Zootopia 2 — You Disappointed Me
Another one falls to the sequel curse
Zootopia 1, released in 2016 was a massive success among audience .Jared Bush and his team created an amazing concept and brought everyone to life beautifully. I was in high school when I first saw the movie promo in television and I was so impressed by the first look and I was very eager and was looking forward to the movie. And undoubtedly, they knocked it out of the ballpark. I was so in awe of the creation of the world of Zootopia, how they had reimagined each animal’s characteristics from a sixth-sense perspective. Amaze. Amaze. Amaze. Each second of the movie was filled with so many minute clever details. Each character on screen irrespective of how much screen space or time they consumed were treated with the same amount of respect and attention. Hats off to the effort. I wasn’t over the movie for a few days. Shakira’s ‘Try Everything’ was on repeat for God knows how many times back then. I was high on Zootopia.
I really can’t believe it’s been 10 years since its release. It’s still so fresh in my mind. When Disney announced Zootopia 2 was set to release on 28 November 2025. I was on top of the world, so excited for it. I was soooo ready to see what they had cooked this time. I watched the film recently, and sadly, it disappointed me very badly.
Bombarding with Nostalgia?
Zootopia 2 tried to bring in a lot of characters from the first part. They tried to bombard us with nostalgia, and it failed miserably. For instance bringing in Flash, the sloth or Mr. Big, the crime boss of Tundratown felt very forceful. It just didn’t work for me.
What have you done to Judy?
Our beloved Judy, the bunny cop, one of the protagonists who was an inspiring sweet character in Part 1 turned out to be very toxic in Part 2. She was a workaholic with no considerations on Nick’s feelings, space or time. She doesn’t heed what Nick says or suggests, yet calls them “partners.” I was expecting a character arc for Judy at the end of the movie, but sadly, she stayed with the same bossy attitude till the end.
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Love or Awkwardness?
At the end of Part 1 Nick and Judy had this romantic tension between them. I was kind of shipping for them. But Part 2 did a good job of turning that beautiful relationship into awkwardness on screen.
Story?
The story plot was the same as Part 1.
Part 1: A respected public figure (Bellwether) is revealed to be behind the conspiracy, using the predators as part of a larger scheme.
Part 2: A respected public figure (Lynxley family) is revealed to be behind the conspiracy, using the reptiles as part of a larger scheme.
Same plot with different characters. The only difference is that Bellwether was a convincing villain in Part 1, whereas the Lynxley family didn’t even try.
Reptile culture?
Zootopia 2 introduced a new species into their world but failed to build a culture around it. I barely know anything about reptiles in Zootopia except that they can’t stand cold weather. The main selling point of Zootopia (attention to detail) was missing.
What is it with sequels? Are producers just exploiting the fan base and the love that is already created for that universe? Or is it writer’s fatigue? Or is there something called the sequel curse that only some films seem successful in breaking free from?
In official records, Zootopia 2 is labeled to be a massively successful film as it grossed over $1.86 billion worldwide. Box office collection of a film is considered to be a major metric in determining a film’s success. It got me thinking, a sequel which already has a strong fan base it going to make the box office skyrocket no matter the outcome of the film. It didn’t really feel fair to me to judge a film by its box office collection, speaking from an artistic point of view. Sadly, it all boils down to business, right?
Anyways, speaking of what’s next, Zootopia 2’s post-credits scene suggested that there is going to be a Part 3 with birds in it (of course, bringing in a new species). Now, I’m just scared.
Fingers crossed they cook something amazing this time…
