LIKES:
The Animation
The Adventure
The Comedy
The Voice Acting
The New Song
The Pace
The Heart
The References
Summary:
Disney has so much technology to animate at their hands, and it continues to show that off with this film. Smooth movements, a colorful design, and plenty of character in the motions, Zootopia 2 is a gorgeous display of what is possible with their resources, giving the audience plenty to look, gawk, and enjoy as the multi-biome city returns once more to the big screens. Within this environmental playground is an adventure that feels a bit bigger and more explored than the previous film's montage did. We dive into a few more secrets and environmental factors, playing around with the fauna that is indigenous to them, adapting to the needs as the wild adventure unsheathes its claws. It goes more down the traditional Disney route to teach lessons, but not be so in your face like the first film, which opens up a bit more of an escape from the real world. And helping to keep things fun is comedy that is present in so many forms that it's hard not to find some style to have you cracking up in the theater. Kids are going to become infatuated with a lot of the silliness invoked, and many of the parents will probably get pulled into the fervor with them and making many Instagram/TikTok videos to mimic them. My favorite part had to be the references. Like Wish, Zootopia 2 is ready to poke fun at Disney's work, and you'll find references abound within the two hours as another collective "cameo" menagerie is integrated into the movie. Mostly comedic, sometimes emotional, these references serve as another angle to enjoy the film for a geek like me. All of this is done at a decent pace, an adventure to follow in a manner that doesn't feel slow, and relatively keeps things in check to not be extremely fast you have no content.
The movie, of course, has plenty of emotional aspects with the Disney magical touch. A heartfelt film that digs deep into some hot topics, the monologues are sweet, sincere, and relevant to the new age of viewers. Bringing that to life (alongside the comedy) is stellar voice acting from an assorted cast who know how to bring such heart into their animated characters. Goodwin is always a command of emotions, bringing happiness and sadness in this genuine form that adapts to every scene with such sharp precision. Bateman is Bateman. That's not a bad thing, but his character didn't require as much spread across the emotional range. But he knows how to enunciate and manipulate his words to make the puns come to life, the jabs feel fun, and he really commands the comedic element so well. As for Quan, I loved him as the snake, genuine, cute, and somehow managing to embody his usual self in that snake form. I loved his little tweaks and had hopes they would have done a bit more with the film. In most cases, the delivery brings the heart this film needs, and I feel many will soften to the wonderful work they gave us with this film's content and performances. And if that's not your beef, then Shakira's new song has got a bit more flair, fun, and utilization as this zoo is ready to show you what it contains.
DISLIKES:
The Predictability
Some Overkill On Comedy
Needed A Bit More Mystery/Suspense
A Bit Overkill With References
Missed Some Character Development
Summary:
Yet, the movie suffers from predictability, with many of the mysteries easily solvable within the first thirty minutes. Zootopia 2 is having so much fun that some of the stronger elements feel weaker in this film, diluted to be less intense for fear of being too much for the target audience. While I'm glad there was more adventure, I would have liked a little more magic, mystery, and suspense added to this to keep things on edge as to what would happen. Alas, I think Disney's focus on comedy and references may have gotten in the way of better storytelling. To put so much focus into these slapstick fests of clumsiness, goofy walking, and yammering by several characters into what will surely be a new trend, there just seems to be less focus on the older audience moments. Throw in that many side stories feel bland and pieced in, leading to too many subplots battling for relevancy, so that they seem to trip up each other to a small degree. And despite the hints of touching, the character development is surprisingly weaker than I had thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, there are still some elements that appear, but again, much of the sharing is a lot of references, comedic jabbering, and these shallower elements that I was surprised they pursued.
The VERDICT:
Zootopia 2 is very fun, endearing, and an adventure that returns to Disney's era, where the adventure was just as important as the messages. Beautiful animation and voice acting work together to bring our buddy cup duo back to life, and I loved how well these were all integrated to make the tale come to life. With lots of comedic elements, a good pace, and references to scope out each rewatch, it's a film that will cater to a lot of audience members, especially the younger generations. Where the movie fails is getting too lost in that fun, silliness, and multiple stories, so that the elements of the first film feel a bit flatter than I expected. Character development is not missing, but doesn't lack the same intensity, nor does the mystery/suspense that also feels like kiddy gloves were pulled on for writing the story. There was more to unlock, discover, and fight, but the new era of storytelling/censorship still is a bit more prominent, and it's holding back some of Disney's strongest elements. Still, in the long run, the movie is a theater-worthy adventure for many reasons, and I encourage you to head out and give it a look if you can. My scores for Zootopia are:
Mystery/Action/Adventure/Crime/Animated/Family: 8.0
Movie Overall: 7.0.
