Zootopia 2

When "Zootopia"was released in 2016, I never assumed it would be sequeled, but then again we are talking about Disney--the king of sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, franchises. At least they obtained the restraint to wait nine years to make the move. For a sequel, it was was actually a worthy follow up of its predecessor. 

In this film, detectives Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile, a snake called Gary (Ke Huy Quan) who arrives in Zootopia and turns the mammal metropolis upside down. To crack the case, Judy and Nick must go undercover to unexpected new parts of town, where their growing partnership is tested like never before. 

Others to round out the cast are Fortune Feimster as Nibbles Maplestick, Andy Samberg as Pawbert Lynxley, David Strathairn as Milton Lynxley, Idris Elba as Chief Bogo, Patrick Warburton as Mayor Winddancer, Quinta Brunson as Dr. Fuzzby, Danny Trejo as Jesus, Nate Torrence as Clawhauser, Bonnie Hunt as Bonnie Hopps and Don Lake as Stu Hopps.

This was directed with whimsical flair by Jared Bush (Zootopia (co-director) '16, "Encanto" '21) plus music videos, and Byron Howard ("Bolt" '08, "Tangled" '10, "Zootopia" '16, "Encanto" '21, "Tangled: Sing-Along" '22) plus TV, a short and music videos. This particular installment of this franchise was minus one other director that also directed the original--Rich Moore, but this still obtained the spark and quick metabolism of its predecessor. The main cast was fairly intact, and the role of Gary (Ke Huy Quan), the snake, was new, but was a great supportive role. It was equally well written by Jared Bush ("Zootopia" '16, "Moana" '16, "Encanto" '21, "Moana 2" '24) plus TV and a video game. Considering the original "Zootopia" was written by one other writer, Phil Johnston along with Jared Rush, it made its predecessor, still a well penned script, but this installment was perhaps even better honed only being written by Bush. The lessor of writers typically means the tighter, cohesive and well sequenced a film will be. The only flaw I could see in this was that soon after the first ten minutes, it had a tendency to be a bit slow for about five minutes, but very shortly after, it picked up and moved right along. And, as usual, Disney's animation was first rate as it typically is and will continue to be. 

Will there be a "Zootopia 3"? The story leaves it opened-ended, but considering the movie industry is all about the bottom line, as long as this film makes a ton of money, we will assuredly see a part 3 sometime in our future. If you want to experience this up close and personal, it's also presented in an IMAX and 3D format.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                          Rated: PG                                       107mins.