If you look carefully at the title, you’ll know that there are snakes involved and what better film to end the Year of the Snake with than “Zootopia 2”!

Even if you don’t like real snakes, you’ll like this one because Gary DaSnake is played with the quirky charm of Key Huy Quan. The directors and animators tuned into his personality to give us an ally/enemy that we can love even if we don’t know if our heroes, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde can trust him. You’ll remember from the last film that the true baddie was someone unexpected and he’s one of the suspects.

Zootopia 

Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin)  and Nick (Jason Bateman) began an unlikely partnership in the first film while tracking down a mysterious ailment that purportedly caused predators to revert to their true nature. That was cause for alarm as the majority of critters in the great city of Zootopia were former prey animals. All mammals (except humans) had come together in peace and Judy was the first rabbit to make the police force that was filled with big carnivores (wolves, tigers and lions) and large herbivores (rhinos and elephants) with a few omnivores (swine and bear).  There were 14 missing mammals, all predatory animals, the smallest being an otter. Judy forces Nick to help and together they played a hustle to catch the main villain, resulting in the fall of two mayors.

Zootopia 2

The beginning of “Zootopia 2” starts with the ending of the last film and brings us to Nick Wilde, having graduated from the police academy, now partnered up with Judy Hopps. They immediately go rogue in a crazy climate hopping car chase. Hopps and Wilde or Wilde and Hopps may see themselves as the dream team, but they inevitably seem to cause destruction, even at the office. Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) assigns them to a partner therapy group led by Dr. Fuzzby (Quinta Brunson) filled with mismatched partners  such as a mouse and an elephant who finds mice terrifying, a bear who’s offended by his armadillo partner eating pests off of his fur, and a badger and a deer.

Zootopia is celebrating 100 years of the climate walls that were created by  Ebenezer Lynxley, Zootopia founder, inventor of  the climate walls. Since then reptiles have not been seen in Zootopia, but, as you know from the title and the trailer, as part of the Zootennial, the journal will be on display at a gala event where a snake, Gary Da’Snake (Ke Huy Quan) will appear and steal it.

Also, from the trailer, you’ll see that the Lynxley family, led by Milton (David Strathairn), remain prominent power brokers in Zootopia. They aren’t a friendly crew. While Judy meets Pawbert (Andy Samberg), an awkward outsider, at the gala and there seems to be possibilities there, Pawbert’s family are an aggressive, demanding lot. The book must be found.

In order to find the book, Judy and Nick will seek help from old and new friends (such as conspiracy theory vlogger beaver, Nibbles Maplestick voiced by Fortune Feimster) and end up in Marsh Market seeking a secret reptile population.  Nick and Judy will have to work separately to learn how much they value each other’s friendship and, of course, we’ll have a happy ending with mammals joining reptiles.

If, as Gary says in the trailer, snakes are not the enemy who is?

The voice cast is exceptional, especially Quan and Samberg. During a panel, co-directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard explained how the animators and writer (Bush) worked off of the personalities of these two actors and why they were ideal. The visual world is filled with so many things like sight-gags and puns (Amoose bouche for amuse bouche) that you’ll want to watch it more than once.

It doesn’t hurt to watch the first film before you go, but it’s not necessary to follow the story. There’s so much joy and fun in this film and it’s probably best enjoyed on the big screen with a crowd of fans. Don’t forget to stay for the post-credits scene.

When asked, Bush said that they did decide to open it during the Year of the Snake, but wouldn’t say if the Chinese horoscope and the clue of where Judy and Nick will go next are connected.

“Zootopia 2” had its world premiere at El Captain Theatre on 13 November 2025. It was released on 26 November 2025. The first film is currently available to stream on Disney+.