The first Zootopia was a pretty funny buddy comedy that also happened to be set in a society where the citizens were largely expected to act in species-specific ways. Which makes sense for animals, but when it's an animated film where "animals" sort of maps onto "ethnic stereotypes"... well, you can kind of see the problem.
Fortunately Zootopia went on to say this kind of thing was bad - it was a story about a hero rabbit (a prey animal) succeeding at being a cop (a predator job), after all - so all good, the coast is clear for a sequel that's a bit less politically fraught, right? And not at all about, say, a conspiracy by one kind of animal to dispossess another species and cast them out of their homeland to live in the desert for a hundred years while they claim the cast out species are murderers who deserve their exile? Hang on, I'm getting an update...
Back at the beginning, Officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and former street hustler turned partner Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are in a bit of a bind. Their fellow officers see them as chumps who got lucky with their last big case; Hopps is determined to prove them wrong, while Wilde is (as usual) a bit more laid-back about the whole thing.
Adding to the problem, they're a mixed team (she's a rabbit, he's a fox), which has people thinking they'll never be on the same page. And maybe they're right: their next attempt at a big bust goes wrong big time, embarrassing the new Mayor - a former action movie actor horse with flowing locks named Brian Winddancer (Patrick Warburton) - and sending them off to couples therapy.
Undeterred, Hopps doubles down. With evidence a snake was at the scene of the failed bust, she figures out the reptile is in town to attack the Zootenial Gala. It's an event celebrating 100 years since the founding of Zootopia (the creation of the various climate-controlled zones, to be specific), which also saw reptiles largely exiled from the city after a terrorist attack.
If you've ever seen a buddy cop movie before, you have a pretty good idea of what comes next. Our heroes are soon on the trail of what really happened, while the rich and powerful are out to crush them and the system has them marked as criminals. Worse, the rift between Hopps and Wilde seems to be growing: what's even the point of solving the big mystery if it tears the two of them apart?
It's a mystery that's nice and twisty, and a great excuse to propel our leads through all manner of situations and settings. Most of which are at least partially played for laughs, though this isn't afraid to get serious when it's time to crank up the stakes, and the action scenes are possibly a little much for very young viewers.
The jokes are pretty solid too, ranging from pop culture references to silly sight gags to physical comedy to the return of the Sloth, everyone's favourite character from the first film. Speaking of pop culture, there's one shock development that makes more sense if you get the reference the bad guys are based on, but it works even if you (like most kids) don't pick up on it.
The "partnership" (it's a relationship in everything but name) between Hopps and Wilde is also well handled. Hopps is always right, of course - she's the one driving the story - but Wilde's side of things makes enough sense that he's not dead weight. Pretty much everyone else just gets off a gag or two, but conspiracy theorist / guide to the bad part of town Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster) does stand out.
The result is a surprisingly entertaining adventure of a kind Hollywood doesn't make anywhere often enough. You wouldn't say it's a kids version of One Battle After Another, but there's a similar commitment to old-fashioned story-driven running-around action. Which is fun to watch! Who knew.
- Anthony Morris
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