Spoiler warning: This review contains spoilers for “Zootopia 2” (2025) 

We recently watched “Zootopia 2” the week it was released, and it ended up being a strong sequel to the first movie. The film continues its sharp humor and playful tone, but it also expands to explore deeper themes such as prejudice and partnership. As people who loved “Zootopia” as young children, we didn’t walk in with much expectation, but we walked out of that theatre completely blown away.

Plot

The movie opens with Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde working as rookie police partners; Already you can see tension between the two characters. Judy’s instinct is to chase every criminal and lead in order to fix every problem, even if it costs her life. On the other hand, Nick has a more bleak and cautious outlook. He clearly expresses that one solved case wouldn’t magically fix society. These differences can even be seen by how neat Judy’s room is to how messy Nick’s is. These two opposing perspectives create a rift in their relationship, which becomes central to the story. While working together on a case of smuggling illegal products from overseas, Judy discovers reptile skin. This is where the story kicks off because reptiles had been banned from Zootopia for over 100 years following a vicious snake attack on an innocent animal. Together, Judy and Nick work to solve this case, despite Nick’s reluctance. A gala thrown by a powerful lynx family, the Lynxleys, and a mysterious pit viper named Gary De’Snake crashes the party in order to retrieve a book with mysterious importance. The situation spirals out of control and Judy and Nick are framed as fugitives, and have to work with a conspiracy theorist beaver named Nibbles Maplestick, Gary De’Snake and the black sheep of the Lynxley family named Pawbert in order to clear their names and find out the secrets behind reptiles, the book, and the Lynxley family. 

In our opinion, the plot of this story expands the Zootopia world in a way that is genuinely thoughtful. We get a better sense of how the different animals are able to coexist with each other. For example, the concept of “weather walls” that generate different biomes help explain how desert animals and tundra animals are able to live in one city. We thought this was a clever way to explain the absurdity of drastically different animals living in one city. Furthermore, the plot introduces a different setting called “Marsh Market”, where all of the sea lions, seals, walruses, and dolphins live. Although this type of environment isn’t realistic, it does add more depth to the story and allows Judy and Nick to discover where the reptile refuge is located. Other parts of the movie didn’t make much sense, for example the heat sensing snake. Gary De’Snake was a heat sensing snake, which does resonate with reality, however as soon as he was in the Tundratown, it was unrealistic that the only thing keeping him from death was a scarf. We really enjoyed how the story also incorporated many jokes that filled the theatre with laughter and made allusions to other movies, such as “Ratatouille”. Allusions to real life were made as well, including small attributions. For example, the “ZNN” channel, which provides all of Zootopia’s news, is like CNN. They also included adult references such as “Burning Mammal”. Not only this, but we loved how they incorporated and explored an important theme. The storyline cleverly used animal allegory to discuss subjugation of races, where powerful people (the Lynxley family) push out and marginalize minority groups (“Marsh Market” and reptiles). This theme felt especially important to explore, and it was amazing to see how a Disney movie could reflect social issues in the modern world.

Characters

We also enjoyed how the characters were portrayed in this story. Judy and Nick, the central characters, both underwent a well-deserved character arc. While in the first movie they were struggling with the idea of even coexisting with each other, this movie was more intimate with them exploring friendship. While Judy and Nick’s relationship did not divulge past the friendship, they did ultimately confess that they were each other’s pack, bonded for life. Specifically, Judy had to confront how her determination almost turned into tunnel vision, especially when she dismissed Nick’s ideas and opinions in favor of acting quickly and solving a case. Nick had to overcome his instinct to only survive and groundedness, and open up to a more hopeful mindset. Especially when they went into the climate wall and the supporting antagonist Pawbert revealed his true nature. This plot twist showed a vulnerable side to the main characters, with Nick solely wanting to find Judy while she was fearing for his life. We also thought that their back-and-forth arguments added a realistic aspect to the film, something that anyone in a relationship with someone could relate to.

The supporting characters of “Zootopia 2” also made it more interesting. We thought that the conspiracy theorist beaver Nibbles Maplestick immediately stood out. The powerful voice acting done by Fortune Feimster added a lot of energy and humor that made the scenes enjoyable and memorable. The film also introduced new police officer partners, such as the Zebros, who added a lot of humor to every scene they were in. We also loved how this movie also added a touch of nostalgia to viewers of the previous “Zootopia” movie when they reintroduced the hilarious sloth Flash Slothmore and the evil sheep mayor Dawn Bellwether. We also appreciated the full-circle moments of characters. For example, Jesús, a plumed basilisk, was introduced in the middle of the movie, living in secrecy in an abandoned ship. However, at the end of the movie, there was a scene where Jesús was not comfortably integrated into a life out of hiding with non-reptiles. However, one thing we wished for was more screen time for Zootopia’s new mayor Brian Winddancer. A famous actor who turned to politics, Winddancer provided comedy and showed how government officials can be easily manipulated. Even though almost all of his scenes were hilarious, especially his movie-style kick near the end of the movie that wiped out the Lynxley family, we thought it would have been nice to see him play a larger role in the movie. 

Animation

In our opinion, the animation was consistently impressive, with detailed environments and especially expressive character designs and facial expressions. The movie takes the time to explore parts of Zootopia that we didn’t see in the previous movie. Especially with these different biomes added, it was impeccable how the styles for each of the areas was different, reflecting on the animals that lived there. Each location had its own colors, textures and distinct features, which added to the sense that Zootopia was truly a complex place rather than just a plain background for the movie.

Overall, we thought that “Zootopia 2” was a meaningful sequel to the first “Zootopia” movie, rather than a simple continuation. It strengthens the main characters, expands the universe, and engages the readers in a plot that is not only humorous but also explores deeper social problems. This movie was a joy to watch over Thanksgiving break and we really loved the expansion of this franchise. 

On this blog, members of the Carmel High School chapter of the Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists (and the occasional guest writer) produce curations of all facets of popular culture, from TV shows to music to novels to technology. We hope our readers always leave with something new to muse over. Click here to read more from MUSE.