Zootopia 2 Review: A sizeable step-up

Warning: spoilers for Zootopia 2 ahead.

Dang man, what the heck, as Kevin's parents would say in Home Alone: "we did it again!" This movie wasn't a complete mess, and was an actually worthy sequel!

Anyway, Zootopia 2 arrived to bring us back into the world of Zootopia. I went to go see this on Christmas Adam with my aunt and uncle, my little cousins, and my mom. It was such a great theater experience. So here are my thoughts.

I really liked what I did recently with my Kung Fu Panda ranking that I made for my best friend over on Letterboxd, so I'm gonna start doing that with more franchise movies. So I'm gonna tackle the movie's individual categories and say which parts are better and which are worse than the first Zootopia film.

Music - TIE

While I think I preferred the soundtrack by Michael Giacchino better in the second film (I loved the jazzy style of all the music), I really just think Zoo was such a downgrade to Try Everything as a song. So I'll give this category a tie. I think the score is more important than the Sharika songs, but also, Michael Giacchino's score wasn't disappointing at all like Zoo was so... yeah.

Villain - Zootopia 2

This is by far the biggest difference in quality between the two Zootopia movies, and it just makes this a far better film. While I actually do kind of like the Bellweather twist in a lot of ways in the first film, it could've used better (yet subtle) hints dropped throughout the movie that would've made it more satisfying. However, the villains here (including the inevitable twist villain that was actually pretty well-done here too) were just so much stronger. The twist villain only really works for me super well when there's another villain already behind the scenes, and the villains here were actually intimidating and made a lot of sense. This is definitely the biggest step-up in quality over the first film, and a major reason I prefer this film.

Protagonists - Zootopia 2

This film absolutely wins this category too. While I loved the dynamic between Judy and Nick in the first film, I love it even more here. While Nibbles Maplestick was one of the most hit-or-miss elements of the film, she still added a great dynamic. And Gary de'Snake was just a perfect character. Legit makes me want a pet snake now. A harmless one, of course, but dang, maybe I'm a snake guy. What the heck. This team of four was simply excellent, and I can't wait to see what else these characters do in the third film.

Action - Zootopia 2

The action sequences in this movie were just way too good. The first film had the awesome train sequence, which I still think beats anything in the second film, but overall, the second film just has way too many good ones. The scene where they are chasing Gary is absolutely gorgeous; the lodge's collapse was done really well; the opening was action-packed, et cetera. This movie has some of the best action sequences in any non-action-genre animated movie I can think of.

Mystery - Zootopia

The first movie was much more of a mystery than the second, and this was one of my favorite elements missing from Zootopia 2. This was the biggest miss in Zootopia 2 for me... I just wish there was a little more. There was some good here, like the heat pit viper uncovering the location of the Reptile Sector, but it was still just a little bit lacking.

Animation - Zootopia 2

The first movie is beautiful, but the second film is even more so. The scope, size, and number of different locations they had to animate for this film are just completely astonishing. Every place is so beautiful and distinct from the last. It's just insane how much work must've been put into this. I absolutely love this film's animation.

Humor - Zootopia 2

I think the first film had a more consistent lineup of jokes, whereas this film had higher highs and lower lows. Some jokes didn't land at all for me, but honestly, the ones that did were just too good. I usually prefer things with higher highs and lower lows than consistency, honestly. I'm more of a gambler in that way with my movies. Also, I enjoyed the self-referential Disney-animal puns and the homages to The Silence of the Lambs and The Shining. I know a lot of people didn't like the self-referential stuff, but that type of humor always gets me. Referential humor is always one of my favorite types of humor, hence why Psych makes me roll off the couch laughing... anyway...

Setting - Zootopia

This one is tough. There are so many amazing locations in the second film, and, honestly, these two films both have some of my favorite settings in any animated movie I've ever watched. But Zootopia itself is just such an amazing, beautiful city, and one of the best things ever created in animation, period. I just liked that more of Savanna Central was prevalent in the first film. The other places explored in the second film are fantastic, but I think the first one just has to win because it introduced the audience to this world.

Opening - Zootopia

I preferred the opening few scenes and such in the first. The chase at the beginning of this was awesome, but it's a hard sell to beat the introduction of the characters and Zootopia itself. Kind of the same reason I put the setting in 1 better, but... yeah. I've just got to give it to the original film for hooking me in so fast the first time. Seeing Zootopia for the first time is fantastic, and seeing Judy's upbringing is super cute and fun to watch.

Ending - Zootopia 2

While the song at the end isn't as good, of course, the ending of Zootopia 2 hit me more in the feels. While the capture of Bellweather and Nick's instatement into the police force was great, the ending of Zootopia 2 absolutely eclipses it. The beautiful scenes of the group hug with Gary de'Snake and the pen recording of Nick's voice both make it one of my favorite endings to a Disney movie. So beautiful.

Emotions - Zootopia 2

There are a couple of times I remember being a little emotional in the first film. Seeing Nick train to become a cop at the end brought a huge smile to my face, and seeing the predators free from injustice almost brought a tear to my eye because it just hits a little too close to home. The main emotional hook of the first film is when Judy quits the force after destroying Nick's heart. That part is so sad, and gets to you... But man, nothing even comes close to some of the scenes in the second film.

With better emotional beats, more characters, just-as-great commentary, and so many fantastic action set pieces, Zootopia 2 presents a better story than the original film.

Multiple scenes in this film are so powerful. The best scene in the movie, honestly, is when Nick and Judy confess all their insecurities to each other. That was an incredibly touching scene, and it was able to be funny without undercutting the emotion. The scene where they return to the snake village, and you see Gary's whole family tree and his past, was also powerful, even if it was undercut by Pawbert bursting in comically. The scene where they get a group hug at the end with the snakes made me tear up. I was just so happy to see they were welcome back to Zootopia.

And last but not least, Nick saying "I love you" to Judy, and even better, the post-credits scene where she plays it on repeat? That was so freaking real. I have a video of my girl saying she loves me, and I play it back on repeat all the time, so that was so relatable and touching.

Overall Story - Zootopia 2

With better emotional beats, more characters, just-as-great commentary, and so many fantastic action set pieces, Zootopia 2 presents a better story than the original film. When a movie is able to build so much upon the foundation of its predecessor, an already magical animated movie, there's really no doubt in my mind that this movie has a better story.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 89%
Letter Score: S-
Star Ranking: 4.5 out of 5

Overall, this is definitely better than the first film in my eyes! This is one of my favorite animated movies I've watched in a long, long time. While I'm hoping they bring back some more mystery elements, a better Shakira song in the next film, and a slightly more compelling opening sequence, I think Zootopia 2 is far and away the superior film. Absolutely peak film.

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