‘Zootopia 2’ review: Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin return for underpowered animated sequel

Dirs: Jared Bush and Byron Howard. US. 2025. 108mins

Although not as nimble at juggling action, comedy and commentary as the 2016 original, Zootopia 2 is a clever animation that banks on the bond between its mismatched animal cop partners. Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman return to voice, respectively, an uptight bunny and a rascally fox who take on their next big case, resulting in a whodunit plot that’s never especially engaging. But the characters’ continued navigation of their warring worldviews leads to an emotional finale that compensates for the rocky road to get there.

Frustratingly hit-or-miss in its humour

Rolling out globally from November 26, the Disney release will be eyeing Zootopia’s billion-dollar-plus worldwide gross. Wicked: For Good stands as the sequel’s chief competition over the Thanksgiving holidays in the US, but family audiences should respond favourably to Zootopia 2’s heartfelt message about accepting others’ differences. Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster and Andy Samberg join the cast and, even though it’s been nine years between instalments, the new film looks to enjoy a massive box-office bounty.

Zootopia 2 begins shortly after the events of the first picture, as rookie cop Judy Hopps (Goodwin) and reformed criminal Nick Wilde (Bateman) adjust to being partners on the Zootopia police force. They get involved in an investigation concerning a presumed dangerous snake named Gary (Quan), who has stolen a rare book owned by Zootopia’s wealthy and powerful Lynxley family, headed by ruthless patriarch Milton (David Strathairn). But Gary insists that, contrary to what the citizens of Zootopia believe, reptiles are not evil — and that the pilfered book will prove it. After Judy and Nick are framed by the family for a crime they didn’t commit, they go on the run with Gary to get to the bottom of a massive cover-up.

Co-directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard, who helmed Zootopia along with Rich Moore, return for this sequel, which is just as bright and colourful as its predecessor. As expected, Zootopia 2 contains a litany of animal-related puns courtesy of writer Bush, who imagines a universe in which, for example, the characters look up information online at Zoogle. But the new film is frustratingly hit-or-miss in its humour, especially as Judy and Nick continue their snappy banter from the first instalment. The bunny is still an overachieving, exacting cop while the fox remains a smart alec who loves to act blase about everything, but Bateman’s one-liners aren’t as wry as they were in Zootopia.

It’s also disappointing that Zootopia 2 hasn’t given its cop partners a better mystery to solve. The first film’s plot opened the door to a larger exploration of racism and xenophobia and, while Zootopia 2 does something similar, the story isn’t as fetching and the action sequences, although robust, aren’t nearly as exciting. But the investigation does help set the stage for the sequel’s crucial central idea, which is that Zootopia has long celebrated the fact that reptiles haven’t been seen in generations — those animals have been cruelly stereotyped as undesirable miscreants. Voiced with touching sweetness by Quan, the anxious but brave Gary seeks to put an end to that bigotry, just as Judy and Nick want to show their fellow officers that they deserve to be respected as cops.

While the sequel teaches meaningful lessons to younger viewers, their older siblings and parents are bombarded with all manner of cheeky pop-culture references in the hopes of eliciting a few chuckles. Bush and Howard pay tribute to everything from The Silence Of The Lambs to The Shining to various Disney and Pixar films, ensuring the homages are so blatant that none of them slips by the viewer.

Due to its underwhelming narrative engine, Zootopia 2 works best as a hangout film in which these cops and Gary (alongside Milton’s conscientious, disowned son Pawbert, voiced by Samberg) find common ground as outcasts. The picture really finds its groove once Judy and Nick’s lives are in danger, forcing them to drop the snarky banter and address their real feelings. If the Zootopia series is about looking past our biased assumptions about others, the new film makes the point most effectively as its two leads open up about their own shortcomings, allowing themselves to be vulnerable. Goodwin and Bateman are certainly most appealing when their characters are at their most genuine.