Any follow-up to the 2016 masterpiece, Zootopia, is going to be disadvantaged. Cinema was still a year ahead of Jordan Peele's "Get Out" when Disney released one of the most articulate explanations of race, allyship, and accountability ever put to film. Now that everyone knows how good, even "timely," a Disney pic can be, how do you surprise everyone a second time?
The insights in this sequel won't spur any new chapters in your sociology 101 textbook. Though honestly, neither was the deflection of white saviourship that novel back in 2016. We more or less knew how racial profiling and biases played out in the landscape. What surprised many of us (and validated the rest of us) was the idea that these ideas could be articulated so eloquently in a children's film.
It seems that the studio tried the same thing here with Zootopia 2 that it did with Frozen II six years ago. I think a lot of people wanted that movie to find more princess tropes to rebut; what they ended up doing was just following the tracks of the characters and unearthing deeper insights, richer epiphanies. I found myself really appreciating that then, and I think it works here too. Byron Howard and Jared Bush appear to have caught onto the idea that nearly ten years later, the world still needs mirrors for examining what it means for all sorts of animals to exist in one space, and we luckily have a rabbit and fox who know something about that.
At the start of this film, Nick and Judy are still early into their official partnership, and not everyone's sold on this whole idea of a fox and a bunny working on the police force--let alone as partners. And frankly, Nick and Judy themselves are still trying to convince themselves that it's not just wishful thinking.
Meanwhile, Zootopia is fast approaching the centennial celebration of the device that allows for the distinct climate districts in the city. Everyone knows that this invention happened to coincide with a deadly reptile attack, which is why there are no reptiles in Zootopia. And so when a certain blue serpent slithers onto the scene, everyone is nervous--except of course, a soft-hearted rabbit and the shrewd fox she drags along for the ride. If they want to prove to everyone that they belong on the force, they'll have to figure out what exactly happened 100 years ago--and how to tell the world.
The nucleus of this film is Gary De'Snake, brought to life brilliantly by Ke Huy Quan. He is darn near the cutest reptile ever put to film--and also woefully underused. A lot of Judy and Nick's revelations about reptiles tend to be fueled more by conversations they have about him than actions he takes himself--you really want to see more of the snake.
A few parts of this film feel like they were edited for broadcast. This is another one of those movies where they obviously did a lot more research and made a lot more drawings than they needed to. That's all good and fine for worldbuilding, but the film feels a little crowded with cameos or one-off characters. Too many faces from the first movie wanted to make sure you remembered they were there.
The animation team builds on the playground of the first film--we were absolutely overdue for a marine-mammal section of Zootopia. But it's not just that the animal metropolis makes for some stunning vistas. We get to dive into the wheels and gears of this animal kingdom, and almost always while we're on the run. This film takes us on so many roller coasters that could only exist in this world.
A part of me wants to give this film a tepid review simply because I'm scared of what it represents. Particularly in the wake of last year's Moana 2 tumor, I'll always be hesitant to sign off on any Disney Animated movie with a number in its title. (Seriously folks, if you are going to feed Toy Story 5, consider also checking out Pixar's Hoppers or Disney Animation's Hexed next year.)
But this sequel sidesteps what made the 2010 Pixar sequels so nauseating. This film's external conflict fits alongside a compelling internal conflict between the characters--and not like a "Wreck-it Ralph is being forced to resolve some attachment anxiety that he definitely didn't have in the last movie" kind of conflict. Judy and Nick have some of the slickest verbal repartee of any animated pairing, but this kind of writing is even more important.
Nick and Judy are in conflict here, yes, but the film finds the optimal balance. Their mismatched viewpoints generate real tension between them and put their viability as a partnership into question. Judy asserts "The world will never be a better place until people are brave enough to do the right thing." To which Nick returns, "Sometimes being a hero doesn't make a difference." But they're never so biting that you lose sight of what makes their friendship so endearing in the first place.
So if I am to be subjected to Encanto 2, perhaps they can at least take notes from this movie.
--The Professor
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