Zootopia 2
★★★
To say my girls were excited for Zootopia 2 is an understatement. The first movie lived in heavy rotation in our house long before Disney+ even existed. I still remember buying the Blu-ray and popping it into the minivan DVD player (yes, the peak of 2016 luxury) while I “watched” the movie through audio alone from the front seat. At this point, I probably know the original Zootopia more as an audiobook than an actual film.
So expectations were high for one of the big family-film successes of 2025 thus far.
As a family outing, Zootopia 2 checks nearly every box. My teenager really enjoyed it, but the sweet spot was Hayden—fourth grade, finally at that perfect age where the “low-key jokes” land but slapstick still absolutely destroys her. Watching her belly-laugh at the physical comedy was honestly half the fun.
Visually, the movie is gorgeous. The original looked great, and the sequel somehow feels even more colorful. But the real strength remains the voice work. Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde continues to be pitch-perfect, and Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps) matches him beat for beat. Their banter is still the glue holding this world together, and the film leans on that relationship often.
I enjoyed the movie, but maybe not quite as much as some people seem to. Not because it’s bad, far from it, but because everything feels very precise. Nothing in the story, jokes or character arcs feels out of place…but maybe a little too in place. Like the movie came straight off an assembly line engineered for maximum efficiency. It works, but I didn’t feel a big burst of originality.
The political undertones are back too. The first film’s messaging was sharp but subtle; here it’s more blunt. I completely agree with what the movie is saying (no issue there) but artistically, I wish it trusted the audience a bit more. Moments that were metaphor in the first movie feel closer to thesis statements in this one.
Something else happened I didn’t expect: Zootopia 2 fully leans into crime-procedural territory. There were long stretches that felt like I was watching an animated episode of Matlock or Elsbeth. Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if Disney+ announced a “case of the week” series for Judy and Nick tomorrow. It works…but it also makes parts of the plot feel stretched to fill the runtime.
Still, the film moves fast. Too fast to ever get bored. It bounces through new locations constantly, and the world-building remains rich and playful. The new characters help too—Ke Huy Quan as Gary De’Snake and Fortune Feimster as Nibbles Maplestick are great additions, and I’ll always show up for Andy Samberg (Pawbert Lynxley).
The jokes rely heavily on animal puns (as expected). Like all dad-joke-adjacent humor, some bits fall flat but plenty land. And there are a couple of standout sequences that truly made me laugh. The reptile world? Spot-on. It nails all the things that make people instinctively squirm around reptiles, and it does so with great comic timing. And there’s another scene featuring a walrus that had the whole theater rolling. It’s not quite the iconic DMV sloth moment, but it understands rhythm, timing and pure silliness extremely well.
Even if Zootopia 2 didn’t blow me away, it felt good to have a true family film in theaters again, something we could all enjoy together, without caveats. I genuinely don’t understand why Hollywood doesn’t make more movies like this; they clearly print money when done well.
One small side note before I wrap:
There’s a jail-cell scene featuring small characters who could absolutely slip right through the bars at any moment. This bothered me more than it probably should have. But once you see it… you can’t unsee it.
