Zootopia 2

[PatchofBlue]

Spoiler-tagging everything just to be considerate, but the last half of the post is a bit more spoilery than the first.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. Not as much as I enjoyed Frozen II, but leagues better than Ralph Breaks the Internet or Moana 2 or any Pixar sequel post TS3.

I think the story team lived up to their promise of making this sequel about Nick and Judy. There were unique, specific pay-offs to their characters that deepened our connection to them. I felt like we got to see what it was we loved about them while also witnessing them become wholler versions of themselves. By the end, they were different characters than they were at the start of this film, which was also different than who they were at the start of the first film.

Part of what holds this back for me is that I felt there were a few too many dangling threads that weren't resolved. Nothing major in the way of plot resolution, but like Nick confides that he has a fear of reptiles, and I felt like they were telegraphing a specific moment where he gets over that, but if we got that, it was a definite blink-and-you-miss it ordeal. Nick accidentally releasing all of Zootopia's major criminals from prison was also a big sore for me, even if they did acknowledge it in the final minutes with an exchange about him and Judy needing to go round them up again.

I was also surprised that we didn't see more of Gary. I felt like in order Judy and Gary to have the relationship we needed from them, they should have joined up earlier. Like, maybe a version of the movie where they actually catch him in the water tunnels, and they have an episode of bonding while they're investigating the old honeymoon cottage, which was already the slimmest part of the movie for me.

But one little thing that I liked was [minor spoiler] the animation for when Gary gives Judy that life-saving hug in the climax. It's one of the strengths of these films that even though it's far removed from like the fairy-tale field that Disney normally plays with, they still have a recognizable "magical" feel to them rooted in what we know about friendship and goodness being like this salvific force. In the last movie, I love that Judy and Nick through their bond are able to thwart Bellweather's attempts to use the serum to have Nick attack Judy--even though the in-universe explanation has to do with them literally switching out the toxin. There was something similar here where it is Judy's physical warmth that restores Gary, but we also know that it's been Judy's spiritual warmth that has gotten them this far.

I had mixed feelings about the bad guy here. [Major Spoiler] I really wanted it to be the beaver, not just because I picked her out of a hat right at the start. Her character just never landed for me. They were trying to use her to capture the charm of backwoods smalltown Americana, but she just always felt like a parody to me. Like she's designed to tell city folk who've never been to the country that this is just how country people are, but even as this kind of character is meant to be endearing, I just find that representation super condescending. Similar reason why I've never connected with Ray from "Princess and the Frog."

But from Pawbert and Judy's very first interaction, I was kind of like, "Dang ... it's gonna be him, isn't it?" I was hoping they'd kind of go against the grain and let there be like ONE rich person who somehow broke the cycle of tyranny and helped take down the system, but that's just not what we got. I guess we KINDA got that from the mayor finally standing up to the Lynxlies, but I could have lived with him being the aberration that helped correct the flaws of the society.

I'll welcome more original films always, but I think it's also important to not be ungrateful when a sequel works as well as this one does. I'd personally score it as like 7.5/10, with that rating more likely to go up than down.

[reee9948]

I just remembered there was this masked figure that appeared at the end of the teaser trailer. Was that character just made for the trailer, or did they cut him off for some reason. I honestly thought this mask figure was going to chase Nick, Judy, and Gary all over the country.

[Sotiris]

Updated Tangled and Frozen DVD Easter eggs.


Source: https://ew.com/article/2016/03/19/zooto ... ster-eggs/


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Frozen/comment ... frozen_12/

[UmbrellaFish]

Re: Wrangled: Live Action, I wonder if that’s the only example of a photo realistic animal in the Zootopia movies?

[reee9948]

I just remembered there was this masked figure that appeared at the end of the teaser trailer. Was that character just made for the trailer, or did they cut him off for some reason. I honestly thought this mask figure was going to chase Nick, Judy, and Gary all over the country.

Nvm I just remembered the masked figure appeared at the party scene for a few seconds.

