spans, but a slower exposition could have built the sweet suspense necessary for a police case mystery.

Despite the plot’s speed, the film’s depth and whip-smart humor offers enough to keep the attention of children and adults. The relationship between Wilde and Hopps unsurprisingly becomes deeper and more self-aware in the sequel, with the characters attending partners therapy and addressing the root causes of their dysfunctional yet charming relationship. The film hinted at romance between the protagonists but remained platonic, forcing Wilde and Hopps to take a slower, more difficult path to understanding and caring for each other.

The therapy plot provided comedic relief while simultaneously tackling taboos surrounding mental health in a way kids can understand. It reveals Nick Wilde’s cunning personality and sarcasm is a result of childhood trauma, and Hopps’ overbearing nature stems from a need for validation. The film uses these terms openly, and one can’t help but wonder if a child watching could learn something about their own mental health because of it. The film uses these terms openly, and may encourage and educate the children of today about their own mental health. 

The story hinges on Quan’s character, Gary De’Snake, who exposes Zootopia’s history of prejudice against reptiles, pushing them to the city’s outskirts and displacing snakes entirely. By dividing the animal kingdom classes into literal societal classes, the film called out marginalization with animorphism and class-conscious comedy based on reptiles. Discovering Zootopia’s reptile community added a fresh perspective to the film’s universe and provided some of the most creative and stimulating animation throughout the film’s 1-hour, 42 minute runtime. 

Directors Jared Bush and Brynn Howard brought back the Disney movie magic in “Zootopia 2.”  Despite issues with pacing and predictability, the movie’s world-building, humor and messaging make it easy to enjoy and leaves food for thought. It’s the kind of kids movie by which an adult can get willingly distracted. 

4 ½ bad Disney sequels out of 5