Zootopia 2

Zootopia 2^[b] is a 2025 American animated buddy cop comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The sequel to Zootopia (2016), it is directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard,^[4] written by Bush, and produced by Yvett Merino.^[5] Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira, Idris Elba, Alan Tudyk, Nate Torrence, Don Lake, Bonnie Hunt, and Jenny Slate reprise their roles from the first film, joined by newcomers Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, and Danny Trejo. It follows Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, the previous film's protagonists, who go undercover to pursue Zootopia's new and mysterious reptilian resident Gary De'Snake.

Zootopia 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jared Bush Byron Howard
Written by	Jared Bush
Produced by	Yvett Merino
Starring	Ginnifer Goodwin Jason Bateman Ke Huy Quan Fortune Feimster Andy Samberg David Strathairn Shakira Idris Elba Patrick Warburton Quinta Brunson Danny Trejo Alan Tudyk Nate Torrence Don Lake Bonnie Hunt Jenny Slate
Music by	Michael Giacchino
Production company	Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[a]
Release dates	November 13, 2025 (2025-11-13) (El Capitan Theatre) November 26, 2025 (2025-11-26) (United States)
Running time	108 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$10.2 million[2][3]

Zootopia 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles on November 13, 2025, and was released in the United States on November 26. The film received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

One week after the events of the first film, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde have become partners in the ZPD, but their clashing personalities makes them an incompatible pairing. After botching an anteater's smuggling ring, Chief Bogo threatens to separate them unless they attend a therapy session managed by quokka Dr. Fuzzby. Judy soon thinks that there might be a snake in Zootopia since during the smuggling job, she found a piece of shed snake skin and some clues dictate that the snake might be at the Zootenial Gala, celebrating 100 years since the city's founding which is being hosted by a family of lynxes who are descendants of Zootopia's founder Ebenezer Lynxley.

Judy convinces Nick to attend the Zootenial Gala with her to see if the snake will be there. At the gala, Judy befriends the awkward youngest of the Lynxley family named Pawbert. Soon, Nick notices a hooded figure on a chandelier and accidentally runs into Bogo, who tells Nick that he and Judy are done. Before Nick can be taken away, the hooded figure is revealed to be a pit viper. As everyone panics, the viper kidnaps the Lynxley patriarch and Pawbert's father Milton taking an old journal detailing the creation of the weather walls that was supposed to go on display. Judy catches up with the viper who convinces her that snakes aren't bad animals and the journal contains the proof he needs. As Judy begins having second thoughts, Nick arrives and knocks the viper unconscious with a frying pan.

Seeking to protect the Lynxley name, Milton accuses Judy and Nick of aiding the viper to Mayor Brian Winddancer and to have them arrested which is made worse when the viper accidentally fangs Bogo. They escape with the journal while the viper is taken by a mysterious figure. Now fugitives, Judy and Nick try to track down the viper and get to the bottom of his end goal. With the help of crime boss Mr. Big, they meet Nibbles Maplestick, a conspiracy theorist beaver who takes the two to the Marsh Market, a segregated part of Zootopia where a community of reptiles hide. They consult a basilisk named Jesus to figure out the viper's whereabouts, but he tells them that this matter is bigger than they think as the journal holds a key to a past that caused reptiles to be outcasts in Zootopia and how their original home was buried during the construction of Tundratown.

The ZPD invade the secret hangout and in the chaos, Judy and Nick find the viper who swallows the journal and escapes with Nick saving Judy from drowning. While climbing a mountain to an abandoned and unstable lodge, they get into an argument that ends with the carrot pen that Judy gifted Nick breaking. At the lodge, she finds evidence of how reptiles used to reside peacefully in Zootopia. Nick tells her that he doesn't care about the case, which causes her to think they're too different. They get separated when the cops catch up to them with Nick getting arrested and Judy being rescued by the viper, who introduces himself as Gary De'Snake and his driver Pawbert. Nick manages to escape with the help of a recently-arrested Nibbles at the cost of Bellwether and the other inmates escaping. Judy discovers that Gary's great-grandmother Agnes is the true author of the climate journal and the true founder of Zootopia. Ebenezer stole credit from her and framed her for killing his tortoise maid who tried to stop Ebenezer from destroying a patent Agnes got from making the journal.

When the trio make it to a weather wall and figure out that the patent might be hidden in a forgotten village in Tundratown called Reptile Ravine, Pawbert betrays Judy and injects her with poison. He leaves her and Gary, whose cold-blooded biology is incompatible with cold environments, behind and steals Gary's anti-venom pen which could cure Judy. With the help of Clawhauser and Nick's old sloth friend Flash, Nick and Nibbles locate Judy at the wall. He battles Pawbert for the pen, which gets thrown out of reach during their fight near a cliff. Nick throws the pen down to Gary who cures Judy. He and Pawbert fall off, but Judy saves him. Nick admits that he thinks of Judy as his pack and they reconcile. They see Pawbert escaping and manage to tie him up.