[Patricier21]

Here is my out of theatre reaction: https://youtube.com/shorts/ZCoTtGSZwFw? ... ALH7P-G8wf

[PatchofBlue]

https://variety.com/2025/film/box-offic ... 36595666/

Disney’s animated sequel “Zootopia 2” towered over the domestic box office with a mighty $156 million from 4,000 venues since Wednesday, including $96.8 million over the traditional weekend. Those ticket sales rank as the second-best Thanksgiving launch of all time, behind another Disney sequel, 2024’s “Moana 2,” which earned $225 million over the five days, and above another Disney sequel, 2019’s “Frozen II,” which generated $125 million over the five days. The original “Zootopia” opened in March 2016 with $75 million and became a massive hit with $341 million domestically and $1.02 billion worldwide.

“Zootopia 2” was an even bigger force at the international box office with $400 million, including a record-setting $272 million in China. In total, the second “Zootopia” earned a massive $556 million globally to stand as the fourth-biggest opening weekend in history.


“The incredible response to ‘Zootopia 2’ reflects both its worldwide appeal and the remarkable work of our filmmakers and cast,” says Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman. “It’s a proud moment for Disney Animation and all of us at Disney, not to mention a great way to start the holiday season.”
________
The property is especially popular in China, where a Zootopia Land recently opened at the Shanghai Disneyland theme park. Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, “Zootopia 2” follows a rabbit police officer (Ginnifer Goodwin) and con artist fox (Jason Bateman) as they reunite to pursue a mysterious new reptilian resident (Ke Huy Quan).

“China has been trouble for American films during the last five years — very little has worked there — but the opening is breaking records,” says analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “The film is on track to gross more money in China than in the U.S.”

https://variety.com/2025/film/box-offic ... 236595743/

“Zootopia 2” unleashed a box office stampede as Disney’s animated sequel raced to $556 million in its global debut.

Those ticket sales rank as the fourth-highest global debut of all time after “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” putting the family-friendly adventure in elite company at the box office. After all, “Endgame” and “Infinity War” eventually surpassed $2 billion globally while “No Way Home” got incredibly close with $1.9 billion. “Zootopia 2,” which earned a staggering $400 million internationally and $156 million domestically, set several other opening weekend records, including the largest global and international animated launch in history as well as the biggest worldwide start of any 2025 release.
________

With $32 million globally, “Zootopia 2” became Imax’s biggest Thanksgiving release, as well as the company’s largest debut for a November release and best start for an animated title. Those ticket sales include $7.6 million in North America and $24.5 million overseas, a majority of which ($20.5 million to be exact) came from the Chinese box office. Meanwhile, “Wicked: For Good” added $7.2 million from Imax in its second outing, bringing its tally to $31.3 million worldwide.

“’Zootopia 2’ and ‘Wicked: For Good’ delivered a phenomenal one-two punch for the Thanksgiving holiday — hitting the sweet spot for family audiences and sending our global box office soaring well past expectations,” said Imax CEO Rich Gelfond. “Disney and Universal are to be commended on an excellent weekend for moviegoing around the world — a great indicator that fans of all ages are seeking distinctive cinematic entertainment this holiday season.”

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/zoot ... 236595794/

Global
Highest animated global opening of all time (based on current rates)
Fourth-biggest global opening of all time after “Avengers: Endgame” ($1.2 billion), “Avengers: Infinity War” ($630 million) and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($587 million)
Biggest global debut of 2025
Highest global opening for an animated sequel ever
Largest global opening ever for Walt Disney Animation Studios
Highest global opening for any animated film in Disney’s 102-year history
Biggest opening weekend increase from original to sequel for any animated franchise (239%)

