Early in Zootopia 2, the Zootopia Police Department celebrates ambitious bunny cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her fox con-artist-turned-police-partner Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) for their role in ending stereotyping forever. It’s a tongue-in-cheek way to remind viewers of the core theme of carnivore-vs.-herbivore prejudice at the heart of 2016’s Zootopia, while also acknowledging the continuing interspecies bigotry that justify a sequel.
Discrimination still very much exists within the multi-species animal city of Zootopia, and the duo of Hopps and Wilde are still fighting it. But returning directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard once again blend the high-concept political messaging about embracing diversity with a blitz of visual gags, pop-culture references, and endearingly silly characters that ensure Zootopia 2 never feels too preachy. The film moves at a breakneck pace, driven by several major chase scenes and a flood of jokes that come so fast that even if one doesn’t land, there’s something else to laugh at a moment later.
As the first ever rabbit-and-fox team in the ZPD, Hopps and Wilde are immediately deemed dysfunctional by the partner pairings that are both of the same species. (Roman Reigns and CM Punk embody the ideal partnership as the perpetually hoof-bumping zebra team who call themselves the Zeebros.) Hopps is still obsessed with proving herself, defying the orders of the stern Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) and putting herself at the center of high-profile investigations. She’s so determined to demonstrate that she and Wilde work as a team, she ignores her partner’s input. The movie mines plenty of humor and pathos from the smug fox transitioning from dryly joking about the situation to showing genuine concern for Hopps’ well-being.
As with the best cop protagonists, Hopps is willing to directly clash with people in power in order to search for the truth. She puts her hard-earned career on the line to get to the bottom of the case of the pit viper Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan of Loki and Everything Everywhere All at Once), who crashes a party for Zootopia’s centennial thrown by the city’s wealthy founding family, the Lynxleys. Gary’s insistence that he’s just trying to help his family come home leads Hopps to interrogate the city’s history.
Just as Zootopia’s examination of the darkest impulses of populism became an accidental anti-Trump allegory during his first presidential campaign, Zootopia 2’s focus on stolen land and the displacement of peoples viewed as other or inferior is likely to prove controversial, coming out right before Thanksgiving. Bush’s script approaches the themes in the gentlest terms — we’re told most reptiles now live somewhere overseas — but at a time when Disney’s movies have been leaning pro-monarchy or just relying heavily on inoffensive nostalgia, it’s refreshing to see filmmakers with the courage to start a conversation.
The stakes of Hopps’ mission are bluntly illustrated in the contrast between Gary, a relentless optimist who gently asks “Permission to hug?” before wrapping himself around new friends, and the villainous Lynxleys. Bush and Byron continue to pile in references to other Disney films — there are hilarious nods to Ratatouille and Lady and the Tramp — along with pop-culture nods that are just for the grown-ups in the audience. The Lynxleys are basically an extended parody of Succession, with David Strathairn doing an uncanny Brian Cox impression as the domineering patriarch Milton Lynxley, perpetually flanked by his sycophantic, smartphone-obsessed children Cattrick (Macaulay Culkin) and Kitty (Brenda Song). Milton is especially terrifying when dressing down his awkward youngest son Pawbert (Andy Samberg), or intimidating the city’s vapid new former-action-star mayor, a stallion named Brian Winddancer (Patrick Warburton, basically reprising his role as Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove.)
While the themes are heavy, the plot literally races along through a series of spectacular chase scenes showing off Zootopia’s array of creatures and environments. There’s a gnu marching band, a Burning Man-style desert rave where pop star Gazelle (Shakira) shows off her new highly catchy tune, and a waterslide highway system for amphibious creatures. It’s all rendered in bright colors, with so much detail that it seems like you could watch the film several times and just keep noticing things going on in the background. The visuals also shine in quieter moments, like the simple absurdity of the hulking water buffalo Bogo sipping a rodent-sized cocktail, or the warm, radiant hues used to demonstrate how Gary sees the world through his pit-viper heat sensors.
Zootopia 2 isn’t as narratively tight as the original, where the conflict between Hopps and Wilde was more tightly tied to the greater plot. But it’s just as ambitious in its earnest effort to drive home a big moral message by inviting viewers into an incredibly detailed, vibrant world. With an excellent voice cast, impressive visuals, and humor for every age and sensibility, it’s a perfect movie to share with the family over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Zootopia 2 opens in theaters November 26.
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