“Zootopia 2” Roars to Life
Disney has been in the business of sequels and remakes for quite a while now. Take a look at their upcoming slate of releases and it’s clear they don’t show any signs of slowing down. One such sequel is the newly released Zootopia 2. The original film came out nine years ago, so there was some inherent trepidation around the idea of returning to this world. In the years between films, Disney decided to bet on the longevity of these characters. They built a Zootopia-themed area in Shanghai Disneyland with a dark ride called Zootopia: Hot Pursuit. Stateside, the Florida Disney theme park got Zootopia: Better Zoogether!, a new 3D show. The question, though, is whether Zootopia 2 warrants its existence nine years after the original.
One week after the events of Zootopia, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are partners at the Zootopia Police Department. With the last movie’s crime-fighting success under their belts, they believe there’s no mystery too big for them to solve. That is, until they find themselves with information that will, once again, upend everything they know to be true about Zootopia. Rumors begin to swirl that there’s a snake slithering around the city in pursuit of an old journal that explains the science behind Zootopia’s weather walls. This invention, credited to Zootopia’s founder, Ebenezer Lynxley, is what allows animals native to a variety of climates to live in harmony. When Judy and Nick meet Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan), he’s adamant that he’s the good guy, but they don’t know what to believe.
courtesy of Walt Disney Studios
Under the guise of this crime caper is a story of displacement and gentrification. Zootopia as Judy and Nick know it is without reptiles of any kind, and they’ve never questioned that. Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster), the local conspiracy theorist, is their guide to the hidden reptile world, and eventually the scales, no pun intended, fall from their eyes once again. Zootopia 2 tackles propaganda and fear-mongering in a way that’s simplified, but still impactful for its young audience. It provides a way for adults to explain far larger concepts to their children, because they now have a basic understanding that people in power may not always have the best of intentions. This is why children’s media exists. The real world can feel incomprehensibly large, too big to grasp, but Zootopia 2 is contained. It’s a Trojan Horse used to present social issues in a fun, humor-filled manner.
For pun-lovers, Zootopia 2 is a feast. An entire second viewing could, and should, be dedicated merely to the blink-and-you-missed-it animal puns and visual gags. Nick scrolls through his streaming service of choice, Huluzoo, and is torn between such options as Ham-ilton, Die Herd, and Star Roars. A personal favorite is the homage to Silence of the Lambs with the villain from the first film, Dawn Bellwether (Jenny Slate), who is, coincidentally, a sheep. There are references to The Shining, an extremely layered moment dedicated to Rataouille, and a plethora of cameo voices that may go entirely unnoticed.
Zootopia 2 is a rare instance where a sequel takes its source material and pushes it to a new, interesting place. The idea of Zootopia as a city offers a multitude of avenues for the filmmakers to pursue, but it’s admirable that they continue to tell stories about prejudice, oppression of marginalized people animals, and how the systems we’re raised to trust can be bought by the rich. Throughout the film, Nick tells Judy that this mystery is too big for them. That “it’s not worth dying for.” Judy counters that it is, that even if they fail, it’s better to try to expose the truth and better their world. Zootopia 2 is about compassion giving way to bravery and the pursuit of the truth.
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