A One Mann’s Movies review of “Zootropolis 2”. (2025, 3*, PG).
Alternate name: Zootopia 2.
(Note: The film series is called Zootopia in North America and some other regions and Zootropolis in the UK, Europe and Africa due to a Copyright issue.)
“Zootropolis 2” came out at the end of November 2025, so it’s taken me over 2 months to get to it. But I am well aware that I have a lot of gaps in my ‘Oscar Animated Feature list’ to try to fill before the big event, so this seemed a good place to start.
Given that the film is STILL in cinemas and STILL at number 5 in the box office, having brought in over £32 million at the UK and Ireland box office, I once again question why film companies make anything else than kid’s films!
But successful kids films need to balance the primary goal of entertaining the kids with also entertaining their drag-along parents. My general thoughts after seeing this one is they got the balance tipped a little bit in the wrong direction.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
The dynamic pairing of workaholic rabbit Judy Hopps (Jennifer Goodwin) and streetwise fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are now famous for rooting out corruption in high office. But they become aware of more dirty dealings involving the property intentions of the city’s premier family, the Lynxleys.
Certification:
UK: PG; US: PG. (From the BBFC website: “Mild threat, violence”.)
Talent:
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Idris Elba, Shakira, Patrick Warburton.
Directed by: Jared Bush & Byron Howard.
Written by: Jared Bush.
Running Time: 1h 48m.
Summary:
Positives:
- There are some very funny film-related gags in here and jokes that will appeal to adults.
- Some of the manic action sequences will amuse kids.
- Michael Giacchino’s score is terrific
Negatives:
- I felt the story would have gone right over many children’s’ heads…. and they are the target audience.
Full Review of “Zootropolis 2”:
“What’s a patent mummy?”
There is a lot going on with the plot of this film… so much so that even I was struggling to keep up. The inventor of the different weather zones within the city, allowing the diverse population to coexist, was invented by a descendant of the Lynxleys, whose statue graces the city’s waterfront (until Judy and Nick manage to accidentally destroy it!) But was he the inventor? Does he hold the patent on the invention?
As it turns out, no: the original patent was held by a descendant of Gary (de Snake) (voiced by Short Round himself, Ke Huy Quan). And in a Lynxley-inspired act of ethnic cleansing, all of the reptiles were expelled from the city by the Lynxley’s to hide the fact.
Now, imagine you’re a six year old and I’ve read this plot description to you. At least one of your questions is likely to be “what’s a patent”? So I’d be fairly sure that a lot of this story sailed waaaaayyy over many children’s heads.
An on-off relationship.
Also what might feel a little disorientating for kids is the on/off relationship between Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. I think the scriptwriters are trying to emulate the sort of love/hate; will they/won’t they dynamic between Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd in “Moonlighting” here: but it all feels a little forced and unnatural.
Manic energy.
Aside from the impenetrable plot, the film is just chock-full of manic action. So much so, it was starting to give me a headache. There’s a manic chase sequence near the beginning (with echoes of “Bad Guys 2“, but not done as artfully) and we bounce from action sequence to action sequence with little pause.
There are, however, a lot of very funny movie-related gags that again would have gone over the heads of the junior audience but which I enjoyed very much:
- Dawn Bellwether, the corrupt ex-sheep mayor, returns in a prison scene but aping Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs“, (The film even emulates the end of that classic movie.)
- There is a very funny reference to “Ratatouille”;
- “Back to the Future” and “Babe” both get dialogue shout-outs;
- The owner of “Gnuchi’s” (manufacturer of 100% “authentic purses”, LOL) is a diminutive mole channelling Marlon Brando’s Godfather;
- Gary seems to be giving off strong Kaa vibes from “The Jungle Book”.
(There are many more, which I was not able now to recall).
Favourite character.
As well as all the movie references, there are some pretty funny characters for adults to enjoy as well. Idris Elba clearly has a lot of fun lending his voice to the buffalo character of Police Chief Bogo. But my personal favourite character is the new Mayor of the city, the stallion Mayor Winddancer: totally incompetent but in his position due to fame from a TV show. (Sound familiar?) He comes out with his catchphrase as “The Neighsayer” at any opportunity, rearing up, his mane flowing in the wind and shouting “You say justice, I say NEIGGGGHHHHH!”.
A terrific score.
Michael Giacchino again delivers a wonderful score. The film features various exotic desert scenes and Giacchino weaves in some wonderfully mystic Arabic-style themes into the mix. Loved it.
The almost completely superfluous Shakira throws in a fairly unmemorable concert song in the middle of the film – “Zoo” – which I’m guessing the Disney team thought might get an Oscar nom, but the Academy had more sense!
Monkey?
Yes, there is a monkey at the end of the end titles and for once, it is quite funny and worth staying for: Judy Hopps getting to know her new neighbours.
Summary Thoughts:
This manic offering was a fun watch for me, but I think it over-egged the adult content and lost focus on its key audience – the kids. I tested this theory out by asking my granddaughter Eva for her rating of the film. I’ve found the tendency has been for her to seldom go below 4 stars for a film. Her rating? 2.5 stars.
That didn’t stop it racking up an astonishing worldwide box office of $1,779,963,684 in 2025 (it passed $1 billion in just 17 days of release), putting it in second place behind the Chinese epic “Ne Zha 2”. And given it is still in the top 10 still, it will make a dent in the 2026 numbers too!
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AwtptT8X8k
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