Domestic
Second-biggest Thanksgiving Day after “Moana 2” ($28 million)
Second-highest Thanksgiving opening ever (three-day and five-day) behind “Moana 2” ($139 million over the three days and $225 million over the five days)
Second-largest Black Friday ever with $38.9 million behind “Moana 2” ($54.3 million)
Second-highest domestic Wednesday before Thanksgiving of all time with $39.3 million after “Moana 2” ($57.5 million)
Second-biggest preview gross for Walt Disney Animation sequel with $10.2 million, behind “Moana 2” ($13.8 million) and ahead of “Frozen II” ($8.5 million)

China
Sixth highest debut of all time, including local and Hollywood titles
Second best non-local film opening of all time behind “Avengers: Endgame” ($632 million)
Highest animated opening ever for a non-local title
Top-grossing non-local film since 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame”
Highest non-local animated film of all-time after five days of release
Fourth-highest grossing animated film
Already surpassed the total cume of Zootopia ($236 million) in five days
Highest single day gross of all-time for an MPA film with $104 million on Saturday, surpassing “Avengers: Endgame” ($79 million)
Best opening for a Hollywood release in 2025

International
Fourth highest international opening of all time
Biggest Walt Disney Animation international opening of all time (based current rates in the same suite of markets)
Highest international animated opening of all time (based current rates in the same suite of markets)
Largest Hollywood international opening of 2025

Fantastic that the film is doing so well. (Props also to "Wicked" for carrying its weight too). Gives me some more threads of hope for Disney Animation, theaters, even society as a whole.

I guess the question now is whether Bush will make good on his promise to use the funds to greenlight more original films, or if it's just sequels from here on out.

[Thumper_93]

Saw it today. The movie is ok but very large in my opinion. I like when movies take their time to develop the characters and the story but here some parts of the movie don't apport much to the story.
What I didn't like was the use of a surprise villain again. They have been doing this for years and I'm really tired about it. In this case it's even more obvious because the scene when Judy meets the villain make us remember to the scene when Anna meets Hans. Both villains have the same traumas and you know since this moment that they are going to be villains. In my opinion this made the movie less memorable and more generic.

[reee9948]

The after credit scenes confirms the existence of birds in Zootopia. I'm pretty sure that's what the third movie will explore. Nick and Judy will find a new case and adventure in a sky city where the birds live perhaps. I just hope Disney doesn't screw the next movie up because they're already planning up to Zootopia 5 because of how much money Zootopia makes.

[The Disneynerd]

Saw it yesterday in theatres. I had a good time with this one! Nick and Judys relationship was interesting, especially with their feud about their different views on acting for justice, where both had solid reasonable points. The New Supporting characters were ok to forgettable, like Gary. Hes just an optimistic cute snake but his interactions or character itself was kinda forgettable, but to be fair, he was a vital part of the storyline so he gets excused. Same goes for Nibbles. She was fun enough but another clicheed personality that on paper is forgettable as those characters had no meaningful conflict or personal influence on the main characters, but like Gary helped to move the plot forward. The Twist villain was way better than Bellwheater as Pawberts motivation to get revenge on his family were seemingly as big as betraying Judy and the rest to secure his place and respect in his family. So there was always this 50/50 chance which was good for the twist, especially since he was a way more prominent character especially with actively helping her halfway than Bellweather was in 1. The Zoo song grew so much on me that unfortunately i got goosebumps when the song played in the movie lol. Its catchy af. The lyrics are nothing but its way catchier than Try Everything. Also Nick & Judys relationship was basically mirroying the one of Anna & Elsa from Frozen 2. Elsa being the risktaker (Judy) while Anna trying to slow her down and convince her not to go too far (Nick), only that Zootopia 2 nailed it as it felt more effective and they had clear influence on each other, especially Nick ending up embracing Judys mindset by risking his life for whats right. Speaking of Frozen, the climax remimded me a bit tooo much of Frozens staring with Hans confession to Anna with Hans aka Pawbert seeking validation from his fam and going off to kill Elsa Wilde and telling them their bestie died. Copy & Paste? That being said, i think its almost as good as the first, but i think the theme in 1 was more emotional and impactful and i also hated the aspect that Garys Vision was treated as magic, which took me out a bit. Couldnt they just have Gary see those things with his normal infrared vision without seeing magical visions that told him there was another secret document thing? Or the book being being "decorated" but it being a secret Snake language or smth he would be able to read? Anyways it was a solid 7.5/10

[Sotiris]

In the end credits, Eric Goldberg is credited with "additional 2D animation". Apparently, he did some exploratory pencil tests for Gary.

