Your innocent 8-year-old and furry teen cousins were both right. The one movie the whole family should go see this Thanksgiving is Zootopia 2, after it scored near-universal positive reviews ahead of its theatrical opening on November 27. Some of the critics just don’t get why it’s so … sexy, though.
Judy Hopps (a bunny voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (a fox voiced by Jason Bateman), partners in the police academy, are back to look for Gary De-Snake (voiced by newcomer Ke Huy Quan), a slithery reptile in town who causes chaos. The sequel, directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, again features positive lessons about acceptance and plenty of jokes. Critics are giving two paws up to the film’s messaging — even in the face of Disney’s rollbacks to DEI policies in a Trump-dominated culture — but are also divided by the interspecies chemistry between the two leads. Below, find the roars and raves for Zootopia 2.
“I am not a furry, and I would also like to apologize to the rich and varied furry community for reducing its subculture to horniness, but there is something about the sequel’s combination of almost-acknowledged romance and zoological specificity that feels hilariously targeted. Zootopia 2, which was directed by Zootopia’s Jared Bush and Byron Howard, with Bush writing the script, follows the same pattern as the first film, giving Judy and Nick little time to rest on their laurels before sending them off to investigate another convoluted conspiracy involving some of Zootopia’s most powerful citizens … At the same time, just as advancements in digital animation allow us to appreciate the detail of every strand of fur on its protagonists’ faces, the film can’t help but give their characterizations more real-world tangibility, too, with Nick talking about how he deflects owing to childhood trauma and Judy admitting that she habitually puts herself at risk to prove her worth in the face of stereotypes. The goofy outcome of this tension is that Judy and Nick’s closeness starts to seem not like that of two unexpected friends but of two characters who are in L-U-R-V-E love.” — Alison Willmore, Vulture
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“Where Zootopia was about these two learning to trust one another, its sequel concerns the trickier goal of mutual respect. That may not sound as promising, though Bush (to whom the screenplay is credited) approaches Nick and Judy’s dysfunctional partnership as if they were newlyweds still adjusting to one another’s idiosyncrasies — a rich recipe for constant screwball disputes. These movies are comedies first and crime-film homages second, but it’s their tertiary value as social commentary that makes the franchise so indispensable: Behind the laughs are teachable moments.” — Peter Debruge, Variety
“Just when you feel sure enough that Zootopia 2 has ditched the unwieldy social allegory that coursed through the original, the sequel starts to unspool an even knottier one. What seems to have calmed into a standard buddy cop movie instead becomes a story about discriminatory city planning, fear-mongering toward minorities, and a group of refugees who were forcibly displaced from their land.” — Brandon Yu, New York Times
“That’s not to imply that Zootopia 2 isn’t funny, zippy, and highly enjoyable — it is indeed — but it’s also got the kind of heart that has too long seemed to be missing from other Disney animated offerings. There’s a weight to the messaging of the film. There’s real care behind the bond between Nick and Judy. There’s an absolutely incredible The Shining montage that will delight parents and terrify children for decades to come. Worth the wait? Yes, and we can’t wait for the next one to take wing (wink).” — Kate Erbland, IndieWire
“Goodwin and Bateman are perfection as Judy and Nick, whose increasingly affectionate relationship forms the heart of the film despite the fact that Nick steadfastly maintains that foxes are solitary animals. Their dynamic is both touching and funny, with things definitely heading in a romantic direction in the inevitable next installment teased in the mid-credits scene. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another decade for it to arrive.” — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
