One week after Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde have become official partners at the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD),[c] their clashing personalities complicate their work; their supervisor Chief Bogo threatens to separate them if they cannot resolve their differences. Judy begins to believe there might be a snake roaming Zootopia after finding a piece of shed snake skin during a raid on a smuggling ring; when she shares her discovery, no one believes her due to snakes having not been in Zootopia for years. Further clues indicate that the snake might be at the Zootenial Gala, celebrating the centennial anniversary of the city's founding, hosted by a family of lynxes who are descendants of Zootopia's founder Ebenezer Lynxley.
At the Gala, Judy befriends Pawbert, the awkward youngest son of the Lynxley family, while Nick notices an infiltrating hooded figure, who reveals himself to be a pit viper named Gary De'Snake. As everyone panics, Gary kidnaps Milton, the Lynxley patriarch, and uses him to receive access to an old journal detailing the creation of the weather walls that control Zootopia's climate zones. Judy catches up to Gary, who convinces her that snakes are not bad animals and that the journal contains the proof he needs to help his family. Seeking to protect the Lynxley name, Milton accuses Judy and Nick of aiding the viper to have them arrested. The situation is worsened when Gary accidentally bites Bogo, leading eyewitnesses to believe that Judy and Nick are responsible. The two of them escape with the journal while an unknown motorcycle rider takes Gary.
Now fugitives, Judy and Nick are aided by crime boss Mr. Big and his daughter Fru Fru. They are directed to Nibbles Maplestick, a conspiracy theorist beaver who knows about reptiles. Nibbles takes them to Marsh Market, a secluded part of Zootopia where a community of reptiles hide. There, they consult a basilisk named Jesús, who informs them that the reptiles' original home was buried during the construction of Tundratown, the arctic section of Zootopia.
Gary retrieves the journal from Judy and escapes via a water tunnel. She and Nick then climb a mountain to an abandoned lodge. They have an argument, causing their co-owned recorder pen to break, distressing Judy. At the lodge, Judy finds evidence that reptiles once coexisted peacefully in Zootopia. The pursuing ZPD officers catch up to them and arrest Nick, while Judy is rescued by Gary and his motorcyclist helper, who is revealed to be Pawbert. They discover that Gary's great-grandmother Agnes is the author of the journal and the true founder of Zootopia. Ebenezer stole the credit and framed her for murdering his tortoise maid, who tried to stop Ebenezer from destroying the weather walls' original patent; ever since, snakes have been shunned as dangerous creatures.
Nick, as well as numerous other criminals including previous adversary Dawn Bellwether, escape prison with Nibbles' help. Nick and Nibbles locate Judy at the weather walls. There, she, Gary, and Pawbert activate an old clock tower to find a buried reptile district, deducing that the original patent is hidden in Agnes' house. However, Pawbert betrays Judy and Gary, revealing he intends to earn his family's respect by burning the patent. He injects Judy with snake venom, throws cold-blooded Gary into the snow and steals the antivenom pen that could cure Judy. Arriving at the weather walls, Nick fights Pawbert for the pen and throws it to Gary, who cures Judy. Nick and Pawbert fall off the wall, but Judy saves Nick while Nibbles and Mayor Brian Winddancer stop the other Lynxleys. Judy and Nick mend their friendship by finally opening up about their emotional insecurities.
Reaching Agnes' home, Judy and Nick aid Gary to find her patent. Pawbert arrives and attempts to destroy it, but is knocked out. With their crimes exposed, the Lynxleys are arrested and Judy and Nick are cleared of all charges. Bogo recovers from the venom, while reptiles reintegrate into the city. Gary is reunited with his family and Agnes is credited as the true founder of Zootopia. Nick gives the newly fixed recorder pen to Judy before they go on their next case to recapture criminals, including Bellwether.
In a post-credits scene, Judy replays and listens to a recording of Nick mentioning he loves her before being interrupted by her neighbors. After she leaves, a feather lands on her windowsill.
Patrick Warburton as Mayor Brian Winddancer, a stallion who is a former actor and the current Mayor of Zootopia who officially succeeds Leodore Lionheart[‡ 3]
Tommy Lister Jr. as Finnick, a fennec fox and Nick's former partner in crime who acts undercover as a baby bunny. Lister reprises the role 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.[22][23] On February 8, 2023, during the Q1 earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the sequel was in active development.[24] Later that day, screenwriter Jared Bush confirmed that he was working on the film.[‡ 12]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."[25]
On February 7, 2024, Iger announced the film's release date and that the film would be officially titled Zootopia 2.[26] On April 15, Goodwin confirmed on her Instagram account that she began recording her lines for Judy, revealing that the film was in production.[6] 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.[27] The following day, Bush revealed on his Twitter account that Fortune Feimster joined the cast to voice a beaver named Nibbles.[‡ 13] 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.[28] 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.[29] 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.[14] In August 2025, it was announced that Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song, Patrick Warburton, and Wilmer Valderrama would join the cast.[30] 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.[‡ 14] The film was dedicated in Lister's memory per the credits.[citation needed]
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.[31]
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][‡ 15] 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.[15]
On June 16, 2025, Michael Giacchino was confirmed to be returning to compose the score.[32] Giacchino's score was released as part of the film's full soundtrack on November 21, 2025.[33]
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.[35] From November 25, 2025 to December 7, 2025, a pop-up store in collaboration with Stray Kids was held in Seoul.[36]
Reception
Box office
As of December23,2025[update], Zootopia 2 has grossed $293 million in the United States and Canada, and $993 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.286 billion.[3][4]
The opening gross was $158.8 million in the United States and Canada over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, and $560.3 million worldwide;[37][38] the worldwide opening gross was the highest for an animated film and the fourth-highest overall.[39] The film performed strongly in China, grossing $271.6 million through its opening weekend and becoming the first Hollywood film to gross over $100 million in a single day on Saturday, November 29.[40][41] The worldwide gross reached $1 billion on December 12, within 17 days of release.[42]
Critical response
Zootopia 2 received positive reviews from critics, though it was not as universally acclaimed as its predecessor.[43]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 201 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."[44]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[45] 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.[46][47]
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".[48]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."[17] 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".[49] 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".[50] 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.[51] 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.[52]
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."[53] 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."[54] 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."[55] 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."[56]
Talks of a third Zootopia film began before Zootopia 2 released in theaters, with both directors and actors openly discussing different possibilities. With Zootopia 2 making $1 billion in record time, the inclusion of the post-credits scene hinting at a story focused on birds and an easter egg in the film stating "Part 3 is for real and birds are too" in Paul's password, it is believed that a sequel is to be approved very soon. On December 21, 2025, directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush confirmed that Bush had already begun making early sketches for a third film.[92]
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