“Zootopia 2” was released on Nov. 26, 2025, just in time for the Thanksgiving season. Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, “Zootopia 2” picks up soon after the last film and dives into Nick and Judy’s relationship as police partners while exploring further into the secrets of Zootopia and how it came to be.
The animation is even better than the last film, given the 10-year gap since the first and Disney’s move from Maya to Pixar’s in-house software. This world has never looked better, especially compared to Disney’s other animated sequels recently. The voice acting is phenomenal. Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Alan Tudyk, and Jenny Slate reprise their roles from the first film, with Andy Samberg, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, Danny Trejo, and even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a small, easily missed line joining the cast.
There are a few callbacks to both the first film and other movies. “The Silence of the Lambs” gets referenced with the previous antagonist, Mayor Bellwether, in prison, and there are “Ratatouille” and “The Shining” references too.
The world-building is on point and is the crux of the mystery in this film, giving audiences a clearer look at how Zootopia came to be. The first film tackles prejudice through the lens of the predator–prey dynamic, while the major conflict this time around is revisionist history and displacement through an animal metaphor.
One of the biggest critiques of the first movie was, “Where are the reptiles? Why aren’t they in Zootopia?”
Well, “Zootopia 2” answers that question and more. There’s a great exploration into the history of how Zootopia the city was created, which was lacking in the first movie. Ke Huy Quan, a newcomer to the cast and the voice of Gary De’Snake, is central to uncovering Zootopia’s biggest secret and why reptiles were missing in the first film and the subsequent series “Zootopia+” on Disney+.
Overall, “Zootopia 2” is a fun buddy-cop film that Disney and audiences need right now.
Disney has had a lot of misses with its recent animated sequels and live-action remakes with both audiences and box-office gains, but this one might finally break that curse, given the estimated $155 million the film is expected to earn over its first five days.
Critics are adoring this jump back into the animal world Disney has crafted, giving the film 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.
There is something for everyone: kids, parents, and everyone in between.
