The Media Man Reviews: Zootropolis 2

Flippin' heck, time is just a blur these days. Seriously, how are we in a situation where I, the Media Man, am now here, on the blog, talking about a Zootropolis sequel?! I remember seeing the first movie back in 2016 when it came out!

Unless you've been living in a cave all your life, you'll no doubt be very familiar with Zootropolis, or Zootopia as it's called everywhere else. Here in the UK, we called it Zootropolis due to some copyright thing in Europe regarding the name "Zootopia", I think, so it's titled Zootropolis instead and also why I'm referring to it with that title. Zootropolis was Disney's biggest smash hit since Frozen when it came out, grossing over $1.025 billion worldwide and gaining extremely positive reception from critics and audiences for its creative world-building, gorgeous animation and INSANELY relevant and topical commentary about racism and discrimination. This is a movie that'll be relevant for years to come because of how the themes it tackles will always be around. I'd even say considering...certain things going on in the real word at the moment that the film's only become even MORE relevant than it already was back in 2016. Oh and before you ask, I too love this movie and even named it as one of my Top 10 Favourite Disney films for pretty much the same reasons as everybody else and I even call it my favourite Disney film of the 2010's, as well as their best one from that decade.

Now here we are, almost 10 years later, getting a sequel to the film. History seems to be repeating itself again, for this movie is also getting highly positive reviews and is making a lot of money. Considering Disney's reputation is...not good at the moment, they really needed this. It's also refreshing to see the internet talk positively about Disney for once. Seriously, as a lifelong Disney fan, it's so damn tiring hearing the same song and dance over and over from people who just think it's "cool" to bash Disney for some reason. It's not, it's just sad and pathetic...

So now we're here, did Zootropolis 2 live up to its predecessor? Or will this movie make us feel like going savage? Let's take a walk on the wild side and dive in...

Section 1: The Story

It's been some time since Judy and Nick saved Zootropolis from Dawn Bellwether's scheme, but their relationship seems a little rocky. So rocky to the point Chief Bogo insists they get couples counselling to make them a better team. But Judy and Nick will have to put that aside as they have bigger problems to deal with, namely that a snake is trying to steal an important journal that belongs to an influential family known as the Lynxleys. What follows is a conspiracy possibly bigger than the last one they faced as secrets are unveiled and Judy and Nick are on the run after being mistaken as perpetrators of the crime...

Disney do NOT have a good track record with sequels. Even as a Disney fan myself, I can accept that as fact. They just don't. The amount of good sequels they've had can be counted on one hand. Even I can probably only name about three Disney sequels I'd consider good, those being The Lion King II, Bambi 2 and maybe Return to Neverland. The sequels to their modern movies especially range from mediocre (Ralph Breaks The Internet and Frozen II) to terrible (Moana 2). Thankfully, I can say Zootropolis 2 does not do that. Hell, I'd say this is the best theatrically-released sequel to their animated films Disney has ever made, and the story plays a part in why that is.

First of all, I love how the story stays true to the first movie by being another crime mystery drama. While it may feel a little like it's treading familiar ground, it doesn't feel like a complete rehash of the first movie. They still do somethings different here so it doesn't feel like they're copying the original. For starters, we have a predator as the villain instead of a prey, which was a smart decision as it keeps true to Zootropolis' theme of equality. As we can see, both sides can be bad with the preys being a bad guy in the first film with Bellwether and the predators being a bad guy here with the Lynxley family. And while the first film was more of a mystery story where the mystery was who was behind the crime, this film is more of a straight forward action film where the mystery is more about uncovering an old conspiracy. Also the conflict isn't about creating equality between prey and predator this time as that was resolved in the first film. This time, it's about helping an oppressed group of reptiles. Can I just say how GENIUS it was for the sequel to introduce reptiles? After being all mammal centric last time, it's about time we got other species out there, and reptiles made for a great choice for our next group of animals to focus on.

Speaking of the reptiles, they play a large part in what made the sequel such a fascinating follow-up to the original: the world-building. A good sequel in my eyes builds on the original and expands the world we thought we knew and reveals interesting new layers to it. This movie delivers on that in spades. Needless to say, you won't see the first movie the same way again. Unlike Frozen II where its interesting world-building was let down by the new characters not getting to do anything, or Ralph Breaks The Internet ignored the rules of its own universe just so its story could happen or Moana 2 where any new stuff they brought in felt wasted, Zootropolis 2 takes advantage of the fact its a follow-up and doesn't waste its new ideas or world-building whatsoever. It plays a part in the story and the character motivations and it's interesting new information we get that doesn't feel like it contradicts or spits in the face of the original, like a bad sequel would do. So funny isn't it how it took them until a Zootropolis sequel to finally get it right?

