On Nov. 26, 2025 the sequel of the iconic animated movie “Zootopia” was released. With a $556 million opening, “Zootopia 2” created worldwide fans, breaking global records and becoming the highest-grossing animated film opening ever.
The movie attracted fans across all age groups ranging from from children and teenagers to even adults. Advertisements were done on social media, which fostered anticipation around the movie prior to its release.
“I went with a good friend of mine who loves the franchise,” sophomore Matilde Nava Perez said. “I thought that it was wonderful, it was a really great time at the theater and it also had quite a bit of substance that I wasn’t expecting.”
The second movie kept the franchise’s iconic plot twists by misleading viewers to believe that a character was acting in the best interest of the protagonists only to have them switch sides later. Fans were successfully misled into falling for the plot twist, which only made it more thrilling. Nava Perez talks about one of the main antagonists.
“When we were first starting the movie and first met him I thought he was a very endearing character until the plot twist happened but even as a villain he is wonderful,” Nava Perez said.
For some viewers, the first movie cannot be outdone by the sequel simply because of the comforting and nostalgic experience of the original “Zootopia.” Others preferred the new movie over the old because of its depth, a rare occurrence for sequels.
“I liked it better than the first one,” sophomore Van Le said. “It had a lot more meaningful plot points than the first one.”
While some viewers find the characters to be the same comfort characters they knew and loved, others found the characters to be inconsistent to how they were characterized in the second movie as compared to the first.
“I like [the sequel] slightly better, but I think Judy became slightly mischaracterized by how they showed her to be more uncaring about Nick’s feelings and thoughts,” sophomore Lihan Zheng said.
“Zootopia” co-directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard embed messages about social issues throughout the movie, incorporating conversations regarding discrimination and exclusion using animal motifs.
“I think the movie had a very powerful message about gentrification through the Erasure of the Reptiles, as well as being a warning against the repression of emotion through Judy and Nick’s partnership as it progressed,” Nava Perez said.
