Aside from the massive success of the live-action Lilo & Stitch remake, it’s been a tough year for Disney at the box office. None of Marvel Studios’ releases (Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps) made a notable impression, Pixar’s Elio bombed, and Tron: Ares failed to revitalize a cult classic franchise. Not to mention that Walt Disney Animation’s recent track record has been questionable; even their latest hits, such as Moana 2 (2024), are remembered as messy, half-hearted efforts. As the summer movie season concluded, it became clear that Disney is desperately depending on Avatar: Fire and Ash and the long-awaited animated sequel Zootopia 2 to save their year.
Lots of things have happened since the first Zootopia (2016). Firstly, Zootopia has become one of Disney’s most successful brands, earning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, spawning a themed land at Shanghai Disneyland, and launching a Disney+ miniseries titled Zootopia+. In September 2024, Zootopia writer and co-director Jared Bush was promoted to the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation (replacing former CCO Jennifer Lee, of Frozen fame). When Zootopia 2 was announced in 2023, it felt as though the greenlight was long overdue. Thankfully, especially for the standards of a Disney animated film, the turnaround time was relatively short.
After two years of production, Zootopia 2 finally opens worldwide this Thanksgiving, but is it worth the eight-year wait since the original?
Nick & Judy’s Relationship is at the Core of Zootopia 2
Zootopia 2 reunites audiences with Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her newly recruited ZPD partner Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) just a week after the events of the first film. When a new case goes awry, Judy and Nick are deemed dysfunctional partners by Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) and are put through “partners’ therapy.” Like all classic buddy cop stories, Nick and Judy defy their orders and follow their gut instincts when they meet a mysterious pit viper named Gary (Ke Huy Quan). The pair becomes wanted fugitives as they follow Gary on his journey to clear the reputation of reptiles across Zootopia, uncovering dark secrets of the city’s past along the way.
Like the first movie, Zootopia 2 is frantically paced, highly eccentric, and uniquely focused on the bond between our two protagonists. In fact, for all the attention Gary the snake gets in the film’s marketing, being teased as the center of its mystery, he is actually a secondary character compared to Nick and Judy. The iconic duo remains as our eyes into the world of Zootopia, and are really the only characters with well-defined arcs. Moreover, the script repeatedly references the online shipping culture that underlies Nick and Judy’s relationship.
Though it never crosses the line to explicitly call the pair romantic interests, Zootopia 2 is always testing them as “partners” as it puts Nick and Judy through numerous romance tropes, including role-playing as a married couple, and even a big When Harry Met Sally-esque love confession.
Fresh Ideas that Rely on Familiar Tactics
In the same vein as the shipping references, Zootopia 2 proves to be extremely aware of the original’s reputation. It feels responsive in that it mostly does away with the cop plotlines that were previously perceived as copaganda for children and opts for a more toned-down and simplified racial metaphor than the previous “predator vs. prey” dynamic. The central mystery of Zootopia 2 centers around government corruption, the displacement of marginalized communities, and the unchecked power of the 1%. On paper, these are interesting ways to approach a Zootopia sequel. However, the script’s exploration of these narrative threads unfortunately relies a little too much on the first film’s proven formula.
Zootopia 2 is gorgeously animated, absurdly fun, and hilarious — Fortune Feimster‘s conspiracy podcaster beaver, Nibbles Maplestick, is a funny addition. Yet, it’s cloaked in this familiarity that, at best, feels like a homage to buddy cop franchises such as Lethal Weapon and, at worst, feels like the sequel is choosing the safest way to expand the franchise. Gag characters like Flash Slothmore, the three-toed sloth from the DMV, and Duke Weaselton, the weasel crook who sells bootleg movies, return to tell the same jokes again. Plus, the plot twists are choreographed similarly to the original, and despite the implications that there are larger worlds outside of Zootopia, the story doesn’t venture very far beyond the outskirts of the city.
Zootopia 2 is One of Walt Disney Animation’s Better Sequels
Ultimately, Zootopia 2 is one of the better offerings from Walt Disney Studios as of late. Despite a slightly unpolished screenplay, everything about it comes across as more sincere, earnest, and in line with the franchise’s overall tone. This is not one of the self-important, prestigious Disney franchises; it’s a crime comedy series jam-packed with pop culture references. The sequel boasts an insane reference to The Shining (1980), a scene in a reptile speakeasy that riffs off a Star Wars cantina, and Patrick Warburton’s Mayor Winddancer parodies the legacy of actors-turned-politicians. Zootopia 2 is an hour and forty-minute vehicle for animal puns, and it’s not ashamed of itself for being that.
Under all the jokes about Nick and Judy’s “will-they-won’t-they” relationship, there’s a sweet thematic core about emotional vulnerability and the importance of showing love to the people you care about, which is a worthy message to be shown to children. While Frozen II (2019) and Moana 2 were successful in-house sequels for Walt Disney Animation, Zootopia 2 feels like the most accomplished out of the three. Yes, it’s quite familiar to its predecessor in more ways than one, but there are enough original elements, accompanied by a sense of radiating creativity, that set it apart from the pack.
Zootopia 3 is inevitable, and I would certainly want that one to have even higher ambitions than Zootopia 2. However, as it is, this is still a fun time at the movies and a worthy sequel to the original.
Zootopia 2 hits theaters on November 26!
Release Date: November 26, 2025.
Directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard.
Written by Jared Bush.
Produced by Yvett Merino.
Executive Producers: Jared Bush & Jennifer Lee.
Main Voice Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Idris Elba, Shakira, Patrick Warburton, Nate Torrence, Quinta Brunson, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song, Maurice LaMarche, Leah Latham, Cecily Strong, Raymond S. Persi, Mark Rhino Smith, Tommy Chong, Tommy Lister Jr., Michelle Gomez, David Fane, Jean Reno, Danny Trejo, John Leguizamo, Stephanie Beatriz, Wilmer Valderrama, Jenny Slate, Alan Tudyk, Josh Dallas, Peter Mansbridge, Yvette Nicole Brown, Josh Gad, June Squibb, Mae Martin, Tig Notaro, Robert Irwin, Mario Lopez, Auliʻi Cravalho, Ed Sheeran, Blake Slatkin, Roman Reigns, & CM Punk.
Composer: Michael Giacchino.
Production Company: Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Runtime: 108 minutes.
Rated PG.