A good sequel should also advance the characters, and I feel Zootropolis 2 did well in that regard. Judy and Nick in the first film were a cop and a criminal who started out as enemies but became friends over time. Now the sequel takes the next step in their relationship by showing them as teammates who may think they're a good team, but they have issues they're not exactly communicating with each other and it's causing a bit of a strain on their relationship. I wouldn't say that part of the story was that engaging honestly, but I think it made sense for them to tell the story this way and it did give some interesting new insight into the duo as they are now.

Oh and remember how the first movie became such a revolutionary masterpiece because of its biting, thought-provoking, harsh but true political commentary that's only gotten more relevant as time goes on? No different here. The sequel continues that trend as we have even more insanely relevant, biting commentary that strays very close to home. The reptiles being an oppressed minority group whom the higher ups see as invaluable and just people to sweep away is depressingly realistic and very, very true to what's going on in the world today. Hell, just replace reptiles with basically any minority group out there and you get the same thing basically. It's a harsh reflection of the real world, but still a very relevant one and I'm glad the sequel kept true to what made Zootropolis such a timely movie.

On that subject, the sequel is still as creatively funny as it was in the first movie. There's a lot of good gags here, both spoken and visual. We get the animators taking advantage of all the different gags you can create using animals and you get the writers giving us some snappy dialogue and a few cheesy animal puns here and there. Seriously, I was proper laughing a lot at the comedy here and was even caught off-guard by how surprisingly funny it could be.

So overall, the story is a solid follow-up to the original. Hell, there are a few times it even surpassed the original, namely in how it handled its villains. Not only are the Lynxley family genuinely irredeemable evil villains (for once), but we get a twist villain that, while obvious, was more effective and left a bigger impression than Bellwether. Not only does the twist happen earlier so the villain gets to have more screentime AS the villain, but it felt like a much bigger shock when it happened and I even felt a tiny bit sorry for them when they revealed why they did it. Key word being a tiny bit. I know when Judy said they have the chance to be different from their family and they just said "I don't want to be different" was pretty impactful and such a poignant line that adds an air of tragedy to their character. They could've changed for the better, but they didn't, and all because they just wanted approval from their dad. A lot more interesting a twist and a lot more impactful then Bellwether's big reveal, that's for sure.

As is, the sequel does still have some problems, but thankfully no major ones for me. This one's more of a nitpick, but I do wish we at least got a scene of Gary De'Snake by himself. Most of his screentime is just him stealing the journal and talking to Judy and Pawbert. It would've been nice if we had a scene where it was just him focusing on what he thinks and feels and what he's like when it's just him without anyone else around.

Another nitpick I have is a rather pointless throwaway line from Nick where he says he's "uncomfortable around reptiles". He never explains why that is, nor do we get any given reason for it. He says the line, then he acts uncomfortable around the reptiles when he meets them...and then it's never brought up again or developed beyond that scene. I really didn't get the point of that and wondered why even have him say that line if it doesn't mean anything in the end? It's not like it's part of a character arc where he has to learn to be more comfortable around reptiles or anything, so what was the point of him saying that line?

But for more major criticisms, I have to agree with one review I saw in where the first act felt a bit hurried and like it was too eager to get started with the plot. They should've slowed down a little. The first act would've benefit from an extra five or ten minutes perhaps to slowly get us started with the story instead of being so quick to rush into it.

And while I say the villains were stronger and more menacing than Bellwether was last time, their defeat was sadly rather anti-climactic and it wasn't even cleverly done like in the first film. It kinda came off as all build-up but no payoff. Making them at least threatening in a fight would've helped them at least back-up their threatening nature.

Also, while I say the comedy is great in this movie, there is still that annoying trend I see in Disney sequels where a lot of the jokes are basically "Ha, ha, remember this from the original and how funny it was?" Seriously, sequels should stop doing that. It's not funny. =P

Aside from that, I have little to criticize about the story here. It really is one very solid sequel in terms of the story and proves that Disney CAN make good sequels after all. They just need to put in more effort is all...

Section 2: The Characters

Many of our favourite characters are back, and we have a bunch of new ones to join the crew too, so let's cover them all!

We must of course start off with the main duo, Judy Hopps (played by Gennifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (played by Jason Bateman). The two have been partners ever since they were indoctrinated into the ZPD, but it's clear they're not exactly gelling well together as both have their own insecurities that they're not being open about. I like how this gives the two their own unique problems in where Judy's got this obsessive need to prove herself and Nick isn't able to truly express himself, so he hides it behind an overly snarky demeanour. Despite their problems, the two are still very much devoted to one another and clearly see each other as ideal partners, so they're determined to make this work as much as they are to solve the case.

