THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

After an insanely long and treacherous day of travel back to Fort Worth, I was ready to sit back and relax in my happy place and finally take in a great animated movie in 2025. Thankfully, that’s exactly what happened, and I was more delighted than I thought I’d be by Zootopia 2.

I didn’t watch Zootopia for the first time until a few years ago, but it immediately became one of my favorite Disney properties because it did a great job bringing lessons and ideas from the real world and making them accessible for kids. Integrating the realities of racism, stereotyping, and bigotry into a fun, animal adventure has been Zootopia’s bread and butter, and they crushed it yet again in 2025.

The film’s focus shifted to the experiences of immigrants and Native Americans with impressive results, as the film continued to champion diversity as a strength while also demonstrating that the snakes (both the Natives and the immigrants in this allegory) have always made this home and deserve to stay because they—like everyone should be—are here to care for everyone.

Aside from the obvious allegory that older kids and adults can appreciate, the film’s adventure was action-packed, super fun, and really funny as well. Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman continued to prove what a great comedic pair they are, and the numerous new side characters all came to play. There was a laundry list of voice talent and cameos, from Ke Huy Quan and Andy Samberg to Quinta Brunson and newly-minted Dancing with the Stars champ Robert Irwin, but many of the side characters contributed greatly, narratively and comedically. Quan, Samberg, and Fortune Feimster all brought their memorable characters to life—Disney has had trouble lately with memorable side characters, but these three held it down.

As was to be expected, Zootopia 2 recycled some beats and characters from the first film, but it was always done tastefully. Cameos were brief and usually funny, and most of the narrative was in the hands of new characters this time around, which was a good sign for a franchise that seems intent on milking this world dry. This world, by the way, continued to expand so naturally and interestingly, and if that post-credit scene is any indication, this world still has a ton in the tank.

Fortunately, the Zootopia formula is working insanely well—not only will this film make a billion dollars like the first one did, but Zootopia 2 will also stand as one of Disney’s best sequels thanks to its bulletproof storytelling and its appeal to all audiences. I will gladly take in more of this world, as long as each film has Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, an insane voice cast, a twist villain, an absolute banger from Shakira, Michael Giacchino composing, and Byron Howard in the director’s chair. KPop Demon Hunters is in serious trouble come Oscars season.