The group goes to Reptile Ravine and find Agnes' patent while Hoggbottom knocks out Pawbert when he threatens to destroy it. With the Lynxley's crimes exposed, Judy and Nick are cleared of all charges, the Lynxleys are arrested, and Gary's family takes their place as the true founders of Zootopia. Bogo recovers from the fanging, while reptiles reintegrate into the city. At Gary's home, he is reunited with his family. Meanwhile, Nick brings Judy the newly fixed carrot pen, which she uses to record him saying he loves her.

In a post-credits scene at Judy's apartment, she plays the recording back while a feather lands on her apartment window.

Voice cast

Main article: List of characters in the Zootopia franchise

• Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, a young optimistic rabbit from Bunnyburrow and the first rabbit of the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD)^[6]
• Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde, a sly red fox and a former con artist who later joined the Zootopia Police Department as their first fox
• Ke Huy Quan as Gary De'Snake, a pit viper being pursued by Judy and Nick while trying to help his family^[7]
• Fortune Feimster as Nibbles Maplestick, a beaver podcast and conspiracy theoriest host living in Marsh Market who encounters Judy and Nick^{[citation needed]}
• Andy Samberg as Pawbert Lynxley, a lynx who is the awkward and youngest of the Lynxley family^{[‡ 1]}
• David Strathairn as Milton Lynxley, Pawbert's father and the patriarch of the Lynxly family^{[‡ 1]}
• Shakira as Gazelle, a Thomson's gazelle who is a pop music star^{[‡ 2]}
• Idris Elba as Chief Bogo, the cape buffalo chief of police of the Zootopia Police Department^[8]
• Patrick Warburton as Mayor Brian Winddancer, a stallion who is a former actor and the current Mayor of Zootopia who succeeds Leodore Lionheart and Dawn Bellwether^{[‡ 3]}
• Quinta Brunson as Dr. Fuzzby, a quokka who is Judy and Nick's police partner therapist^[9]
• Danny Trejo as Jesús, a plumed basilisk^{[‡ 4]}
• Nate Torrence as Benjamin Clawhauser, an overweight cheetah who works at the ZPD^{[‡ 5]}
• Bonnie Hunt as Bonnie Hopps, a rabbit and mother of Judy^[10]
• Don Lake as Stu Hopps, a rabbit and father of Judy^[10]
• Michelle Gomez as Captain Hoggbottom, a razorback who is the head of the ZPD's T.U.S.K. unit^{[‡ 6]}
• David Fane as Truffler, Hoggbottom's razorback partner^[11]
• Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i and Phil "CM Punk" Brooks as Gene Zebraxton and Gene Zebrowski, a pair of plains zebra cops known as the "Zebros"^[12][13]
• Stephanie Beatriz as Bloats, a hippopotamus ZPD cop^[11]
• Wilmer Valderrama as Higgins, a hippopotamus ZPD cop.^[11][14] He was previously voiced by Raymond S. Persi.
• Jean Reno as Bûcheron, a goat police officer^[15]
• Alan Tudyk as:
  • Duke Weaselton, a least weasel crook^[10]
  • A French raccoon chef^{[‡ 7]}
  • Milt Kohl
  • Reporter
• Macaulay Culkin as Cattrick Lynxley, the son of Milton Lynxley^{[‡ 1]}
• Brenda Song as Kitty Lynxley, a lynx who is the sharp-tongued daughter of Milton Lynxley^{[‡ 1]}
• John Leguizamo as Antony Sootley, a giant anteater smuggler that Judy and Nick try to bust.^[11]
• Tommy Lister Jr. as Finnick, a fennec fox and Nick's former partner in crime who acts undercover as a baby bunny. Lister died in 2020 and his family allowed Disney to use unused recordings from Zootopia for the sequel to fill in his lines.^{[‡ 8]}
• Maurice LaMarche as Mr. Big, a Vito Corleone-esque crime boss Arctic shrew operating in Tundratown^[15]
• Leah Latham as Fru Fru, an arctic shrew who is Mr. Big's daughter and Judith's mother^[10]
• Raymond S. Persi as Flash Slothmore, a three-toed sloth^[10]
• Jenny Slate as Dawn Bellwether,^[10] a sheep criminal mastermind, the former Assistant Mayor of Zootopia, and the former Mayor of Zootopia who is incarcerated in the prison that Nick and Nibbles were incarcerated in
• Josh Dallas as the Frantic Pig^[10]
• Tommy Chong as Yax, a domestic yak^[10]
• Auliʻi Cravalho as an anti-venom pen owned by Gary^[11]
• Hewitt Bush as Armpit Pete
• Blake Slatkin as Baalake Lambkin, a sheep^[16]
• Nick DiGiovanni as Slick Di'Giguani, an iguana bartender^{[‡ 7]}
• Tig Notaro as Big Tig, a bear prisoner^{[‡ 7]}
• Milan and Sasha Piqué as Binky and Blinkston Hopps, Judy's younger brothers.^[17]
• Jake Robards as BJ Hornsby
• Bob Iger as Bob Tiger, a tiger weather forecaster^[18]
• Daniel Van Graulau as Buzz Shedley
• Amanda Gorman as Deandra Bambino, a giraffe reporter^[19]
• Ed Sheeran as Ed Shearin, a sheep^[16]
• Yvette Nicole Brown as:^{[‡ 3]}
  • EMT Otter, a North American river otter medic
  • Bearoness Bear, a brown bear who is a guest at the Zootenial Gala
• Tiffany Lonsdale as a Zootenial Gala announcer
• George Pennacchio as George Purrnacleo^{[‡ 7]}
• Byron Howard as:
  • Berthold Hufschmerz, a goat
  • Bucky, an gemsbok who is Judy's neighbor.
  • Joel
• Jared Bush as:
  • Jürgen Ziegenkäse, a goat who is identical in appearance to Berthold.
  • Pronk, a greater kudu who is Bucky's life-partner.
• June Squibb as Gram Gram, Judy's grandmother^{[‡ 9]}
• Rachel House as Gramma Taller, a giraffe prisoner^[11]
• Melissa Goodwin Shepard as a kife-wielding mouse
• Cecily Strong as Little Judith, Fru Fru's daughter^{[‡ 6]}
• Allegra Leguizamo as Maria Nutriamo
• Mario Lopez as Denny Howlett, a wolf reporter^{[‡ 7]}
• Michael J. Fox as Michael J., a fox prisoner^{[‡ 6]}
• Mark Rhino Smith as Officer McHorn, a black rhinoceros police officer^[10]
• Josh Gad as Paul Moldebrandt, an ornery mole who works as the Zootopia Police Department's IT expert^[11]
• Peter Mansbridge as Peter Moosebridge, a moose news reporter for Zootopia News Network (or ZNN for short)^{[‡ 10]}
• Robert Irwin as Robert Furwin, a koala^{[20][‡ 11]}
• David VanTuyle as Russ, a walrus plumber residing in Marsh Market
• Anika Noni Rose as Squeal of Fortune Mouse^[11]
• Taylen Biggs as Tailen Smalls, a mouse^{[‡ 7]}
• Mae Martin as Tuffy Cheeksworth, a guinea pig prisoner^{[‡ 7]}
• Dwayne Johnson as Zeke, an accident-prone dik-dik^[21]

