Zootopia 2: a cute sequel but lacking in inventiveness (review)

A big number two for a Disney animated film, it’s not yet this time.

When leaving Zootopiain 2016, the criticism of First announced a “future classic“. We were right. The feature film crossed the billion dollar mark in theatrical revenue and won the Oscar for best animated film, then established itself as a home video hit. Last year, it was still in the top 10 of the most streamed films in the United States.

Given this success, it is surprising that Disney did not launch the sequel sooner. But, nine years later, Zootopia is finally back, and is preparing to be an even bigger hit, in particular thanks to the Chinese market, a complete fan of the cartoon. The latest predictions even point to a first weekend of $500 million at the global box office.

After a brief and useful reminder of the events of the first film, we find Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. We left them as heroes, they start from scratch. The police chief and their colleagues consider them rookies, but the two acolytes do as they please. After a chase that causes chaos in town, they are sent back to work therapy.

That won’t stop them from quickly finding themselves leading a hot investigation after the irruption of a snake, Gary, who claims to hold a dark secret. The dream of Zootopia, the city where all animals can coexist peacefully, is threatened once again. Hopps & Wilde will have to overcome their disagreements and their differences to resolve this crisis and that of their duo (couple?).

Chaining gags and action scenes for 1h47, while exploring new facets of its universe (including the very fun Marsh Market where aquatic and semi-aquatic species evolve), and visually very pleasant, Zootopia 2 immediately a success. And we have no doubt that it will delight the public, especially children and adolescents who grew up with the first film. But, if we can be choosy, we must also emphasize our limits.

Where the first Zootopia had seduced us with its concept and its inventiveness, the sequel had difficulty injecting new ideas and relied on what had already worked. The discourse on discrimination is this time illustrated by the rejection of reptiles, and the plot is once again based on a story of a conspiracy foiled by our shock duo. And if the easter eggs are a mess (Ratatouille, Terminator 2, Shining…) sometimes make us smile, they are mostly gratuitous winks that don’t add much to the story.

Disney never really knew how to approach issue twos. For a long time, they were used to power the home cinema sector. The studio changed strategy a few years ago with Ralph 2.0 (2018) then Frozen 2 (2019). Two sequels which helped to improve the balance sheet more than the prestige of the Burbank firm. We’ll see if Encanto 2 will manage to display true artistic ambition. But this new Zootopiaas cute and cool as it is, is sorely lacking in it.