Divalicious Review! Nick and Judy Are Back In Zootopia 2
By Caroline Cao | November 26, 2025 | Celebrity & Culture
Remember the first Zootopia Disney movie? If you get past PG-rated dose copaganda, Zootopia 2 (directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard) is just fine and brimming with its own gags and a familiar chemistry between a bunny and fox.
The bunny Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) and former con fox Nick (Jason Bateman) are now inseparable police buddies. But reckless decisions escalate into them ravaging a part of the town they’re sworn to protect. Judy’s desperation to pull one grand case for both of them leads them to be benched and assigned to a partner’s therapy. But of course, this bunny has ears for something awry in town.
Operating independently from police orders (perhaps also as a way for the film to downplay copaganda imagery for them), Judy and Nick infiltrate a gala hosted by the Lynxley family (David Strathairn), the aristocratic descendants and founders of Zootopia, where Judy meets a species that Zootopia vilifies and rarely ever sees in public light: a snake. His name? Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan).
At first, it seems like this reptile will be our antagonist, until he tells Judy that the book, which contains the architectural layout of Zootopia, holds a secret that may allow his snake family to return home at last.
Judy is charging into hazards as usual, though Nick undergoes an arc about being more open about his feelings (something quasi-romantic, much to the head perks of shippers) and reticence about her choices. As for their new snake friend, Quan delivers schmaltz with a thawing, warm heart. “Permission to hug?” shall be one memorable line that seems to have been forged and crafted for him. It seems a little underdeveloped that Nick, who’s also felt like an outsider, should have been able to relate to the reptiles’ plight.
If animal predator-prey conflicts were the focus in the first film, Zootopia 2 focuses on mammals’ prejudice toward reptiles. The movie is looking to meet the moment: the violence of gentrification and colonialism displacing and erasing the reptiles from society and trashing their social reputation as a whole.
Did I enjoy Zootopia 2? Yes. Goodwin and Bateman have not lost that spark that made the fox and bunny sizzle, and the theme is timely. The worldbuilding environmental gags, tailored to each animal kingdom, remain creative (one great gag involves an employed vending machine critter). Did I reflect on other animated films of late, those with anthropomorphic animals (DogMan and The Bad Guys 2), and found those much fresher and innovative in style? Also yes.
There’s not much more to ask from the Zootopia IP — though I’m sure that won’t stop them from creating another unseen animal world for Zootopia 3 (hint: stay through the credits for a post scene).
Photo credit: Disney