Next up is their reptilian suspect, Gary De'Snake (voiced by Ke Huy Quan). Gary is a very sympathetic character given his desire to prove his family's innocence so they can come home at last and is a pretty sweet guy when you get to know him. I especially find it adorable how he actually asks permission before he gives people hugs. Surprisingly, despite the marketing heavily featuring him and all, he doesn't appear quite as often as you might think and as I said, he never really gets any scenes to himself. He only really shares the screen with our leads, which was a bit disappointing as I would've liked to have seen more of Gary without Nick and Judy around. Still, I enjoyed Gary, he was really charming.

Judy and Nick also get a new ally named Nibbles Maplestick (voiced by Fortune Feimster). While she's pretty much the typical conspiracy theorist, she thankfully proves to be pretty useful to the main duo at times and thankfully isn't too overbearing so she didn't feel annoying. I didn't find her particularly funny, but not annoying either, so I was fine with her. What I found to be pretty lame though was there was a scene where the villain seems to kill her and then she turns out to be fine later in the movie. Come on, you could've at least let her die for real so raise the stakes movie. I doubt anyone would've been that upset if you offed her...

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS NEXT SECTION DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED!

And then we have our new villains of the movie, the Lynxley family which consists of Milton Lynxley (voiced by David Strathairn), Cattrick Lynxley (voiced by Macaulay Culkin), Kitty Lynxley (voiced by Brenda Song) and Pawbert Lynxley (voiced by Andy Samberg). The Lynxley family are a powerful crime family, so powerful that even notorious mob boss Mr. Big (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) doesn't dare tangle with them. They're responsible for a decades long conspiracy that has seen reptiles ostracized from society and they're a pretty ferocious family too with Milton especially either ordering or threatening murder a lot of the time. It was really refreshing to see actual evil villains in a Disney movie after so long. Yes, we did get King Magnifico in Wish, but he was someone who turned evil over the course of the movie. The Lynxleys are straight up bad from the start and are utterly irredeemable. There's no forced redemption arc or sympathetic sob story for them, except maybe Pawbert.

Pawbert was an especially interesting case because you think you know where his arc is going. You think he's going to do something bad, but then will have a change of heart and turn on the Lynxley family and ultimately become a hero in the end. But no, he doesn't. When he reveals his true colours, he STAYS evil and never once attempts to turn to the other side. As he states, he doesn't want to be different. Getting his family's approval is that important to him that he can't see or think of any other way to get it. That's kinda sad to be honest. While I wouldn't say it earns him any sympathy points, it does make him a pretty tragic character in a sense.

While Pawbert gets most of the development here and Milton is the biggest threat of the bunch, Cattrick and Kitty are sadly underused and undeveloped. It would've been nice to see more of them and see how they think and feel about their father's legacy, and maybe see if they're as evil as he is.

END OF SPOILERS

Another major new character is Mayor Brian Windancer (voiced by Patrick Warburton). I am SO glad they didn't make this guy a copy of Mayor Lionheart and repeat his story. He's a former actor-turned-politician who's not that bright and is actually in the Lynxley's pocket. But he isn't a bad guy per say and clearly doesn't seem to enjoy working for them. He definitely needed more screentime to flesh him out some more, which would've made the moment he turned on the Lynxleys more impactful.

And that's it for the really important characters to talk about. I was rather disappointed at how wasted Chief Bogo (voiced by Idris Elba) was in this movie. He does a good job setting up the plot and Judy and Nick's development, but then after he gets poisoned by Gary and knocked out, he's basically out of the movie and we don't see him again until briefly at the end and during the end credits. That really felt like a shame as I would've liked to have seen him get involved in the plot, like maybe becoming more of an ally to Judy and Nick this time around and even have a scene where he acknowledges they're a strong team after all. In the end, we didn't get any of that. Still, for the brief time we did get him, they thankfully didn't undo his character development from last time and made it clear he still likes Judy even if he can still be a little gruff.

We also get cameos of a lot of old characters like the aforementioned Mr. Big, his daughter Fru-Fru, Flash the Sloth, Benjamin Clawhauser and even Bellwether herself (but no Mayor Lionheart sadly. Would've been nice to see him even for a minute or two). At least we got Gazelle (voiced by Shakira) to give us another banger of a song at the end. That was awesome. :D

As for new characters, aside from Gary, Nibbles and the Lynxleys, they don't show up for very long. That's especially a pity because I thought that Jesús (voiced by Danny Trejo) would've been a cool ally for our heroes and could've maybe joined in the climax or something, but no we never see him again after the scene in the marshland. That was a shame. Given reptiles are in this movie, we could've done with more reptile characters playing a part in the story than just Gary, you know?

