'Zootopia 2' Review: Disney Animation's Return to Animal-Run Concrete Jungle Shines with Sharper Claws in Studio's Best Sequel Yet
It's been nearly a decade since Disney Animation tried to solve racism through Zootopia. The Oscar-winning 2016 flick (meh, should’ve gone to Moana) about an anthropomorphic mammal-based metropolis is among the studio's most creative efforts in terms of worldbuilding. Although it may be sloppy in its central themes of discrimination, I still adore it.
Significant credit is due to Jared Bush and Phil Johnston's clever character writing and dynamic between the wry Jason Bateman-voiced fox, Nick Wilde, and the determined country bumpkin Ginnifer Goodwin-voiced bunny, Judy Hopps. Like Schmidt and Jenko from 21 Jump Street, they are the epitome of 21st-century buddy cop duos that you both enjoy watching, laughing with, and rooting for romantically.
Zootopia 2 adds reptiles to the mix as Nick and Judy help a displaced Snake return home in a smart, thorough sociopolitical action-comedy for the whole family. Wait, what?
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of Disney
MPA Rating: PG (For action/violence and rude humor.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 48 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Directors: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Writer: Jared Bush
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Shakira, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, Danny Trejo, Alan Tudyk, Nate Torrence, Don Lake, Bonnie Hunt, Jenny Slate
U.S Release Date: November 26, 2025
Set shortly after the arrest of Mayor Bellwether (Jenny Slate), Nick Wilde (Bateman) joins the Zootopia Police Department and is paired with Judy Hopps (Goodwin). Nick's indifference and Hopps' stubbornness, however, put their partnership in danger following a botched smuggling mission. They're assigned to attend partner counseling at the behest of Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), but Hopps can't stop thinking about the unresolved case. This leads to their infiltration of the Zootennial Gala, hosted by the wealthy Lynx family, the Lynxleys – patriarch Milton (David Strathairn), his kids Cattrick (Macaulay Culkin) and Kitty (Brenda Song), and his outcast youngest Pawbert (Andy Samberg), whose ancestors founded Zootopia. The party is disrupted by pit viper Gary De'Snake (Ke Huy Quan), the first public snake in eons, who takes a constitutional book that holds the key, and secret, to Zootopia's past. Judy follows him, but due to certain circumstances, she and Nick are eventually framed for treason by Milton. Now on the run, the two need to track down Gary, expose Zootopia's past mistreatment of reptilian citizens, and mend their strained relationship.
Zootopia 2 arrives better, bigger, and bolder than every Disney Animation sequel to date.
![[L-R] Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) in Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Zootopia 2.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64e7a7d019dd127522ddcc6f/3e0fcd3b-b8e6-4de1-bd7d-3a68a2573b39/ZOOTOPIA2-ONLINE-USE-NEST_240.0_051.70_0003_6K.jpg)
[L-R] Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) in Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Zootopia 2.
Unlike the recent Walt Disney Animation Studio sequels that were byproducts of Bob Iger’s greed gone wrong – his attention to 2019 Q4 profits resulted in Frozen 2's underdeveloped story, and the unsustainability of Disney+ consequently led to Moana's TV show being reworked into the generic, lower-quality Moana 2 – Zootopia 2 arrives with full narrative clarity. Even in its flaws, it’s the first sequel to do the bare minimum and tell a full story that builds upon the predecessor without retreading or detracting.
Directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush return to Zootopia’s world with confidence by retaining the original's charm while improving its mechanics. One highlight is deconstructing Zootopia's flawed sociology while simultaneously broadening its urbanized realm with breathtaking locales and increasingly imaginative new settings that function for exciting action set pieces. For example, the Florida-like Marsh Market, where semi-aquatic and aquatic mammals converge but is also segregated from the rest of Zootopia, is one of the most notable new locations.
Another valiant update is how the script doesn’t rely on social commentary to mirror Nick and Judy’s conflict and arc, but rather on the motif of coexisting and embracing differences. They’re working out the kinks in their partnership (the lines get blurry with the hi-sssssexual tension they share), and nothing is retreaded material, marking a step forward in their relationship. The production team must've read WildeHopps fan fiction and decided to give the shippers ammunition, as they’ve hit “Scully and Mulder” levels of comedically funny and heart-achingly adorable throughout.
