Zootopia 2

Plot

A week after Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde become partners in the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD), their clashing personalities start to complicate their work. Chief Bogo threatens to separate them unless they resolve their differences. During a raid on a smuggling ring, Judy finds a piece of snake skin, although snakes have not been seen in Zootopia for a century. Undeterred, she suspects that a snake may appear at the Zootennial Gala, an event hosted by Milton Lynxley, whose grandfather Ebenezer founded Zootopia, to celebrate its centennial anniversary.

While infiltrating the Gala with Nick, Judy befriends Pawbert, the youngest son and the black sheep of the Lynxley family. Meanwhile, a hooded creature crashes the party and reveals himself as a pit viper. He kidnaps Milton and uses his eye to unlock a digitally locked glass case containing an old journal that documents the creation of the weather walls that regulate Zootopia's climate zones.

Judy corners the viper, who confesses the journal contains evidence to exonerate his family. Seeking to preserve his family's reputation, Milton demands to have the journal burned and the viper killed, but Judy refuses, setting the room ablaze. When ZPD Captain Hoggbottom arrives after the viper accidentally bites Bogo, the Lynxleys frame Judy and Nick for the crime, forcing them to escape with the journal whilst an unknown motorcyclist retrieves the viper. Afterwards, Milton orders former actor and newly elected Mayor Brian Winddancer, whom Milton has secretly supported, to locate and subdue Judy, Nick, and the viper.

Now fugitives, Judy and Nick meet Nibbles Maplestick, a conspiracy theorist beaver who leads them to Marsh Market, a secluded area of Zootopia where reptiles hide. There, a basilisk named Jesús explains that the reptiles' original district was buried during the construction of Zootopia's arctic district, Tundratown, which is expected to expand to Marsh Market. The ZPD, led by Hoggbottom, finds Judy and Nick, who narrowly escape, but the viper reappears, retrieves the journal, and escapes through a water tunnel. As they attempt to locate the viper, Judy and Nick climb to reach an abandoned lodge, leading to an argument that ends with their shared carrot pen breaking.

Inside, Judy discovers that reptiles once lived peacefully in Zootopia. The ZPD corners them and arrests Nick, but the viper, who introduces himself as Gary De'Snake, and his motorcyclist partner, revealed as Pawbert, rescue Judy, explaining that Gary's great-grandmother Agnes was not only the original author of the journal, but also the true founder of Zootopia. Her greedy investor Ebenezer plagiarized her engineering work on the weather walls and later framed her for murdering his tortoise maid, who tried to stop him from burning the original patent. The maid's death subsequently turned the general populace against reptiles, eventually leading to their exile from Zootopia.

Production

In June 2016, directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore were in talks about the possibility of a Zootopia sequel. On February 8, 2023, during the Q1 earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the sequel was in active development. Later that day, screenwriter Jared Bush confirmed that he was working on the film. 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."

On February 7, 2024, Iger announced the film's release date and that the film would be officially titled Zootopia 2. On April 15, Goodwin confirmed on her Instagram account that she began recording her lines for Judy, revealing that the film was in production. 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. Footage was also shown of a sequence in which Nick and Judy search for Gary in Marsh Market.

The following day, Bush revealed on his Twitter account that Fortune Feimster joined the cast to voice a beaver named Nibbles. That same month, Bush was announced as the sequel's sole writer and director, while Yvett Merino joined the project as producer. On September 19, Jared Bush became the new chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios following Jennifer Lee's resignation to be director of Frozen 3. The following day, Bush confirmed that Byron Howard, the original creator and director of Zootopia, had returned to be directing the sequel alongside him. 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. 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. On July 30, 2025, it was announced that Idris Elba would reprise his role as Chief Bogo, despite busy commitments to work on live-action films such as Masters of the Universe and Children of Blood and Bone.

In August 2025, it was announced that Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song, Patrick Warburton, and Wilmer Valderrama would join the cast. In September 2025, it was announced that Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, and Danny Trejo had joined the cast. 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. The film was dedicated in Lister's memory per the credits.

Music

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. 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.

On June 16, 2025, Michael Giacchino was confirmed to be returning to compose the score. Giacchino's score was released as part of the film's full soundtrack on November 21, 2025.

Release

Zootopia 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles on November 13, 2025, and was released in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on November 26, 2025.

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. From November 25, 2025, to December 7, 2025, a pop-up store in collaboration with Stray Kids was held in Seoul.

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). Throughout the end of 2025, the film collaborated with various global franchises, like MINISO, 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.

Home media

Zootopia 2 was released on Digital HD platforms on January 27, 2026, on Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on March 3, and on Disney+ on March 11.

Reception

Box office

Zootopia 2 grossed $428.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.442 billion in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.870 billion. It was the second-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time, both behind Ne Zha 2.

The opening gross was $158.8 million in the United States and Canada over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, and $560.3 million worldwide; the worldwide opening gross was the highest for an animated film and the fourth-highest overall. 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. The worldwide gross reached $1 billion on December 12, within 17 days of release. By April 2, 2026, the film grossed over ¥15.7 billion (US$143.05 million) in Japan.

Critical response

Zootopia 2 received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 226 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. 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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. 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.

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". 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."

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". 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".

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. 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.

Accolades

Zootopia 2 garnered awards and nominations in various ceremonies, with recognition for its direction, animation, and voice performances. At the 31st Critics' Choice Awards, it was nominated for Best Animated Feature. It was also nominated for two awards at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, Best Motion Picture – Animated and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. The film was also nominated for seven awards at the 53rd Annie Awards, including Best Feature and Best Writing – Feature for Jared Bush. At the 98th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Animated Feature. It was also nominated for two British Academy Film Awards, winning Best Animated Film.

Future

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. On August 15, 2026, at D23, Zootopia 3 was officially announced to be in development. Goodwin, Bateman, and Quan will reprise their voice roles as Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and Gary De'Snake respectively.