Zootopia 2

• Titled Zootropolis 2 in some markets
• Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard
• November 13, 2025 (El Capitan Theatre) / November 26, 2025 (US)

Voice Cast

• Judy Hopps-Ginnifer Goodwin
• Nick Wilde-Jason Bateman
• Gary De’Snake-Ke Huy Quan
• Nibbles Maplestick-Fortune Feimster
• Pawbert Lynxley-Andy Samberg
• Milton Lynxley-David Strathairn
• Chief Bogo-Idris Elba
• Gazelle-Shakira
• Mayor Brian Winddancer-Patrick Warburton
• Dr. Fuzzby-Quinta Brunson
• Jesús-Danny Trejo
• Benjamin Clawhauser-Nate Torrence
• Bonnie Hopps-Bonnie Hunt
• Stu Hopps-Don Lake
• Captain Hoggbottom-Michelle Gomez
• Truffler-David Fane
• Gene Zebraxton and Gene Zebrowski-Roman Reigns and CM Punk respectively
• Bloats-Stephanie Beatriz
• Higgins-Wilmer Valderrama
• Bûcheron, Chèvre-Jean Reno
• Duke Weaselton, Molt Kohl-Alan Tudyk as:
• Cattrick Lynxley-Macaulay Culkin
• Kitty Lynxley-Brenda Song
• Antony Snootley-John Leguizamo
• Finnick-Tiny Lister
• Mr. Big-Maurice LaMarche
• Fru Fru-Leah Latham
• Flash Slothmore-Raymond S. Persi
• Dawn Bellwether-Jenny Slate
• Yax-Tommy Chong
• George Purrnacleo-George Pennacchio
• Gram Gram-June Squibb
• Little Judith-Cecily Strong
• Michael J.-Michael J. Fox

Judy and Nick follow a pit viper across Zootopia while trying to clear their names after being framed.

Zootopia 2 is a sequel that takes place almost directly after the first film. Less than a day from all indications but based on the ending of Zootopia it doesn’t jive and kinda rewrites that ending. Not 100% but significantly. An irritant of mine in any film but not one ultimately harmful.

Immediately the story leaps immediately into another mystery making you question how crime laden the city of Zootopia is. Eventually it gets worse in that area, but I will get into that later. The characters and everything fall quickly into the beats established in the first film which is great. It does not try to reinvent the wheel there. It just tries to build on it.

In short order we’re introduced to the mystery in that reptiles haven’t been in the area of Zootopia in over a century. Did they slip in a commentary about red lining? Maybe but much like so much in the first in this movie doesn’t make it obvious to the point it takes you out of the story.

Judy and Nick, after botching an investigation, are put into partner’s therapy because they’re different species. In true Judy fashion she cannot let what happened go and it all leads into a mystery surrounding the centennial of Zootopia and a long hidden secret.

Not only is it a mystery, but the story through a cartoon lens looks at biases and maybe even racial bigotry. Here the bigotry comes from the Lynxley family whose grandfather is the credited creator of the Zootopian weather walls. That family repeatedly mentions their superiority to other species and openly disdain other creatures while hiding behind the family legacy of Zootopia’s promise. Is that some kind of racial commentary on the US? Possibly but if it is it goes down a lot smoother than many others like it have.

It makes the usual pop-culture references and Flintstones-esque recognizable elements of everyday life. There’s a white polar bear with a scarf drinking a soda much like the Coke bears and I would bet even money that we get not one but two Silence of the Lambs references. Both being when we see Dawn Bellweather: once in her cell and later on in her failed escape attempt of fleeing elsewhere. She is one of several characters from the original that show.

As Nick and Judy work to solve the mystery they are also working on their relationship. I’m not sure why because their dynamic here is not really that different from Zootopia. It just caused them to wreck a vehicle. Somehow that made them a dysfunctional menace, but it is just bickering.

Joining Nick and Judy in this is a pit viper named Gary De’Snake and a beaver named Nibbles Maplestick. Gary starts out as their quarry when in reality he is seeking to clear his family name as his grandmother, the true creator of the weather wall technology, was framed for the murder of the Lynxley maid. Nibbles is framed as a crazed conspiracy theorist podcaster but is regularly proven right so…

It is clear the Lynxleys pull the strings of power in Zootopia. Speaking of Mayor Lionheart, despite trying to contain a situation he is still no longer in office having been replaced by Mayor Brian Winddancer essentially at the behest of the Lynxleys. How docile are the locals that they take whatever is pushed on them? Some kind of commentary on voters?

Winddancer a vapid former actor is all in really on the plot to expand their territory. This is a sharp contrast of Mayor Lionheart, who put all the crazy predators in cells. Yes, it was to protect his image, but it was also to treat them. He did have a doctor working on that. This guy is a straight up lackey of thugs, but he gets much more of a pass from the writers and his fictitious public.

Humor comes fast much like the last one. You might miss some of it, but nothing is at such a study pace it steps on the predecessor. Jokes are derived from the situation without mocking or undercutting something. The script plays things a little sillier than before. Not as a comedic goof but in comparison much of what you got in Zootopia wasn’t played directly for laughs but the absurdity of the situation made it funny. Here things are meant to be humorous such as the moment with the lizard Jesús.

Contributions from Nick and Judy were about an equal amount to helping solve the situation earlier. Now Nick’s abilities only get them as far as seeing that something hinky is going on. It’s more Judy’s honesty and the honesty of Gary that save the day. He doesn’t even properly navigate the less than nice areas that they travel through. The characters of Gary and Nibbles are a little underserved and not nearly as well built up as any of the other characters here. It would have helped with the reveal of Pawbert.

There of themes of belonging or feeling like you belong. Pawbert feels like he is disconnected from the other Lynxleys. Gary wants to clear his family name and have a home. It even works in a hint of the right and wrong way to belong. It’s an imaginative movie that has fun with its concept while saying something. Not necessarily a lesson movie, but an observational story that gets past any of your preconceived notions with the use of anthropomorphic animals.

Zootopia 2 isn’t a bad follow up to the first film. Weaker on characterization and I think Nick isn’t nearly as capable of a character as he was before, but still an enjoyable movie with a great mystery.