The big surprise of Zootopia was that it presented itself as little more than a fairly generic cartoon about funny talking animals, but delivered a pretty insightful message about intersectionality. And it did it with more nuance and maturity than a lot of material targeted at adults. It touched on ideas of culture being distinct from race, coexistence not requiring assimilation, and how well-meaning prejudices are still prejudices.
Zootopia 2 checks off all the boxes of a studio-mandated sequel. It’s got all the familiar story beats, it’s full of gags that are so broad that anyone can get them, it’s got new locations that are ripe for potential theme park expansions or cruise ship attractions, its detective story is straightforward, and you’re never more than four minutes away from being reminded what the current objective is. Plus, just about every character in the first movie appears here in at least a cameo. Including the unsettlingly hot tiger go-go dancers.
But at the same time it’s delivering on its Required Content, it’s constantly adding in clever touches to assert that yes, it actually does have a reason to exist. That the filmmakers have aspirations beyond making a successor to a marketable movie that surprised everyone by how popular it was in China.
For instance: there’s a scene where main characters Hopps and Wilde go to a group therapy session for dysfunctional partnerships. We go around the room seeing the various unlikely pairings, and then we see an elephant who suddenly freaks out when he sees his mouse partner sitting next to him.
It’s fine as a gag, perfectly well executed. But the part that charmed me was the mouse’s reaction. He just gives a gesture that silently says, “What the hell, man? What’s wrong with you?!” It was almost as if the movie took its commitment to diversity so seriously that it tried to cater to every sense of humor.
The message in Zootopia 2 is about a PG-rated funny-animal version of ethnic cleansing, committed by the rich and powerful to further their own interests. It’s present throughout, but it’s not quite as pointed as the message in the first movie, so it feels slightly de-fanged as a result.1No offense intended to Gary De’Snake.
I can’t really fault it for that, though, since it’s really not an issue with any complexity or nuance. It’s something that even children should understand, which is why it’s so upsetting that so many grown-ass adults keep choosing to vote for political campaigns built on brazenly and shamelessly stoking anti-immigrant sentiment.
I suppose the only way it could’ve been more direct is if a rabbit had looked directly into the camera and said, “And that’s why Stephen Miller, JD Vance, and Donald Trump are worthless, cowardly sacks of shit.” Although since a bunch of dimwitted dipshits are going to be flooding the internet with their pre-written whining about how it’s “too woke” regardless, it seems like maybe Disney should’ve just gone ahead and included that. What do they have to lose?
Zootopia 2 does add a layer of depth to its message about immigrants, with its character arc about Judy Hopps always feeling driven to prove herself to other people. It adds commentary about model minorities, something that is both painfully relevant2Almost certainly much more relevant now than when the film was being made and is often lost, with well-meaning attempts to show compassion for immigrants that still inevitably think of them as other. I appreciated seeing the movie explicitly assert that no one needs to prove that they deserve respect.
Honestly, my favorite thing about Zootopia 2 is when it goes into an extended movie reference that I hadn’t seen coming, and it executes on it perfectly.3Sure, it’s frequently referenced. But the walking animation, lighting, everything is just spot on.
But my other favorite thing is that it satisfies every constraint of an animated movie designed to appeal to as wide and as global an audience as possible, and then goes on to be more clever than it needs to, and deliver a message that is more mature and relevant than it needs to.
Who knows, maybe some of the people who flat-out refuse to fix their hearts might finally have some sense driven into them if it’s delivered by a cute rabbit, fox, and snake.