One year after Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde become partners at the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD),[c] their clashing personalities start to complicate their work, and Chief Bogo threatens to separate them if they cannot resolve their differences. During a raid on a smuggling ring, Judy finds a piece of shedded snake skin, but her worries are dismissed because snakes have not been seen in Zootopia for years. Undeterred, Judy unearths evidence that a snake may be at the Zootennial Gala, an event hosted by Milton Lynxley, the grandson of Zootopia's founder Ebenezer Lynxley, to celebrate the city's centennial anniversary.
While infiltrating the Gala with Nick, Judy befriends Pawbert, the youngest son and black sheep of the Lynxley family. Meanwhile, a hooded creature infiltrates the party and reveals himself to be a pit viper named Gary De'Snake. Gary kidnaps Milton and uses him to steal an old journal that documents the creation of the weather walls that regulate Zootopia's climate zones. Judy corners Gary, who persuades her that the journal contains evidence to prove his family's innocence.
Seeking to protect his family's reputation, Milton demands to have the journal burned and Gary killed. When Judy refuses to comply and sets the room on fire, Gary accidentally bites Bogo, which ZPD Captain Hoggbottom witnesses. The Lynxleys frame Judy and Nick for the crime, forcing them to escape with the journal whilst Gary is retrieved by an unknown motorcyclist. After the incident, the Lynxleys order Mayor Brian Winddancer to kill Gary, Judy, and Nick.
Now fugitives, Judy and Nick are rescued by Mr. Big and Fru Fru, but decline their offer to lie low and seek help from Nibbles Maplestick, a conspiracy theorist beaver knowledgeable about reptiles. Nibbles leads them to Marsh Market, a secluded area of Zootopia where reptiles hide. There, they meet a basilisk named Jesús, who explains that the reptiles' original district was buried during the construction of Zootopia's arctic district, Tundratown, and that it is being expanded again, this time to Marsh Market.
Hoggbottom finds them, and Nick and Judy narrowly escape, but Gary steals the journal back and escapes through a water tunnel. As they attempt to track down Gary, Judy and Nick climb to reach an abandoned lodge, leading to an argument that ends with their shared carrot pen breaking. At the lodge, Judy uncovers evidence showing that reptiles once lived peacefully in Zootopia. Soon, Nick sees that the ZPD have caught up, and tries to warn Judy. Another fight occurs, where Judy begins to think that they're too different. The ZPD finally arrive and arrest Nick, but Gary and the motorcyclist, revealed to be Pawbert, help Judy escape.
Gary and Pawbert reveal to Judy that Gary's great-grandmother, Agnes, was not only the original author of the journal, but also the true founder of Zootopia, and the engineer behind the weather walls. Her greedy investor, Ebenezer, stole all the credit and later framed her for murdering his tortoise maid, who tried to stop him from burning the original patent. Her death made the general populace view snakes and other reptiles as dangerous creatures, eventually leading into their exile from Zootopia.
With the help of Nibbles, who was also arrested by the ZPD, Nick escapes from prison and locates Judy at the Tundratown weather walls. There, Judy, Gary, and Pawbert activate an old clock tower to find the buried reptile district, deducing that the weather wall patent is hidden in Agnes' house. However, Pawbert betrays Judy and Gary, revealing he intends to earn his family's respect by destroying the patent. He injects Judy with snake venom, throws Gary into the snow, and steals the antivenom, the only thing to cure Judy.
Arriving at the weather walls, Nick fights Pawbert for the antivenom and manages to throw it to Gary, who cures Judy. Nick and Pawbert fall off the wall, but Judy and Gary save Nick. Judy and Nick emotionally confess their insecurities and feelings for each other, mending their relationship. They, along with Gary and the cure Nibbles follow a barely-survived Pawbert, while Winddancer defeats the rest of the Lynxleys. They then find both Agnes' house and the patent, while Pawbert arrives for another attempt to destroy it, but is knocked out by Hoggbottom.
With their crimes exposed, the Lynxleys are arrested, Judy and Nick are cleared of all charges, Bogo recovers from the venom, and the Tundratown expansion to Marsh Market is cancelled, allowing reptiles to reintegrate back into the city. Gary reunites with his family, and Agnes is finally credited as the true founder of Zootopia. Nick gifts Judy the newly repaired carrot pen before they begin their next case.
