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Zootopia 2 - Review

   

         
"The world will never be a better place if no one is brave enough to do the right thing."
         

​I've been struggling to write a review for Zootopia 2, not because I want to justify my liking of the movie and feeling this is one of the best films of 2025. But because I caught on to some themes and topics the movie tries to convey, however these are, at best, slim. At worst, my own imagination. Nevertheless, I can take away two things from it that, besides the emotional core of the movie and its themes of relationship and partner communication, managed to capture my attention and made me write and rewrite this 8 times: politics and business.

Movie sequels are often the result of greed, and their results often end up being soulless slop. Zootopia as a film franchise has been dormant for 9 years, and during this decade a lot of events have affected not only the development of the sequel but also the way it can depict its politics.

The original was released in 2016, during the height of capitalist liberalism, often attributed to the Trump Era of filmmaking, one that tackles racism, discrimination, or meanness in a lighthearted way, thus often rendering its messaging useless and out of touch. The way the original depicted the “Pray vs. Predator” dynamic and their not-so-subtle racism allegory has been parodied, mocked, and often ridiculed in mainstream media and by netizens. Its values are good, and its heart is in the right place; however, it is not well developed.

From that point onwards, we have experienced 9 years of alt-right propaganda. I don't think people were actually thinking of Trump being the president a decade later. White supremacy, remigration, and concentration camps became mainstream Republican ideas presented to everyone, and half of the US embraced them because things were a lot simpler back then.

So, after those 9 years, a sequel is made for us to see. If Zootopia was a Trump 1-era movie, Zootopia 2 is a weird mix between Biden and Trump 2, where ethnic genocide was done and perpetuated by the elites. Us reckoning with that weight and trying to do what's right even if that kills us. I've been talking with people and trying to understand if what will define the Trump 2-era of cinema will be people accepting and understanding where they are situated in history and accepting the call to action or revolution. So far, three movies in 2025 have dealt with those themes: Eddington, One Battle After Another, and Zootopia 2... 

​Moana 2 ends the Revival Era for me; Zootopia brings a new chapter, one where we right our wrongs and try to accept everyone. There's something in this movie that makes it feel different from the past 15 years of movies made by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Perhaps a reckoning with its awful way of producing movies and slop for Disney+. Part of me feels that the Lynxley family, and especially Ebenezer Lynxley, is an allegory or at least a partial critique of Walt Disney and his descendants, Disney Corporation CEOs. They buy everything they can, stealing ideas from minorities across the globe, often taking away credit, and taking all its profits. I'm unsure if this was the original purpose, but I can't take this idea from my head ever since I saw his statue and the house looking a little too close to one of those Disney castles.

Sadly, with all the things made by American artists, the status quo needs to be preserved as it is only “some bad apples” that ruin the fun for everyone. Who cares if ethnic genocide was committed as long as we can sing in the end and never accept the awfulness of the place we live? Who cares if the mayor can be bribed, appointed by billionaires, and decides to protect their interests as long as it can do the right thing at the end of the day?

In the end, no American movie will properly point out the violence and the evildoers; it will always continue to maintain the norm. ​Zootopia 2 is great, even with these shortcomings. The message will sadly always be relevant as the United States still struggles with its past and cannot understand its present. I've seen so many family movies that have the trope of “The history that we know of is wrong and we've been lied to” done so poorly or superficially. Zootopia 2 is the only one that takes it a bit more seriously and has a more realistic depiction of the human garbage that has power over us.

         


         

Final Score - 5/5

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