Zootopia 2 (2025)

If you loved Zootopia The Original, then it is very likely that you will find Zootopia 2 every bit a zany, delightful, and heartwarming. There are animal-word puns and sly references to cultural touchstones from streaming platforms like EweTube and HuluZoo, where you can watch shows like “Only Herders in the Building,” to a quick shot inspired by one of the most terrifying moments in “The Shining.” If you love that stuff, it is all here for you, only more so. Literally, the gang is all here. Those heroes are, again, the opposites-in-temperament Judy Hopps, a bunny who is bright, enthusiastic, and fiercely committed to justice, and Nick Wilde, a fox who is a former con artist, a loner, and fiercely dedicated to avoiding danger. They met on opposite sides of the law in the first film, but now Nick has joined the police department, and they are partners. They are partners with a propensity for trouble and doing good, so of course hey immediately get into trouble after ignoring orders from Police Chief Bogo and end up on a wild chase after a perpetrator in a catering van labeled “Amoose Bouche.” Bogo threatens to separate them if they get into trouble again. So, of course, they get in trouble again. It is definitely the ends justify the means sort of plot and it is pretty fun and zany along the way. There is some mob boss undertones with how that can mess up your family, and there are some not so hidden messages about trust, communication, and things that are worth putting your life on the line for. That resonated for me in the aftermath of the public execution of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who brought lots of joy and happiness to his work at the Minneapolis VA, who put himself on the line for his neighbors when ICE came to town and kidnapped people in violent ways without warrants as a witness and ended up murdered by villains hired by the federal government to wage a revenge war. He is a hero who paid the ultimate price, as the veterans he served would say.