“It was so wonderful.” That was my three-year-old daughter’s verdict after watching Zootopia 2, which marked both her first press screening and her first time seeing a movie in a theater. And I have to agree. Even if you remove the film’s actual quality from the equation, the experience itself—sharing one of my greatest joys with my wide-eyed little girl as she gleefully demolished popcorn and a sour apple ICEE—was pure movie magic.
It helps too that Zootopia 2 is actually quite good: frequently funny, packed with clever gags and lively set pieces, and anchored by a rich thematic core. That’s a welcome break from the years of diminishing returns in the studio animation space, which has been in slow decline ever since Pixar lost its golden touch. This sequel marks a return to the kind of consistent quality we once expected from the House of Mouse, buoyed by being a multi-quadrant good hang. To summarize: it was so wonderful.
Co-directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard return to the bustling, climate-controlled cityscape of Zootopia, a metropolis where prey and predator coexist across meticulously designed ecosystems for every species under the sun. Well, almost every species. Some genuses aren’t allowed: namely, snakes.
[READ MORE: Our review of Pixar’s ‘Soul‘ directed by Pete Doctor and starring Jaime Foxx]
When local hero cops Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) stumble onto a conspiracy involving a viper named Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan) and a family of shady real estate moguls, the Lynxleys, they’re forced to confront their own reptilian prejudices and dig into the murky foundations of Zootopia’s supposed harmony.
This is another one of those kids’ films with adult themes cleverly Trojan-horsed in. The mammal-reptile divide doubles as a veiled metaphor for the lingering effects of generational racism and society’s myths about “dangerous breeds,” filtered through the lens of gentrification.
▶ Streaming on Disney+. More picks: The Best Comedy Movies on Disney+ Right Now →
It’s got enough on its mind to keep adult viewers engaged without ever tipping into didactic territory. Even the right-leaning culture warriors might let this one slide, since subtlety has never really been their thing, and Bush’s screenplay isn’t overt enough to set off the usual alarm bells.
But none of that really measures up to the pure joy of just being present at my daughter’s inaugural cinematic experience. To me, going to the movies is like church. It’s one of the few places where the omnipresent distractions of real life aren’t constantly hedging in on you. Where you can silence all notifications and just be bowed over by the experience. When it’s good, nothing hits like it. Seeing her glowing reaction to Judy and Nick cracking wise, or confronting their ethical differences, or escaping into new corners of the Zootopia universe isn’t something I’ll soon forget. It was so wonderful.
CONCLUSION: Funny, heartwarming, and thematically potent, ‘Zootopia 2′ is one of the better animated movies of the decade—but more importantly, it marked a pivotal moviegoing experience for this critic: my daughter’s first time at the altar of the cinema.
B+
-
By: Matt Oakes
Started blogging about film in college when the university paper wouldn’t have him. Dislikes your consensus film Twitter favorites. Devotee of horror movies that make him die a little inside. Catches films at festivals when he can. Proud SFCS and OFCS member and Tomatometer-approved critic. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
-
-
Mike Flanagan Movies and Shows, Ranked
Pawlikowski’s ‘FATHERLAND’ Is a Handsome Snooze
Guillermo del Toro Movies, Ranked
‘WILDWOOD’ an Astounding Work of Craft Whose Story Can’t Quite Keep Pace
Every Ridley Scott Movie, Ranked: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Monthly(ish): the best reviews, the worst studio decisions, and the films worth losing sleep over.
Free. Delivered by Substack. Unsubscribe anytime.
For more reviews, interviews, and featured articles, be sure to:
Follow Silver Screen Riot on Letterboxd
Follow Silver Screen Riot on Facebook
Follow Silver Screen Riot on X
- ‘WICKER’ Gives A Wicker Man a Cheeky Romantasy Makeover
- ‘FORGOTTEN ISLAND’ Is DreamWorks Animation’s Most Dazzling Movie in Years
- ‘YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING’ Is a Nathan Fielder Hall-of-Mirrors Masterpiece
- The Best Comedy Movies Streaming Right Now
- Best Comedies Streaming Now: Disney+ · Netflix · HBO Max · Prime Video · Hulu · Peacock · Paramount+ · Tubi · Kanopy