While Chief Bogo was really wasted here and we needed more reptiles to be involved in the story, thankfully Judy and Nick are as strong as ever, Gary was an adorable new character and the Lynxleys were effective antagonists that put Bellwether to shame. It was overall just great to see some old friends again while meeting some new characters as the world of Zootropolis is expanded...

Section 3: The Animation

Remember how gorgeous and creative the animation of Zootropolis was? This has not changed for the sequel. It's just as beautiful as it was last time, and still visually creative.

Zootropolis was considered a revolutionary movie for completely reinventing the whole "talking animals" concept and giving us a talking animals movie that actually plays more creatively with the fact they're talking animals. What I mean is that while the animals are obviously anthropomorphised, they're not overly humanistic in design and still stay relatively true to the animals they're based on. Specific examples I can list include how all the textures are accurate to real life from the fur on some of the mammals to the skin of the hippos to the scales of the reptiles and the horns of certain characters like Chief Bogo. And there are also the sizes of the characters in how each one is true to the actual animal, like the rabbits, mice and other rodent characters are small and other animals like lions, giraffes, elephants and more are really huge. You even see the animals depicted with limbs more fitting for their species be they paws or hooves. One really does have to wonder with Mayor Windancer how he can pick anything up though since he hasn't got actual hands. XD The inclusion of reptiles continues the design aesthetic of the first movie in how the reptiles are all depicted as being true to their real-life species' size and despite being more anthropomorphised, they're still more or less like the animals they're based on, but they still look like they believably exist in this universe along with all the mammals. Gary is the obvious example here, being depicted as an actual snake with no limbs or anything, but the animators take advantage of his long, snaky body for him to pull off several actions in the movie. Then again, Disney has a LONG history of animating snake characters, so of course they pulled it off.

And just like in Zootropolis, the sequel takes advantage of the fact these characters are talking animals and gets creative with how they're animated and what kind of gags they can pull off with them. Some of the most notable ones for me include a dolphin doing a spit-take through its blowhole at one point or Jesús running across water to get away due to being a Basilisk lizard, a species of lizard that actually can run on water like Jesús does. See for yourself! This is one thing I love about these films, seeing what creative gags they can pull off with these animal characters. Oh, and I'll give the movie credit for featuring a pair of goat characters and NOT doing a screaming goat gag. That would've been so cringe, so I'm glad we didn't get one. XD

And of course, the backgrounds are just as creative as the character designs are, just like in the first movie. Zootropolis itself still looks very immersive and cool to explore, but some of the new locations are just as interesting to see as well, namely Marsh Market or the Lynxley family's mansion. Marsh Market was especially fun to explore with how it's this wetland area with mostly semi-aquatic species around like sea lions, walruses, dolphins and more, and then there's the secret hideaway with all the different reptiles that we get to see too. We even get to see more of old locations we saw last time, especially Tundra Town as that location ends up being really important during the climax. It never ceases to amaze me how imaginative some of these animators can be with how they bring these worlds to life. I couldn't begin to visualize some of the locations that they thought up here or how they crafted this entire world, yet these guys pulled it off! They even use the locations to their advantage during the action scenes, namely whenever Judy and Nick are chasing Gary or there's a tense scuffle with the ZPD or the Lynxleys. One especially memorable scene for me was when Judy and Nick chase Gary through a water tube. That got pretty intense, especially as it looked like they were about to drown during that scene. Also the car chase with Judy and Nick trying to catch a criminal anteater was really fun and crazy too.

I don't know what else I can say about the animation here. It's Disney, they always deliver on the visuals and it's a sequel to Zootropolis, so of course it's going to look amazing. It is kind of a detriment to this movie's visuals though as it's more or less delivering what's expected, but it's still a visually stunning movie and I'd say it might look better than the first movie, even if not by much since the first movie still looks amazing. This is a sequel that takes the great visuals of the original and makes them just as great as last time. True visual eye-candy from beginning to end...

Conclusion

Zootropolis 2 is easily the best Disney sequel we've had since The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and the best MODERN Disney sequel ever made. While not without faults, Zootropolis 2 is a fantastic follow-up to an already fantastic movie thanks to its great story, relevant political commentary, intriguing world-building, strong partner dynamic with Judy and Nick, cool new villains and sensational animation that continues to amaze and dazzle. Disney doesn't have a good track record with sequels, which is probably why this one being as good as it is feels so damn special. If you love Zootropolis, you'll love the sequel as well. Give it a watch and go wild as you return to the big animal city again...

And that's what I have for this review. I do hope you enjoyed it and I invite you all to share your thoughts down below. Did you enjoy Zootropolis 2? Did you not enjoy it? Do let me know.

Next week, I'll be reviewing Netflix's That Christmas. See you then media fans!

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