In a post-credits scene, Judy replays a recording on her carrot pen of Nick saying he loves her before her neighbors interrupt. After she leaves, a feather lands on her windowsill.
Patrick Warburton as Brian Winddancer,[‡ 3] a stallion who is a former action hero actor and the current Mayor of Zootopia who officially succeeds Leodore Lionheart
Tiny Lister as Finnick, a fennec fox and Nick's former partner in crime who acts undercover as a baby bunny. Lister, who died in 2020, reprises the role posthumously through unused recordings from the first film.[‡ 8]
In June 2016, directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore were in talks about the possibility of a Zootopia sequel.[16][17] On February 8, 2023, during the Q1 earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the sequel was in active development.[18] Later that day, screenwriter Jared Bush confirmed that he was working on the film.[‡ 10]Ginnifer Goodwin, who voices Judy Hopps, told CinemaBlend that she would like to see a role reversal between Judy and Nick in the sequel. "I would like to see Nick have to be the one to convince Judy that the world is worth fighting for". Jason Bateman, who voices Nick Wilde, also told CinemaBlend about his idea for the sequel: "The two of us [Nick and Judy], kicking butts out there. Cleaning up the streets. We're a couple of new cops out there. So, bad guys, be warned."[19]
On February 7, 2024, Iger announced the film's release date and that the film would be officially titled Zootopia 2.[20] On April 15, Goodwin confirmed on her Instagram account that she began recording her lines for Judy, revealing that the film was in production.[5] At the D23 Expo on August 9, it was announced that Zootopia 2 would feature reptiles, and Ke Huy Quan was announced to be playing Gary, a snake being pursued by Nick and Judy.[7] Footage was also shown of a sequence in which Nick and Judy search for Gary in Marsh Market.[21]
The following day, Bush revealed on his Twitter account that Fortune Feimster joined the cast to voice a beaver named Nibbles.[‡ 11] The same month, Bush was revealed to be the sole writer and director of the sequel, and Yvett Merino was revealed to be the producer.[22] On September 19, Jared Bush became the new chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios following Jennifer Lee's resignation to become director of Frozen 3. The following day, Bush confirmed that Byron Howard, the original creator and director of Zootopia, had returned to become co-director of Zootopia 2.[23] On April 3, at CinemaCon, new footage from the film was shown that revealed the casting of Quinta Brunson as a new character named Dr. Fuzzby.[9] At the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2025, it was announced that Jean Reno would join the cast, and that Maurice LaMarche would reprise his role as Mr. Big.[13]
In August 2025, it was announced that Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song, Patrick Warburton, and Wilmer Valderrama would join the cast.[24] In September 2025, it was announced that Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, and Danny Trejo had joined the cast.[‡ 1][‡ 4] That same month, it was revealed that unused recordings of Tommy Lister Jr. from the first film would be utilized for Finnick in the sequel. Lister died in 2020, which led to Disney contacting Lister's family for permission.[‡ 12] The film was dedicated in Lister's memory per the credits.[25][bettersourceneeded] Originally, the Silence of the Lambs prison scene reference was four minutes long and taken verbatim from that film but was cut down because children were considered unlikely to understand the reference, and because it slowed the pacing.[26]
After the film's release, Bush admitted that at the start of 2025 story adjustments were still being made, with some elements of the final film yet to be added. This included the honeymoon lodge setting and the breaking of the carrot pen.[27]
On November 8, 2024, at D23 Brazil, Shakira publicly announced that she was returning to voice Gazelle for the sequel, revealing that she was writing a new song for the film alongside Ed Sheeran, and that Gazelle would don a new outfit.[‡ 2][‡ 13] In September 2025, it was announced that the title for Shakira's song for the film, which she wrote with Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin, would be "Zoo". The song was featured in the Zootopia 2 trailer that was released on September 29, 2025, and it was released as a single on October 10, 2025.[28]
On June 16, 2025, Michael Giacchino was confirmed to be returning to compose the score.[29] Giacchino's score was released as part of the film's full soundtrack on November 21, 2025.[30]
Zootopia 2 was released on Digital HD platforms on January 27, 2026, and will be released on Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on March 3. It will also be streaming on Disney+ on March 11.[32][33]
Marketing
In November 2025, as a publicity stunt, three remote-controlled cars with animatronic puppets of the film's characters appeared in Los Angeles. They consisted of Nick, Judy, and Gary in a purple car, Finnick in his brown van, and Flash in his sports car. The stunt was reportedly received well by the public.[34] From November 25, 2025, to December 7, 2025, a pop-up store in collaboration with Stray Kids was held in Seoul.[35]
Airlines such as China Eastern Airlines, China Airlines and Air Canada have also featured Zootopia 2 characters as special airplane liveries on one of their planes (an Airbus A320-200, Boeing 777-300ER, and Airbus A220-300, respectively).[36][37] Throughout the end of 2025, the film collaborated with various global franchises ,like MINISO[38], for a themed, pop-up tour. They had a plethora of merchandise from plushies of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, to stationary sets and exclusive blind boxes[39].
