There was a time when Disney used to churn out “adventure-in-a-day” type sequels and send them off into the world as direct-to-DVD films. These safe bets are not part of the canon and revolved around an adventure that the main characters went on in between the main films. These are low-effort, low-risk, harmless comedies but inarguably of lower quality than the classics they were based on. Seems like the mighty mouse is bold enough to release them in theatres now. But, hey, at least it’s not a live-action remake…yet. 

Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg

Zootopia 2 is a harmless, fun, adventure comedy that keeps you entertained long enough to forget that Disney can do way better, and hits the theatres a decade after the original, so you don’t instantaneously spot the stark dip in quality. At this point in time, Disney’s animation studio is a well-oiled machine with a century’s worth of R&D and storytelling experience. They know the exact amount of curves needed in a character’s design to make it instantly likeable. They know the exact ratio of light needed to populate every pixel, so the colours pop. They know the exact millisecond at which the protagonist needs to realise the psychological transformation needed to move their character’s evolution and the story’s progression into the third act. Disney can make a competent film at the snap of a finger, and that seems to be exactly what they did in Zootopia 2. It takes a time-travelling caveman to be amazed by the consistency and precision of the 743rd entry in the assembly line of a desk lamp mass manufacturing plant. Of course, it lights up when you flip the switch on. If you just wanted to light up the room, then that lamp is enough. But there was a time when the light also carried warmth that stayed with you for decades.

Following right after the events of the first film, we find Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde as partners in the Zootopia Police Department, trying to uncover a large conspiracy. There is no dearth of animal puns, meta jokes about Hollywood running out of original ideas, cute gags, and the return of fan favourites from the original film. There are also clever references to other films like Ratatouille, The Shining, and Mulholland Drive. The world of Zootopia is as expansive and imaginative as the first one, but we hardly get time to inhabit the space, and enjoy the ingenious designs (both from the visual and storytelling perspective). The film rushes past every story beat, every gag, and every character moment, as fast as possible, so you don’t feel anything other than the surface because they know that as soon as you start prodding, you will feel how vacant it is right beneath the surface. The biggest advantage of the film is that the surface is still shiny, and you don’t mind the rushed pace because your intuition tells you it is better to be on the surface anyway. 

Zootopia 2 is simultaneously the farthest thing away from Disney’s worst and its best. It is a fun, lighthearted comedy that might not be your favourite film of the year, but it definitely pulls your mind away to a magical, whimsical, and entertaining world as long as it stays on the screen. It is a world you would love to revisit sometime, but the film itself, not so much.