Production

Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman reprised their respective roles as Judy and Nick, while Ke Huy Quan joined the cast as Gary.

In June 2016, directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore were in talks about the possibility of a Zootopia sequel.^[22][23] On February 8, 2023, during the Q1 earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the sequel was in active development.^[24] Later that day, screenwriter Jared Bush confirmed that he was working on the film.^{[‡ 12]} 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," he said.^[25]

On February 7, 2024, Iger announced the film's release date and that the film would be officially titled Zootopia 2.^[26] On April 15, Goodwin confirmed on her Instagram account that she began recording her lines for Judy, revealing that the film was in production.^[6] 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.^[7] Footage was also shown of a sequence in which Nick and Judy search for Gary in Marsh Market.^[27] The following day, Bush revealed on his Twitter account that Fortune Feimster joined the cast to voice a beaver named Nibbles.^{[‡ 13]} The same month, Bush was revealed to be the sole writer and director of the sequel, and Yvett Merino was revealed to be the producer.^[5] On September 19, Jared Bush became the new chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios following Jennifer Lee's resignation to become director of Frozen 3. The following day, Bush confirmed that Byron Howard, the original creator and director of Zootopia, had returned to become co-director of Zootopia 2.^[4] 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.^[9] 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.^[15] In August 2025, it was announced that Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song, Patrick Warburton, and Wilmer Valderrama would join the cast.^[28] In September 2025, it was announced that Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, and Danny Trejo had joined the cast.^{[‡ 1][‡ 4]}

Music

Main article: Zootopia 2 (soundtrack)

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.^{[‡ 2][‡ 14]} 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.^[16]

On June 16, 2025, Michael Giacchino was confirmed to be returning to compose the score.^[29] Giacchino's score was released as part of the film's full soundtrack on November 21, 2025.^[30]

Release

Zootopia 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles on November 13, 2025,^[31] and is scheduled to be released in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on November 26, 2025.^[26]

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 well received by the public.^[32][33]

Reception

Box office projections

According to Deadline Hollywood, Zootopia 2 is projected to gross over $125–plus million in the United States and Canada over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend and $270-plus million worldwide.^[34][35]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 97 critics' reviews are positive. 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."^[36] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[37]

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".^[38] 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."^[18] Conversely, Peter Bradshaw, reviewing for The Guardian, gave the film two stars out of a possible five, describing it as "a soulless film-by-numbers affair filled with corporately approved jokes ... the kind of movie you put on an iPad to keep the children quiet on a long plane or train journey".^[39]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	November 19, 2025	Song - Animated Film	"Zoo"	Nominated	[40]
Astra Film Awards	January 9, 2025	Best Animated Feature	Zootopia 2	Pending	[41]
		Best Voice Over Performance	Shakira	Pending

Notes

1. Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through the Walt Disney Pictures banner
2. Due to trademark issues, the film is titled Zootropolis 2 in various regions such as the UK, Ireland, Italy and Spain, and Zoomania 2 in Germany. See Zootopia § Alternative titles.