The opening gross was $158.8million in the United States and Canada over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, and $560.3million worldwide;[42][43] the worldwide opening gross was the highest for an animated film and the fourth-highest overall.[44] The film performed strongly in China, grossing $271.6million through its opening weekend and becoming the first Hollywood film to gross over $100million in a single day on Saturday, November 29.[45][46] The worldwide gross reached $1billion on December 12, within 17 days of release.[47]
Critical response
Zootopia 2 received positive reviews from critics.[48]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 222 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Cleverly laying a thoughtful message onto another crackerjack caper while solidifying Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde as one of the most endearing buddy pairings in ages, Zootopia 2 more than justifies a return trip to the big city."[49]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[50] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an 87% overall positive score with 65% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[51][52]
Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com gave the film four out of a possible four stars, writing, "Zootopia 2 is pure delight, every bit as exciting and heartwarming and imaginative as the Oscar-winning original and maybe even funnier".[53]Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter described it as "more than worth the lengthy wait, knocking it out of the park with its dazzling visuals, sophisticated humor and doses of genuine emotion."[54]
Clint Gage of IGN wrote "On the surface, Zootopia 2 is a bunch of cartoon animals solving crime and making jokes and learning to love and appreciate each other, but lurking beyond that silliness is a seedy underbelly of social criticism that deserves to be taken seriously".[55] Ed Potton of The Times gave it a four out of five scoring, stating that "perhaps most delightful, though, are the carefully drawn supporting characters, with welcome returns for Flash the sloth and Maurice LaMarche, the Vito Corleone-esque arctic shrew. Truly an offer you can't refuse".[56]
BJ Colangelo of /Film felt it was one of Disney's best movies in years, saying "Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde have solidified themselves as an all-time great duo in the animated Disney canon, and I beg that this won't be the last we see of them...Zootopia 2 may be the gateway to teach young viewers to question who sets the rules, and be inspired to break those rules if it means doing what's right.[57] Quinn D'Alessio of The Maine Campus praised Judy and Nick's relationship, the plot's similarities to the original film, and the new characters Gary De'Snake and Nibbles Maplestick, though felt that the film was not as good as the first.[58]
Peter Bradshaw, reviewing for The Guardian, gave the film two stars out of a possible five, describing it as "a soulless film-by-numbers affair filled with corporately approved jokes ... the kind of movie you put on an iPad to keep the children quiet on a long plane or train journey...the heart and soul are lacking."[59] Jake Coyle of the Associated Press gave it a mixed review, saying it "[spent] too much of its time away from its mammalian metropolis...The fun caper spirit of the first movie is alive enough to carry Bush and Howard's film, but you can't help feel like sequel-ization also means domestication."[60]
Soren Andersen of The Seattle Times wrote, "Zootopia 2 comes on strong. Too strong. It seeks to bowl the audience over with noise, velocity and an insistent tone that frankly winds up being kind of irritating."[61] Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club praised the worldbuilding but felt that the plot was too similar to that of the first one, feeling Disney was "less invested in Zootopia as an artistic effort, churning out a sequel that feels more like a Disney+ TV show than an animated epic."[62]
Talks of a third Zootopia film began before Zootopia 2 released in theaters, with both directors and actors openly discussing different possibilities. On December 21, 2025, directors Howard and Bush confirmed that Bush had begun making early sketches for a third film.[69]
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