Zootopia 2 Has Families and Freaks Alike Barking For a Trilogy

(Published in The Berkeley Beacon)

The hordes of Reddit can finally rest at ease. “Zootopia 2” has officially hit theaters!

In a stunning opening weekend, Pixar’s latest animated sequel raked in a whopping 96 million dollars in domestic theaters, amassing nearly 156 million globally. This unbridled success makes “Zootopia 2” Pixar’s biggest hit since their previous summer smash, last year’s “Inside Out 2.” 

The much-awaited follow-up to 2016’s “Zootopia” sits atop the domestic box office, right above “Wicked: For Good’s” equally impressive 92 million dollar opening, instilling many movie lovers with a rare bit of hope for the theatergoing experience. Following October’s string of underperforming releases, “Zootopia 2” has proven that families and 4Chan users alike will still turn up in droves, so long as the characters are cuddly and the animation is ambitious. 

“Zootopia 2” picks up almost immediately after the events of the first film. However, as has become a certain standard in Pixar sequels, the wild world of “Zootopia” gets a whole lot larger. Think the global grand-prixing in “Cars 2.” Think the collegiate exploits of “Monsters University.” If Pixar is making a sequel, best believe it’s going bigger than before. 

In fact, the extensive worldbuilding of “Zootopia 2” might just be its strongest element. There were (and this is a conservative estimate), around a dozen jokes a minute, including the 2 particularly porcine police officers or the “Don’t Worry Be Hoppy” t-shirts. “Zootopia 2” even goes so far as to establish entire networks of furry financiers and corrupt politicians—a bit heavy-pawed no? But it’s not all this heavy-handed. “Zootopia 2” also introduces us to two new biomes: Marsh Market, a swampy community of exiled reptiles, and a still-unnamed snake city on the outskirts of Zootopia’s walls. Each location comes complete with its fair share of animal puns and inner mechanics, such as Marsh Market’s reverse tiki bar (and respective dolphin barkeep) or sinuous S-shaped rugs in an old snake cottage. 

So if the world of “Zootopia” is bigger, it’s only natural that its problems get a little bigger too. Although difficult to discern at times, the general sense one gets from “Zootopia 2’s” sporadically dropped lore is that reptiles are the latest subject in a continued commentary on xenophobia explored in the films. The original “Zootopia 2” tackles mammal-on-mammal prejudice, but in the sequel, even Nick Wilde admits that he possesses an *ahem* “aversion” to reptiles. So, when a snake is framed for murder, and good-intentioned police officer Judy Hopps is inadvertently caught in the crossfire, “Zootopia 2” cleverly constructs a nearly identical set of circumstances as the first movie. Once again, we are dealing with a matter of animal civics, and once again, we bear witness to the greatest crime-fighting duo “Zootopia” has ever seen: one unnecessarily curvaceous bunny and a fox that has been described by the most neutral online sources as “somehow even hotter now.”

Speaking of…Judy and Nick’s dynamic also takes a step forward in this movie—a move that has some netizens scratching their heads. It’s no big secret that the pair have been the subject of online discourse in recent years. But unfortunately for those wondering whether or not Judy and Nick welcome their first child, “Zootopia 2” preoccupies itself with an ongoing parody of modern therapy-speak and couples’ counseling. Hopps is headstrong and unwilling to accept new rules, and in other instances, Wilde makes an ongoing habit of deflecting and distancing himself emotionally. What results are numerous tense moments scattered throughout the movie—scenes that ultimately build on the couple’s growing affection for each other.

Another massive success of “Zootopia 2” is its animation. Whether it’s seen in IMAX, 3D, or Dolby Standard, audiences will be sure to note stellar upgrades in realistic lighting, hyper life-like fur, and ultra-emotive facial features. 

Although we are reintroduced to a number of old faces (Shakira’s self-inserted popstar, Gazelle, included), it’s the new characters that make “Zootopia 2” fresh. Fortune Feimster voices a friendly podcasting beaver named Nibbles Maplestick. She’s a confusingly amicable character for an archetype that seems squarely based on certified media nutcases like Alex Jones. “Everything Everywhere All At Once’s” Ke Huy Quan also voices an unlikely snake ally. Finally, Andy Samberg took a vacation from Hotel Transylvania, stepping into a new role of Pawbert Lynxley, the overlooked lynx offspring of a sinister animal financier. 

It appears that “Zootopia 2” has struck gold — some fantastic mix of family appeal and freakish online fanaticism. It’s almost suspect. Could it be that people simply crave a bit of cinematic comfort food this holiday season? Or could it be that there is actually a massive hidden market for the “Zootopia” cinematic universe; a clandestine collective of superfans yearns for more. For now, only time will tell…