Early in Zootopia 2, the Zootopia Police Department holds a triumphant ceremony for ambitious rookie officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her reformed con-artist partner, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). It’s a knowing beat that revisits the franchise’s central examination of species-based bias introduced in 2016’s Zootopia, while also making it clear that prejudice hasn’t been vanquished — and that a new story remains necessary.
Discrimination still threads through the city’s bustling neighborhoods, and Hopps and Wilde are once again on the front lines. Returning directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard balance the film’s earnest social themes with an avalanche of visual jokes, pop-culture winks, and delightfully absurd supporting characters, so Zootopia 2 rarely tips into sermonizing. The movie barrels forward at a brisk clip: big set pieces, multiple chase sequences, and a rapid-fire cadence of gags that keeps the tone buoyant even when a joke doesn’t quite land.
Being the first rabbit-and-fox patrol in ZPD history marks Hopps and Wilde as an odd couple against the city’s same-species partnerships (the hoof-bumping zebra duo who call themselves the Zeebros are a running gag). Hopps is still driven to prove her worth, frequently clashing with the no-nonsense Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) and pushing into headline investigations. Her single-minded determination to demonstrate the duo’s effectiveness sometimes leads her to discount Wilde’s instincts — and the film earns much of its warmth by watching the fox move from sarcastic bystander to genuinely protective partner.
Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Like any classic cinematic cop, Hopps regularly confronts those in authority to uncover the truth. She risks her standing to investigate the pit viper Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan, familiar from Loki and Everything Everywhere All at Once), who gatecrashes a centennial gala hosted by Zootopia’s patrician Lynxley family. Gary insists his only aim is reuniting his kin — a claim that propels Hopps to reexamine the city’s past and the narratives that built it.
Where the original Zootopia was read by some as an unexpected parable about populism, its successor tackles dispossession and the forced removal of communities — subjects that may feel pointed given the film’s release right before Thanksgiving. Bush’s screenplay tends toward a gentle delivery (we’re told many reptiles now live overseas), but in an era when studio releases often lean on royal fantasies or safe nostalgia, it’s notable that filmmakers are willing to spark conversation rather than simply comfort viewers.
The emotional stakes are sharpened by the contrast between Gary — relentlessly optimistic, politely asking “Permission to hug?” before enveloping new acquaintances — and the Lynxleys, who embody entitlement. Bush and Howard pepper the film with sly Disney references (among them nods to Ratatouille and Lady and the Tramp) and sharper barbs aimed at adult viewers. The Lynxley clan reads like a parody of Succession: David Strathairn channels an icy Milton Lynxley while his image-conscious children — Cattrick (Macaulay Culkin) and Kitty (Brenda Song) — orbit him, and Milton’s scorching critiques of his awkward son Pawbert (Andy Samberg) are especially uncomfortable to watch. Even the mayor, a buff stallion named Brian Winddancer (Patrick Warburton), feels like a wink to longtime fans of the studio’s character actors.
Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Despite those heavier threads, the story hurtles forward through a series of showpiece chases that parade Zootopia’s astonishing variety of environments and inhabitants: a gnu marching band, a desert rave with Burning Man energy where Gazelle (Shakira) debuts an infectiously catchy number, and a waterslide superhighway designed for amphibious commuters. The animation is saturated with color and layered detail — there are always background jokes to discover on repeat viewings — and the quieter beats sparkle too, from Chief Bogo nursing a miniature cocktail to sequences that visualize Gary’s world through pit-viper heat senses.
Zootopia 2 isn’t as surgically plotted as its predecessor, where every subplot fed the central mystery, but it shares the original’s ambition: to pair an accessible moral throughline with an immersive, lovingly rendered setting. With a strong voice cast, vibrant visuals, and humor that lands for both children and adults, it’s an inviting family film to see over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Zootopia 2 opens in theaters November 26, 2025.
Source: Polygon
