Zootopia 2 Review: Ginnifer Goodwin’s Judy Hopps and Jason Bateman’s Nick Wilde’s Winning Chemistry Hold This Entertaining But Familiar Sequel Together

So, how do you approach a sequel like Zootopia 2 nine years later, after the 2016 Oscar-winning original, which made its mark as one of the best animated features of the modern generation? Returning co-directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard could go the easy path by delivering more of the same typically happens to a sequel, or expanding the foundation of the first movie into a fresh direction. I was hopping — I mean, hoping — for the latter since the last thing I need is a sequel which prefers to play safe with the formula.

One thing is for sure: Zootopia 2 lacks the fresh angle that made the first movie such a contemporary classic that blends solid themes of prejudice and discrimination with an old-school detective story told in a buddy-movie angle. It does, however, manage to continue evolving the partnership between Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), who have since become friends and even work together in the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD).

The last time we met them, country bunny girl Judy overcame the challenges of standing on her own against the dominant species in the police force, unexpectedly teamed up with a reluctant con artist, Nick, to solve a crime, and even saved the day. Not to worry, though, since the sequel opens with a brief recap of what happened at the end of the first movie, leading to Judy and Nick getting all the media attention.

The once-mismatched duo is now police partners who trust each other, and kudos to Bush and Howard for solidifying Judy and Nick’s chemistry. It also helps that Goodwin and Bateman continue to bring enough charm and pathos to their iconic anthropomorphic characters. Bush, who also wrote the screenplay, retains the same genre hybrid of buddy movie and detective story combined, which has a few entertaining moments to keep me invested in this sequel. Here, Judy and Nick’s official case together revolved around them going undercover to crack the mystery surrounding a rarely-seen snake in the world of Zootopia, let alone a pit viper voiced by Ke Huy Quan as the sympathetic Gary De’Snake.

The introduction of Ke Huy Quan’s Gary De’Snake allows Bush and Howard to expand the first movie’s mammals-only population in the Zootopia metropolis with new environments, specifically a place called Marsh Market, dominated by assorted reptiles and pinnipeds, referring to semi-aquatic animals. The Marsh Market is like a whole new world unto itself, with credit going to production designer Cory Loftis for vividly realising its densely populated backdrop, complete with a pier and even subway-like water tube system for these animals to travel to and fro.

The overall animation is top-notch, right down to its minute details, where everything feels lived-in. And not to forget, Bush and Howard have a field day throwing in animal puns and pop-culture references, two of which have to do with a certain Pixar animation, and my personal favourite arrives late in the movie. Let’s just say it pays homage to a 1980s horror classic. Like the first movie, the sequel once again explores social commentary, this time related to colonialism and societal biases against the reptiles, to surprisingly mixed results. The detective mystery angle simply isn’t as intriguing as I expected it to be, especially for a sequel wanting to delve into the history of Zootopia.

The comedy is pretty much a hit-or-miss for me, with some of them looking as if the filmmakers are trying too hard to draw a few laughs (the recurring Zebros gag comes to mind). What’s missing the most is the much-needed emotional resonance among the strong cores that unified the first movie. It’s not like Zootopia 2 doesn’t incorporate emotional weight into the story, but the filmmakers execute it in a rather broad manner.

Again, it was mostly Judy and Nick’s chemistry that holds this sequel together, along with the aforementioned introduction of Marsh Market, and not to mention, a few colourful new characters, namely the unhinged conspiracy theorist beaver Nibbles Maplestick, voiced by Fortune Feimster. Remember to stick around until the end for a post-credits scene.