The hidden 2D animation in Zootopia 2
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0fa3I21ljEc

Jungle Book has an amazing snake character named Kaa, and one of our hand-drawn animators, Eric Goldberg, worked on Kaa and did some early pencil tests, as opposed to CG animation, 2D animation, of Gary in that style.

Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainmen ... obin-hood/

Legends like Eric Goldberg use hand-drawing techniques that were the gold standard of the Disney Renaissance to shape modern Disney animated features. “Eric would handle Gary with all the shapes and gestures of his body,” she explained, pointing out how he would test story ideas to see if they could work in the film. He also gave Gary two tongues. “In real life, snakes only have one tongue, but he gave him the serpent tongue and then a more human-like tongue,” allowing them to avoid having Gary simply hiss.

Source: https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2025/09/29/ ... ls-themes/

While Gary is being done in CG, Disney’s 2D animation team, including legendary Disney animator Eric Goldberg, shared their expertise in how to bring movement to snakes. “Our 2D artists studied the masters, the Nine Old Men, all of the great films we’ve done," Sellers said about their contribution, “They bring that sense of appeal, drawing over the top of our 3D scenes to really push on what Disney animation is."

Source: https://www.laughingplace.com/disney-pa ... the-world/

[DisneyFan09]

I finally saw it today and I must say that I liked it! For someone who was never enamored with the world of Zootopia (as I`ve personally found the movie good, but not great), I thought the sequel was a pleasant surprise. In fact, just like with Moana 2, I liked it more than it`s predecessor (yes, get hate ready, purists). It was fun, breezy and enjoyable. I liked the new characters, like Nibbles, Gary and Mayor Winddancer, as they were fun. Most of the cameos (with the exception of the DVD`s) were hilarious, especially Bella Notte. My favorite scenes were Zoo, the arrival at the Marsh Market, the climbing at mountain and all of the escape scenes. The strength between Judy and Nick`s bond was even more enhanced here. My only gripe with it was how Pawbert had potential to be redeemed, as he possessed some depth. But was reduced to be a sheer villain at the end.. While Zootopia 2 wasn`t in my opinion better than Moana 2, Wish or even Strange World, it still was a good movie and deserves it`s success.

[PatchofBlue]

‘Zootopia 2’ Crosses $1 Billion Globally, Fastest PG Film to Ever Reach Box Office Milestone
https://variety.com/2025/film/box-offic ... 236603857/

“Everyone at Disney Animation put their heart, soul and passion into this film to tell a story full of joy, imagination, and incredible thoughtfulness,” said Jared Bush, chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. “This milestone means the world to us, because more than anything, it means audiences are coming to theaters for a shared experience of watching this movie on the big screen, everyone together, from all walks of life around the world — and that is a Zootopia dream come true.”

I am so, so glad that Disney Animation is getting to taste this success, especially for a film that I genuinely enjoyed.

But I am still a little aggrieved that something like HEXED won't have a chance of making half this.

[Disney's Divinity]

I thought it was okay. Not quite as good as I had hoped. I liked it quite a bit less than the first when it seemed like the type of property where the sequels could be even better than the first. But it was a solid movie. I thought it started off very shaky, can't put my finger on exactly why, ans got stronger as it went along. Loved Gary da'Snake, hope he returns in future sequels, hated the beaver. Not enough of Chief Bogo. The stuff with Bellwether at the end was cute. Was the Ratatouille thing the first PIXAR reference in a WDAS film?

