Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
There is a dangerous new creature on the loose in Zootopia 2… a snake! And it wants to steal a precious artifact from the wealthiest family in town. So Officer Judy Hopps, the city’s first rabbit cop, drags her new work partner, Nick Wilde, the thieving fox turned cop, to crack their latest case, which turns out to be a lot more complex than a simple heist.
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, Zootopia 2 is almost as entertaining as the first ride and of course – some might find it even better. This time, Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick (Jason Bateman) go full rebel mode, ditch Chief Bogo’s (Idris Elba) orders and sneak into a high-profile gala to stop a major crime. In a plot twist, they end up being mistaken as partners-in-crime with the snake (Ke Huy Quan) and suddenly the whole city is after them. Now it’s a race to clear their names while also exposing a massive fraud.
In some meta humor, Judy and Nick take the help of a popular Zootube conspiracy theorist/podcaster called Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster) to gather clues. And of course, the rabbit and the fox constantly bicker about how they should go about their latest case: Nick thinks they should’ve simply stayed home, while Judy is ready to put her life on the line to prove her worth.
Zootopia 2 once again explores coexistence, prejudice, and class divides in the anthropomorphic animal kingdom. A trail of clues takes the lead duo to the outskirts, where snakes and reptiles have been pushed to the fringes. And Judy gets to know them, it becomes clear they’re far from the villains they’re made out to be.
So, sure, they are a few interesting lessons about diversity, but to be honest, Zootopia 2 is all about hilarious Easter eggs. It’s packed with pop culture references, including a new mayor in town and a popular former action star called Winddancer, clearly fashioned after Arnold Schwarzenegger, much like John Cena’s character in Heads of State. One of the funniest moment? A direct, comical nod to Ratatouille, where a rat is shown controlling a lion chef in the kitchen.
Although my favorite comical scene is when Flash Slothmore makes a cameo, once again to help Nick with his case. In fact, almost everybody from the first film makes a little cameo in Zootopia 2, including the notorious mafia family of Tundratown inspired by ‘The Godfather’. Shakira returns to voice Gazelle, Zootopia’s iconic pop singer, performing at all major glitzy events.
I did find the over-enthusiastic Judy Hopps a little more annoying than last time, her character can be overtly reckless and selfish at times. On the other hand, Nick has grown more likable and the other characters are super fun. The animation remains colorful, glossy, vibrant, with cute and comical character designs packing your screens. If you loved the first film, just go ahead and watch this one too.
Watch Zootopia 2 on Disney Hotstar.
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