Zootopia 2 is exactly what sequels need to be—a movie that adds on to the original while still being enough to stand on its own. As of late—see my review on Wish for a more extensive take—Disney films have fallen short on the writing aspect, especially in terms of movies in preexisting worlds. Zootopia 2, however, is a phenomenal exception to this.
Zootopia 2 takes place one week after Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) officially become partners in the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD). Initially, as rookies, they are asked to observe a case—instead, Judy decides to solve the case themselves and pulls Nick along. Due to their mismatched personalities, the case goes horribly wrong—leading to them destroying many parts of the city. As a result, Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) to pull them aside and threatens to split the duo if they do not resolve the conflicts between them. Judy tries to show Bogo the shedded snake skin she’d found during the cause, but nobody believes her due to the fact that snakes haven’t been in Zootopia for 100 years. While studying the book she’d been given in resolving their partnership conflicts, Judy gets distracted by clues that lead her to believe that the snake might be smuggled to the Zootenial Gala—a party celebrating the city’s 100th anniversary—to steal the journal of Ebenezer Lynxley, and once again pulls Nick along to help her investigate. While scouting, Judy meets and befriends Pawbert Lyxnley (Andy Samberg)—the awkward youngest member of the Lynxley family.
Their plan at the gala goes awry after they discover that Judy’s hunch had been correct. As they are found out, Nick manages to point out a hooded figure on the chandelier, who drops down onto the stage and reveals themselves to be a pit viper named Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan). As guests panic, Gary grabs Milton (David Strathairn)—the oldest member of the Lyxnleys—and the journal and flees. Judy manages to corner Gary, but hesitates when Gary pleads with her—telling her that snakes are not bad animals, and that the journal proves their innocence. Nick rushes in, knocking Gary out, and Milton demands that they kill the snake and destroy the journal. However, when Judy and Nick hesitate, Milton frames them—claiming that Judy and Nick were aiding the snake. Gary wakes up, and in the ensuing chaos he accidentally bites Bogo—Judy pulls the fang out of him, but as she does so it causes witnesses to believe Milton’s lie. They all jump out of the nearby window to flee—an unknown someone on a motorcycle helping Gary escape while Mr. Big (Maurice LaMarche)—a crime boss and friend from the first Zootopia—aids Judy and Nick.
Now as fugitives, Judy and Nick’s problems only grow. Mr. Big gives them a way to escape Zootopia and live freely with new identities—and while Nick is enthusiastic, Judy is deadset on helping Zootopia. In response, he connects them with Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster)—a beaver who posts conspiracy theory videos on her site with a deep knowledge of reptiles. With her guidance, they find where the reptiles of Zootopia live—and also find out that their original district had been buried in snow after the construction and expansion of Tundratown, the Lynxleys’ district. As the ZPD arrive in pursuit of Judy and Nick, Gary manages to steal the journal. In the following chase, Judy nearly drowns—having ignored warnings about the water tunnel she dove into—and Nick saves her. Instead of admitting that she was in the wrong and calling quits, she doubles down and continues the investigation.
As they ascend a mountain to their next lead, Judy and Nick continue to argue—leading to the symbolic carrot recorder pen falling off the mountain and shattering on the ground below them. Judy becomes upset, and the two split up—right in time for the ZPD to arrive at the mountain summit. Nick rushes to warn her, telling her that it’s not worth dying over this case—but Judy refuses, having found evidence that snakes had once lived peacefully in Zootopia and telling Nick that maybe they really are too different. ZPD burst in and Nick is arrested, but Judy is rescued by Gary and the aforementioned unknown someone, now revealed as Pawbert, and they escape together. What happens to the partnership of Judy and Nick now that they are split up, especially considering that their last words to each other were rather scathing? What is really in the journal and how will it prove that snakes truly belong in Zootopia? What will Nick do now that he’s been arrested while trying to save Judy?
Zootopia 2 works precisely because none of it feels forced. The premise is incredibly interesting—something that works as its own thing, but also works in consideration of the first movie. There is a very noticeable absence of reptiles in the first movie—and Zootopia 2 aims to explain this in its sequel. The post-credits scene has an eagle feather falling on Judy’s windowsill, hinting at another sequel—and, considering that there hasn’t been a single bird in the first two Zootopia films, is yet another promising premise to a sequel that I wouldn’t mind seeing at all. It’s a wonderful sequel to an already fantastic movie. I must point out once again, however, that this is an exception—there is an ocean of recent Disney sequels that should not happened (Pixar not included… felt the need to specify this), feeling rather soulless because the plotlines simply do not fit but are being shoved into the franchise nonetheless. Maybe I’ll change my mind later next year with Frozen 3.
Considering the main themes of the first movie—how stereotypes play into racism and easily they can be manipulated to push narratives—it’s not exactly surprising that the second movie dove into something incredibly similar. While all the characters in Zootopia are animals, the different animal groups and species are allegories for different races—and racism is just as prominent as it was in the first movie. In this case, snakes are completely outlawed in Zootopia—with the original home of reptiles being taken over in an effort to expand Tundratown. While the Lynxleys are comedically evil, they represent far worse—symbolizing colonizers who pushed out indigenous people from their homes with excuses of superiority. This, considering today’s current political states in many regions around the world, is an especially relevant image. The representation is expertly shown and very well-done.
There’s a sequence later in the movie in which Judy and Nick finally talk out their problems properly, and it’s demonstrated wonderfully. It shows that any friendship will have its ups and downs—that communication is the crux of many problems between people. The conflict between them isn’t dragged on for too long, but it isn’t redundant either—it feels very real and ironically human. When they reunite, everything that happened while they were apart pours out, and they come to the realization that their conflicts came from the same source despite being very different animals—the fact that they were scared to lose each other. When they do lose each other, they’re forced to confront this properly for the first time. Even though their separation was not necessarily something they wished at the time, it shows that any relationship may need a breather before we’re able to come to terms and communicate with each other, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The animation and the art of this movie are beautiful—they really do continue to impress each and every time. (See how it works when they’re not constrained by realism?) The writing—both for the plotline and the more specific details—is great. Truthfully, it’s been a while since I last enjoyed an animated Disney film (Pixar once again not included) as I did Zootopia 2. The twist villain was a little obvious (especially in contrast to Bellwether from the first movie) and I was hoping they wouldn’t do it this time around considering they did it for the first Zootopia, but it works perfectly fine.
Overall, Zootopia 2 is a stellar movie with themes that are represented strongly and unapologetically. It’s funny, it’s emotional, and most importantly it’s exciting. It is an absolutely fantastic watch for animation lovers and any previous Zootopia fans won’t be disappointed.
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