Zootopia 2 AKA Zootropolis 2 (2025)
It is not unusual for Disney to change film titles when marketing them outside of the US. In 2016 they renamed the animated feature film Zootopia to Zootropolis in the UK and Europe to avoid trademark conflicts with other existing businesses. For example there is a Danish zoo which already holds the “Zootopia” name. Similarly, in Germany there is a children’s book which caused copyright conflict, which led to the film being released under the title Zoomania. Such changes, although practical for legal reasons, can sometimes cause a degree of confusion. Especially as there are numerous, low budget productions companies that go out of their way to produce similarly titled “mockbusters” whenever there are big, tentpole, releases. So for clarity, Zootopia 2 has been released in the UK as Zootropolis 2.
After the events of the first film, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are now officially partners at the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD). However, after an operation goes awry, due to Hopps’ over eager nature, Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) sidelines them. After finding some shed skin, Judy begins to believe there might be a snake in Zootopia. Nick is sceptical as snakes and other reptiles have been exiled from the city since an incident at its founding. Further clues lead the pair to the Zootenial Gala, celebrating the centennial anniversary of the city’s founding. It soon becomes apparent that the founding family of Lynxes have a dark secret and that a grave miscarriage of justice has been covered up for years. However, Judy and Nick are framed and are forced to go on the run.
Despite a 9 year gap between the release of the first film and this sequel, Zootropolis 2 is immediately engaging mainly due to the strength and appeal of the central characters. The jokes come thick and fast, with plenty of slapstick humour and sight gags. As ever with animated films, action scenes are very frenetic and demand your concentration to see all that is going on. The screenplay by Jared Bush contains the usual pop culture references and clever asides for adult viewers. Hence we have clever homages to The Silence of the Lambs and The Shining. The voice cast is sumptuous and sprawling, ranging from artists such as Shakira and Ed Sheeran, Alan Tudyk, John Leguizamo and Jenny Slate. Guessing the identity of a celebrity voice actor is part of the fun of the film. It took me a few minutes to identify the ever excellent Danny Trejo, as Jesús, a plumed basilisk lizard.
The story, although entertaining, is a little drawn out with several lengthy set pieces unnecessarily expanding its running time. However, this is standard operational procedure these days for films of this kind. Although not as novel as the first film, Zootropolis 2 is engaging, funny and handles sentiment very well. It is interesting how a lot of mainstream Hollywood films are currently exploring traditional themes and focusing on subtexts of equality, inclusion and social cohesion. All of which seems to fly in the face and provide a counter narrative to aspects of contemporary US politics. As for the usual bi-partisan criticism and pushback that occurs when such material is present in mainstream entertainment, it has not harmed the box office returns for Zootropolis 2. The film has earned globally $1.475 billion, having cost $150 million to make. So much for “go woke, go broke”.
