Zootopia 2 (2025)

I had been looking forward to this sequel at least as much as I had to Inside Out 2. When I learned that it would feature a good-aligned snake, I grew even eagerer. So I talked my parents into joining me at a theater. (If you go to a family movie in December, expect an obscene number of ads. I finished my candy before the first preview.)

Within a week after the last scene of Zootopia, lapine Officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her new ZPD partner, reformed vulpine hustler Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), are losing their heroic public image and the support of Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), thanks to Judy's highly irregular, reckless approach to crime fighting and Nick's complementary unserious attitude. It gets worse when they start aiding and abetting Gary De'Snake (Ke Huy Quan), a pit viper who steals a city treasure that he believes holds a secret that will vastly improve life for the marginalized reptiles in Zootopia. Crime boss Milton Lynxley (David Strathairn) wants to keep that secret at any price, and he pressures new mayor Brian Winddancer (Patrick Warburton) into authorizing a deadly hunt for the rogue cops.

I glossed over a number of details above, but the plot really is overly simple in a way. It's hard to believe that one reptile allegedly murdering another in an enormous metropolis would render the whole class, especially snakes, pythona non grata in most neighborhoods for a century. If humans held to that standard, we'd still be fully segregated. But it sounds like reptiles already had a pretty bad reputation, perhaps just for habits that mammals finds disgusting, so the murder was a final straw.

One viewer I know prefers Z2 to Z1 for feeling friendlier. I suspect that's a common pattern among sequels, since returning characters know each other better. In this case, inter-mammal bigotry may well have been downplayed to spotlight the anti-reptile sentiment. Nobody calls Judy cute to her face anymore (tho she is), and Nick's many species faux pases are quite accidental. He's become the default butt of gags, BTW.

Speaking of returning characters, almost everyone of significance from Z1 reappears, but generally with less screen time. I don't mind, because the many newcomers are about as interesting. Apart from Gary, the most prominent debuting good guy is Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster), a tomboy beaver podcaster with reptilian connections. Oh, and the walruses fill a one-note comedic niche similar to the sloths.

The animal-themed humor that pervaded Z1 remains in force, with more Easter eggs than I've found yet. My parents and I laughed aloud at times. Alas, I'm not convinced it's as consistently funny as before. Some puns, like "This is a snoutrage," are real stretches.

I should also warn about the action intensity. While Z1 narrowly dodged a G rating, Z2 includes a flashback to the aforementioned murder, and the heroes face close shaves. A young girl sitting near us got audibly upset at the climax.

If you've been itching for romance to blossom between Judy and Nick, well, it's not official. They never kiss or propose or whatnot. But the writers clearly intend for us to think along those lines, with countless teases amid both interpersonal tensions (as when Nick is less gung ho than Judy about helping a snake) and reconciliations. I get the impression that Nick's insistence on being a "solitary animal" is the main sticking point.

Regardless, Z2 is basically everything I hoped for: cunning, colorful, escapist, emotionally effective, and showing a lot of work. It even has a better Gazelle (Shakira) song than "Try Everything." We were all satisfied, even if we doubt that my nephew and niece are ready for it.

Now to hold out for the threequel hinted by the post-credit sequence....