Zootopia 2 - Movie Review

The Movie: Zootopia 2

The Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard

The Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, Nate Torrence, Shakira

The Story: Brave rabbit cop Judy Hopps and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde, team up again to crack a new case, the most perilous and intricate of their careers.

The Rating: 7 / 10

The Review:

Wow, it's crazy to think that Zootopia came out nine years ago already and now, here we are, finally able to enjoy a sequel that is just as fun, just as action packed, and just as enjoyable. Yes, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are back, once again voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman who I believe make up one of the best buddy cop duos we may have ever seen in any cinematic format. Jared Bush and Byron Howard also return as directors for this second installment of what I really hope becomes a franchise that doesn't take nearly as long to give us more.

The overall story is pretty straight forward with more nefarious shenanigans coming from animal type characters that use dastardly tactics that mirror things that take place here in our own wild reality, just in a much more comedic and entertaining way. The animatio nis of course just as bold and bright and vivid as the first movie and on par with what we've come to expect from modern Disney animation so watching this movie on a big screen in a theater should definitely be a priority. The screening I attended was not in 3D so not able to speak on that but I'm sure it looks great in whatever format you choose.

One of the things I love about this franchise is the endless supply of inside jokes, easter eggs, and poking fun at just about anything and everything in it's path, sometimes even within the Disney universe of properties. Being able to have Zootopia versions of just about anything from our world makes watching the movie really fun with something to notice in just about every scene and lots of stuff in the background that will need more than one viewing to catch even some of. I can't want to watch it again, especially at home when I can pause to look for everything that's been thrown in.

If there's one thing I would say might be a fault to this movie as that it very much feels like a retooling of the original as the characters go down a very similar and familiar path just told in a different way with different characters. I hate to say it, but it almost feels like the story was workshopped to death and run through AI programs to make sure it's a ceowd pleaser, which it is, and for the most part there's nothing wrong with that here, it just feels a little hollow and not nearly as special as the first time around.

That being said, revisiting this world was very much something I have been looking forward to and I left the theater very satisfied with the results. The story is fun, the characters are great, and the messaging is timely and leaves you feeling happy and hopeful. Shakira is even back with a new song and with a slightly expanded role in the movie which was really fun to see and hear. As I mentioned, I'm sure there will be another Zootopia movie in the works soon, I just hope they don't take another nine years to get it in front of our faces.