Zootopia 2 (2025) – Sssensational

Released: 27th November
Seen: 8th December

In 2016, Disney released Zootopia, which told the story of a society made entirely of animals (as in lions, tigers, bears, oh my) that was dealing with the disappearance of the predator class of animals. A buddy cop mystery movie told with just a ton of adorable animals in people clothes was basically a license to print money for Disney, which would rake in over a billion dollars from this one movie alone, and that still only made it the 4th highest-grossing movie of the year, which really says a lot about how insane the box office was only a decade ago. In the years since Zootopia has remained a very popular property, even getting a TV show on Disney+ in 2022, but it’s taken until now for Disney to get around to making a sequel, and it was absolutely worth the wait.

Zootopia 2 picks up a week after the first film, with Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) having joined the police force as a team, but even a week into their new job, the cracks are starting to form. After a bungled mission puts them on thin ice with the chief, Nick wants nothing more than to lie low and just get back to normal, while Judy thinks solving a big case will help. A big case seems to fall right into their lap when they learn that a snake named Gary (Ke Huy Quan) has been smuggled into a party, where he steals a special diary that details how the climate zones in Zootopia work. This is a huge issue because not only is the diary an important document, but reptiles haven’t been allowed in Zootopia for a long time, ever since one snake murdered someone long ago. Judy and Nick have to use all their detective skills to not only figure out why Gary needs the book, but what wicked secrets lie behind the history of the reptile exile.

As one might expect with a film made by the Disney animators, this film is absolutely goddamn beautiful, with several grand locations that are just enthralling to look at. Obviously, the main area of Zootopia looks as good as ever, but there’s also a swampy area, an arctic area and even a speakeasy that are all just some of the most lovingly detailed locations that’ve been put in an animated film. They feel truly alive and show just how insanely talented these animators are, while also throwing in as many great quick visual jokes as they can. I, for one, did not expect to see The Shining referenced with such loving affection by this film, but by God, not only did they do it, they nailed every detail. It’s probably the best-looking animated film I’ve seen all year, just an absolute jaw dropper.

It also helps that Zootopia 2 has one of the smarter scripts for a kids’ film, playing with a ton of genuinely fascinating ideas in ways that are easy for kids to follow. For the film to use the reptiles as stand-ins for discussions about colonisation and how some people in the upper classes lie about the lower class is honestly kind of timely. I’m not saying it’s intentionally so, but it’s hard not to notice that the film has an entire scene where a bar run by a reptile with a strong Mexican accent is invaded by police for absolutely no justifiable reason and see how that reflects modern society. The way the film touches on how people handle stress, found families, lost pieces of history, and other weighty topics is honestly impressive.

As a story, Zootopia 2 moves at a nice brisk pace and manages to keep the comedy flowing, the drama brewing and the tension building in a way that’s honestly pretty appropriate for a film largely aimed at a younger audience. Sure, there are a few things sneakily thrown in for the adults (the aforementioned Shining moment, as an example), but it knows that the main target audience is young kids who might’ve caught the first movie on Disney+ at some point, and it works on a suitable level for them without ever talking down to them.

Perhaps the one big negative that Zootopia 2 has is that there is one major reveal that is so obvious that you can call it the second a specific character turns up. Without saying anything specific, one character popped on screen, and I instantly knew they were going to be the surprise act three villain because that seems to be a thing that Disney does all the time now, instead of just having a big fun villain for the entire run of the film. It’s a trope that’s become as monotonous as the ‘dead parent’ trope that every Disney film loves doing as much as possible and here it’s particularly annoying because it’s not needed, there are other characters who could be really good villains without needing a surprise, but the main one has to be a final act shocker that will shock no one who thinks about it for even a few minutes.

Beyond that, Zootopia 2 is just a really great buddy cop film that the entire family will love. Its great comedy, heartfelt drama and important messaging make it a worthy follow-up to the original. Truly, the wait has been worth it; they clearly put everything they could think of into this and it ended up being something pretty great.