Though I do feel as if they’ve slightly regressed upon re-establishment, the story team fine-tunes the fabrics of their relationship upon this fast-paced adventure. Specifically, the root of their insecurities: Nick’s sarcastic demeanor and Judy’s headstrong, fixated attitude cause their incompatibility. Additionally, Bateman and Goodwin's voice acting hasn't changed in a decade, as they still flawlessly embody their respective roles.
Zootopia 2's self-assurance is evident in its sharp social commentary.
Gary De’Snake (voiced by Ke Huy Quan) in Walt Disney Animation’s ZOOTOPIA 2.
Jared Bush's clever screenplay is even more impressive to me, as it seems he was genuinely radicalized by the societal issues that persisted in reality within the nine-year gap while improving based on constructive feedback (he read the copaganda complaints and said “enough” by making the pair fugitives from the law). Racism has many faces, and I feel that the first Zootopia, while ambitious, exceeded its grasp trying to apply ALL OF IT to its animal kingdom.
Zootopia 2’s social commentary examines urbanized neocolonialism through the mystery of the relationship between the reptilian populace and the terrifying Lynxley family. They’re like the Sacklers and Murdochs in the sense of having control of the state and influence to the point they have the power to demonize an entire nationality of people and get away with murder to uphold their status quo. I also thought it was a nice touch that they utilized the Godfather parody character Mr. Big (Maurice LaMarche) to explain how the Lynxleys were the real top brass in the crime world, naturally raising the stakes.
It deconstructs the topic’s umbrella in an engrossing lore that checks off forced displacement, historical revisionism, and capitalistic control and corruption, all interwoven within Nick and Judy's adventure. It doesn’t feel ham-fisted to the point of alienating the audience. Rather, it evokes the boldness of Disney's experimental areas in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Atlantis (a film I’m not particularly fond of, but executed its themes well). It knows how to handle its sociological discourse with clarity while interplaying the archetypes that gave those films their identity, this being a buddy-comedy procedural instead of a musical or old-school action-adventure.
Funnier and more frenetic than before.
[L-R] Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman), Nibbles Maplestick (voiced by Fortune Fiemster), and Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) in Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Zootopia 2.
The commentary and tone are as humorously jovial as ever. Zootopia 2 is stuffed with so many sight gags, animal puns, and GOAT-ed film references (one third-act gag will rip you to pieces). Its batting range of bits that land is greater than the first film’s, but it also has more jokes that fall flat with sheer corniness (please, family films, stop using "For Dummies" jokes).
Zootopia 2 has a better assembly of memorable characters than its predecessor. Besides the sssssweet-natured Gary De'Snake, some of the best new additions are Nibbles Maplestick (a charming Fortune Fiemster), a wise-cracking conspiracy theorist podcaster who has the best gags, and Mayor Winddancer (Patrick Warburton), a former actor turned mayor akin to Kronk and Jean-Claude Van Damme in horse form and is reluctantly in the palm of the Lynxley's plot.
While many aspects of Zootopia 2 are moderately better than the first, it has a postmodern animated movie ADHD brain. Its action-oriented story beats go quickly, but when it's time to slow down and develop characters, it drags, and the structure is a bit loose. Despite it sharing the same runtime as the predecessor, its story flow is as scaly as snakeskin.
Final Statement
At its core, Zootopia 2 delivers on everything you loved about the first but with a stronger sense of self, while operating as an excitable family-fun adventure with heart. But man, if they don’t have that fox and bunny make-out sloth-py style in the next film, I'm rioting against Disney Animation.
Please consider supporting Rendy Reviews. We’re an independent run, Gen-Z and Black-owned entertainment outlet. You can donate to our Paypal or Venmo to help keep our site running. Or become a subscriber for access to 13-years worth of reviews, exclusive interviews, and more! A free way to support is a sign up for the Rendy Reviews’ newsletter and get weekly emails about latest on movie reviews, interviews with film artisans, features, and more.