*SPOILERS* For whatever reason the villain reminded me of Hans with how he left Gary and Judy paralyzed (the former in the cold) to die while he went off to kill Nick. Gary comforting Judy being like Olaf encouraging Anna. He was alright, but the plot with Bellwether in the first was more interesting and suspenseful. The villain in the first felt more like Judy's villain as far as being a "prey" who was struggling in a world of predators who wouldn't take her seriously, whereas the villain here was more like Nick--in a pack that he wants to be accepted by despite being insecure, lazy, cynical, and feeling unlike the rest as far as attitude / outlook.

[BloomHunter]

Saw Z2, it was fine enough and surely was a fun ride. But why does this franchise struggle so much to portray a specific species as redeemable when it's linked to an antagonist and forget to include other good citizens (same species) animal in the city? It was a problem in the first movie with the sheeps and now it continued in the sequel with another species. Name me one time where the species linked with villainy wasn't portrayed as evil or at all a background citizen. In modern Disney this feels so out of place and wrong. For a movie with this much research, you'd think the same thought and care would go into the inclusion of different individuals from the same species. They especially picked an endangered species as the villain for the sequel. This franchise has a real chance to be great, but so far it has this obstacle tackling it. Which might work for some; but for me this just makes the movie seem to think it's smarter than it presents itself as just like the first.
I also think they made the standard reptile designs look really generic and may I say ugly to look at, aside from a few. Which was really disappointing, since reptiles have a lot of variety. For Zootopia 3 I hope they rely less on nostalgic factor with the callbacks and try something a little different.

Also, didn't notice any crocs or gators in that market?
In one way this movie felt advanced and big, and yet also cheap.

[Farerb]

I totally understand what you mean, BloomHunter. Unfortunately, the original Zootopia was ruined for me after seeing the antisemitic meme about the "ewe" on Twitter.

My biggest issue with Zootopia 2 is that the crime doesn't make any sense. The grandma managed to successfully register a patent and the only documentation is that small piece of paper? The office doesn't have anything? No witnesses? What happened to the guy who stamped on her paper?

[DisneyFan09]

Sorry for doing this, but here`s my latest entry to my blog. Which happens to be about this movie: https://mydisneyanimationanalysis.blogs ... d-but.html

[PatchofBlue]

Yeah, I considered this movie leagues about Moana 2 as well as Wish and Strange World.

Next year's Hexed is going to be such a turning point for Disney Animation in determining whether we're in another "Dark Age" or whether they just had like a post-pandemic blip that worked itself out before too long.

[Disney's Divinity]

I liked this more than anything since Encanto, I suppose. But I did like Wish, Strange World, and Moana 2 (in that order)--but none of them are what I'd call favorites, just around the 30's-40's range of the canon.

I'm still not sure what to think about Hexed. I probably won't at all until after seeing it. The synopsis and look just don't make me think of WDAS at all. I think both studios are on life support right now, completely reliant on sequels. Encanto is the last WDAS film that took off (despite its box office). Not sure with PIXAR. I liked Turning Red and Luca, but I'm not sure how much if any impact they had. Onward, Soul, and Elemental all felt like a nonentities, too, to varying degrees. Hard to say though; Disney probably knows more based on their streaming numbers. I could see Gatto possibly being a slight turn-around there.

[DisneyFan09]

Next year's Hexed is going to be such a turning point for Disney Animation in determining whether we're in another "Dark Age" or whether they just had like a post-pandemic blip that worked itself out before too long.

True. But whenever Disney had a dark age previously (or at least during these last 40 years), they`ve usually had a huge failure (with both The Black Cauldron and Chicken Little) and afterwards slowly climbed up again during the rest of the decade. Since many Disney fans have instantly compared the synergy between the Renaissance and the Revival era, it`s noteworthy how the dark periods that preceeded them also followed a similar pattern. Despite how the Revival era didn`t have it`s own setback as the Renaissance did with it`s own Black Sheeps (Pocahontas and Hunchback).