Carrots, Conspiracies, and Character Growth: Inside Zootopia 2’s Sneaky Sequel Formula

Zootopia 2 is a massive hit around the globe. It has received $1.8 billion in its box office worldwide, making it the highest-grossing animated film in Hollywood history. Now nearly three months after its release, it has been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.

Interestingly, although Zootopia’s world has long been praised for its complexity and depth, the storytelling structures of the Zootopia films are always quite striaghtforward. In fact, in the first film, all the beats occur exactly where a screenwriter would expect. What happens at the twists, however, tends to come as a complete surprise.

Zootopia 2 reevokes the same structure. Although, as a sequel, its sometimes-overwhelming resemblance to the first film makes the writing more predictable, it does provide yet another example of telling a good story with the simplest formula.

Opening Image

From the beginning of the film, Zootopia 2 reminds the audience that it is a continuation to the first film’s story. The first sound we hear is protagonist Judy Hopps’s voice from the first movie, her famous line of: “Blood, blood, blood and death...”

The montage of the first film’s plot and Judy’s voice, as well as the animal puns that have been feverishly loved by the audience – this opening instantly takes us back to the first Zootopia.

After the montage, new images come in: They walk out with the first film’s villain, Dawn Bellwether, in custody; Nick joins the police force; Judy gifts Nick the carrot recorder pen from the first film, a sign of their friendship; and finally, Judy and Nick finding themselves in the limelight, where Nick looks the slightest bit uncomfortable, while Judy looks proud and ready to seize the day.

This is an exceptionally effective opening. Within the first two minutes, the film reminds us of previous plot, reassures us that it will not diverge from the well-loved first film, and foreshadows everything that can go right – and go wrong – in this new chapter.

Set Up

Judy and Nick get ready for their mornings. When they grab different things as they exit, the film hints at their fundamental difference. Judy grabs her badge, symbolizing her ideals of justice, while Nick grabs his carrot pen, symbolizing that his fight is for his connection with Judy.

At the ZPD, we see a classic Chief-Bogo-assigns-tasks scene reminiscent of the first film. Judy and Nick have gone undercovering at the city shipyard, without waiting for Bogo’s orders.

Nick does what he does best: pulling a good-father act, which convinces the anteater smuggler, Antony, to sign his child’s cast, while Judy tries to infiltrate a large cargo container. His “child” is, like in the first film, played by his friend Finnick.

Inciting Incident

Chief Bogo arrives, infuriated at Judy and Nick for acting on their own accord. Judy, shouting her token “Stop in the name of the law!”, jumps into a wild car chase after Antony. Nick, in her passenger seat, jokingly asks Judy to consult him the next time she makes a decision like this. Judy is not listening.

When other ZPD cops urge Judy and Nick to “Let the real teams handle it!” Judy replies “we are a real team.” This would remind the fans of the chase scene from the first movie, where Judy was also told to “wait for the real cops.” She had to spend the entire first Zootopia proving her ability as one.

Hereby, this scene sets up Judy’s main goal throughout Zootopia 2: to prove that she and Nick are a real team that can work well together.

The epic chase scene ends with Nick shouting “I would like to call a partner meeting!” and Judy driving a van into the statue of Ebenezer Lynxley, the inventor of the weather wall. Antony is captured, but a bigger problem begins. In the crashed van, Judy finds snake skin – someone is smuggling reptiles into this mammal city.

Debate

Chief Bogo tries to make Judy and Nick see the irresponsibility of their actions, but all Judy cares about is the reptile case. Eventually, Bogo sends Judy and Nick to “Partner in Crisis” counseling. Their therapy animal, Dr. Fuzzby, makes it clear that Nick is emotionally insecure and Judy is in denial of their problems as a team.

Judy calls her parents in her apartment, which ends with her groan – another scene reminiscent of the first film. Then, she discovers that the snake snuck into Zootopia is planning to steal the Lynxley Journal, where the plans for Zootopia’s weather walls were first written.

Judy convinces Nick to join her at the Zootennial Gala, where the Journal is held. Another mission without Bogo’s approval.

Break Into Two

At the Zootennial Gala, held at the Lynxley manor, we meet the antagonists of the story: the lynxes. Judy quickly befriends their awkward son, Pawbert Lynxley, who seems like the only nice person in the corrupt family – just like how Dawn Bellwether seemed at first, in the first Zootopia.

Though not yet obvious, the writer is already hinting at Pawbert’s ambitions, through both Pawbert’s dialogue and this parallel.

Enter Gary de Snake. He drops to the center of the stage, inducing panic from the crowd, grabbing the Lynxley Journal. When Judy catches up with Gary, however, Gary reveals that snakes never hurt anyone. The Lynxley family are the bad guys, and the Journal will be the key to proving it.

Everything goes wrong for Judy and Nick. They are suddenly seen as Gary’s accomplices and escape the ZPD in the nick of time.

