Tonight's Movie: Zootopia 2 (2025)

Has it really been almost a decade since Disney's ZOOTOPIA (2016) was released?

Somehow it has, and this Thanksgiving weekend a sequel, ZOOTOPIA 2 (2025), was released. My daughter and I went to see it on Black Friday.

This time around Zootopia Police Officers Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are juggling to balance their fondness for one another with their clashing personality types as they settle into their careers.

Judy and Nick unexpectedly become friends with a snake named Gary (Ke Huy Quan) while solving a mystery involving weather walls and the longtime absence of snakes in Zootopia.

The plot, written by codirector Jared Bush, is pleasant yet didn't particularly wow me, and while the setting remains great fun, it also doesn't hit the viewer with the sheer creativity which impressed in the original film.

While I thought the story itself could have been more interesting, the script does include a lot of good dialogue -- as with the first movie, much of the humor will be best appreciated by adults -- and the characters remain fun. 

Just as with the first film, I think the sequel has been overrated by some reviewers, but that said, it provided an enjoyable afternoon with numerous chuckles. An unexpected use of the sloth -- the funniest character in the original film -- was quite amusing.

One area where this film has the edge over its predecessor is it drops the "message agenda" of the first film, which just about hit viewers over the head with its themes on bullying. The communication issues in this film are relatable without feeling as though "lessons" are being pushed at the audience.

Overall, I'd class ZOOTOPIA 2 as an enjoyable, if somewhat redundant, effort. It doesn't offer much new, but it entertains, causing me to laugh out loud at several points. 

ZOOTOPIA 2 runs 108 minutes. It was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard.

The voice cast includes Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Shakira, Danny Trejo, Bonnie Hunt, Macaulay Culkin, Auli'i Cravalho, and more.

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