Zootopia 2

The "lessons" at the heart of this film are perhaps too on the nose. But that is not necessarily bad for a film that is meant for children. Zootopia has bark but also bite.

ZPD's first ever bunny-fox detective duo is back onto the case of some of the weightiest issues we face as a society, and they brought all the animal puns with them.

Disney seems less invested in Zootopia as an artistic effort, churning out a sequel that feels more like a Disney+ TV show than an animated epic. Rather than push animation forward, Zootopia 2 is content to be just another colorful kids' movie about cute, funny animals in a big, frenetic world.

For a movie that was in so many ways about a country mouse (bunny) coming to the big city and finding endless varieties of wildlife, both upright and shady, the "Zootopia" sequel spends 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.

Zootopia 2 is charming, engaging, and thoroughly fun to watch. Where Zootopia 2 truly shines is in the way it delivers its socially-conscious message, neatly weaving grown-up themes into a kid-friendly tale with a heartfelt message of 'You belong.'

The best buddy cop movie in eons has arrived in the form of Zootopia 2. This sequel to 2016's smash hit Oscar-winning animated film proves more than worth the lengthy wait, knocking it out of the park with its dazzling visuals, sophisticated humor and doses of genuine emotion.