Fun and Games

Judy and Nick find help from Mr. Big. The script revisit classic moments and lines from the first film, like Nick bidding hello to the polar bears “Raymond! And is that Kev—” and Fru Fru and Judy telling each other “I love your dress.” Mr. Big provides them an opportunity to get away. Nick is more than ready to take it, but Judy is determined to find out the truth about the reptiles.

With help from Nibbles Maplestick, a beaver podcaster of reptile facts, Judy and Nick enter Marsh Markets. There, they discover an entire population of reptiles living in Zootopia in secrecy. Nick finds himself unable to hustle around the same way he would in his proper atmosphere. He loses humor as his protection – he’s vulnerable.

After several trials, Judy and Nick finally find Gary. Judy jumps into a water tube chasing after him, while Nick, shouting that they will run out of air, still jumps in after her.

Midpoint

After barely escaping the water tube alive, Judy and Nick have their first big fight. Judy is leading without Nick’s consent, often putting them in dangerous situations, while Nick does not care enough about the case to support her. The fight escalates during their climb to the Honeymoon lodge, where Judy believes holds their next clue. The carrot pen, which has symbolized their relationship since the first film, falls off the cliff and breaks. 

Bad To Worse

At the Honeymoon lodge, Judy and Nick finally find out the truth: reptiles used to be a huge part of Zootopia, but the lynxes have erased their neighborhood from the map. The ZPD catches up, and, in a moment of panic, Nick tells Judy that he doesn’t care about the case; he doesn’t think it’s worth dying for.

As the ZPD barges in, the lodge splits apart, and Judy and Nick are separated to either side of the falling floors. Judy is rescued by Gary and Pawbert, while Nick gets captured by the ZPD.

It is a classic protagonists-get-separated-before-act-three moment, similar to Nick and Judy’s fallout before the act 3 of the first Zootopia. Despite being slightly cliché, the well-rounded characters, thoughtful foreshadowing, and dialogue with emotional depth allow the moment to pay off.

Break Into Three

Judy, Gary, and Pawbert uncover the secret of the Lynxley Journal, learning that Gary’s great-grandmother was the actual inventor of the weather walls, while Pawbert’s ancestor stole her plan and framed her for murder. Her original patent is still hidden in her house, which is now buried under snow.

Meanwhile, Nick and Nibbles, both locked up in jail, have a heart to heart. Nick reveals his fear of losing Judy.

Judy, Gary, and Pawbert get inside the weather wall, where they turn on the clocktower beacon that will lead them to Gary’s great-grandmother’s house.

But then, Pawbert reveals who he truly is. He throws Gary out into the cold, and injects Judy with snake venom. He is trying to get to the patent himself, so he can prove to the Lynxley family that he is a worthy son.

His speech, similar in many ways to Bellwether’s speech from the first film, is his answer to the question that Zootopia 2 has been asking since the beginning of the film: What do you choose to do when you are different?

Every main character in this film is an outsider in some way. Every one of them has to make that decision. Pawbert’s dark side is predictable, but the shocking honesty of his choice, “I don’t want to be different,” still allows this moment to shine.

Finale

Nick arrives. He risks his life saving Judy, just as how Judy is willing to risk her life for justice and truth. And when Gary pulls them to safety, it is finally time for them to tell each other how they are feeling.

This is a moment that is new to Zootopia 2. The first film did give Nick and Judy a moment of vulnerability, but it was short and tonally comedic. In this scene, although still with its funny moments, is not afraid of slowing down, of showing emotional sincerity and intensity.

It is an earned moment in their relationship that has developed over the two films. And it is my favorite moment of Zootopia 2. It segways from the first film’s well-tested formula, and brings something fresh, unique, and memorable.

The final moments of the film are about accepting difference and teamwork. The patent is found, the bad guys are put to prison, Judy and Nick are better at communicating their feelings, and Gary’s family reunites with him in Zootopia.

The film ends with Nick’s voice in the background, a callback to Judy’s speech at the end of the first film. While the Judy’s speech was a celebration of Nick’s graduation from the police academy and the coming true of her own dreams, Nick speaks, at the end of film 2, in the partnership class.

Nick’s speech reminds us that, like the first Zootopia, this film is about people coming across differences to work together, bringing peace to a diverse and beautiful world. However, Nick’s speech also reflects that, unlike the first film, Zootopia 2 is more about character relationships and emotions.

On one hand, the plot of Zootopia 2 sometimes falters and becomes predictable, and the mystery surrounding the weather walls and the Lynxley Journal is less engaging than the thrills of the first film. It also draws a little too heavily on the first film’s classic lines, and tries to give focus to all of the fan-favorite side characters, making the story feeling loose at parts.

At the same time, however, Zootopia 2 remains a good example of how a sequel is capable of building on the first film and becoming something more. It is a testament to how even the simplest formula and the most common structure can make a powerful movie – as long as the writing holds a strong emotional core.