Review: 'Zootopia 2' a worthy follow-up and the best Disney animated film in recent years

Disney Animation, 2025.

It's been nearly a decade since the release of the Academy Award-winning Disney animated film, "Zootopia," a movie that defied all expectations and went on to gross over one billion dollars worldwide. It was praised not only for being a fun family film with many memorable scenes and characters (who can forget Flash the sloth?), but for its depth, exploring themes of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. (Read my review of the first "Zootopia" film here).

With "Zootopia 2," Disney has come a long way from its cash-grab, direct-to-video sequels from a few decades ago. This is a worthy, insightful, and still fully accessible follow-up that reunites all of our favorite characters from the first film while adding in some solid newcomers. It builds on the deeper themes of the original, exploring empathy, trust and how history is often written by the winners. Mix in an all-star voice cast and vibrant, colorful animation, and Disney has delivered one of its best animated features in years.

Grade: A-

Bunny detective Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her partner the sly fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) have become celebrities in Zootopia after bringing down the corrupt mayor from the first film. But the duo is getting a bit cocky, and their insubordination relegates them to the sidelines as a new mystery hits the city. It involves a snake and a reptile community that has historically been shunned by the main population. This leads Hopps and Wilde to go undercover in some new areas of Zootopia that we've yet to explore, not just to save the city but to redeem themselves in the eyes of their boss, ZPD Chief Bogo (Idris Elba).

One of the most brilliant aspects of "Zootopia" and "Zootopia 2," is that the filmmakers have created such a rich world that I could see this becoming one of Disney's strongest franchises. This doesn't play as "the continuing adventures" of Hopps and Wilde, but as a film with purpose, much like the first chapter. Favorite characters (yes, Flash returns) appear but are not milked dry. New characters and species add surprising layers as the animals of Zootopia continue to show humans that harmony is possible despite our differences.

What impressed me most is how the film works on multiple levels without ever talking down to its audience. Younger kids will lock into the bright visuals, the quick jokes, and the momentum of the mystery, but adults will immediately notice the sharper commentary tucked just beneath the surface. There are jokes aimed squarely at grown-ups, and the themes about who gets heard, who gets overlooked, and how communities rewrite their own stories land with surprising weight. Too many animated films simplify themselves to stay “safe,” but this one trusts viewers of every age to pick up what they’re ready for. It plays fun for kids and smart for adults, often in the same scene.​

"Zootopia 2" might have been inevitable after the success of the first film, but it feels necessary here in 2025. Animation may be the best way to deliver such difficult messages in today's climate, and it's encouraging to see that Disney isn't resting on its laurels.

Grade: A-

Genre: Animation, Family.
Run Time: 1 hour 48 minutes.
Rated PG.

Starring (voices of): Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Fortune Feimster, Ke Huy Quan, David Strathairn, Andy Samberg, Shakira, Quinta Brunson, Patrick Warburton, Idris Elba, Danny Trejo, Roman Reigns, CM Punk.

Directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard ("Zootopia," "Encanto").

"Zootopia 2" is in theaters everywhere on Wednesday, November 26th, 2025.