[Movie Report] Zootopia 2: A great film that brilliantly surpasses the original! Satisfying for both adults and children alike 🦊🐰

[#292, approx. 4,500 characters, approx. 10 photos]
I watched the Disney movie "Zootopia 2". Here are my thoughts and review.The following contains spoilers.

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▶︎ Conclusion

It was a highly satisfying movie! This is mainly because 1) the pacing was good, and everything from the visuals to the script allowed me to empathize without any sense of awkwardness, 2) the message was clear, 3) the characters were charming and I could relate to them, and 4) the music was amazing! It firmly exceeded the satisfaction of the first film. I highly recommend seeing it in theaters with someone special to experience the immersive visuals and sound.

▶︎ Reason for watching

The reason I watched it was because "Zootopia" (2016) was very good. I remember that the music was particularly upbeat, and every character was charming.

Because of that, when "Zootopia 2" was announced, I was looking forward to it, thinking, "I definitely want to see it!" This time, I went to see it with my child.

▶︎ Synopsis

In short, it is a story about revealing the true history of reptiles who were falsely accused in the past, and Judy and Nick strengthening their bond while creating a better world.

The first film focused on the differences between predators and prey, but this film focused on the differences between mammals and reptiles.

The directors are Jared Bush (writer of "Moana 2") and Byron Howard (director of "Zootopia" and "Tangled"). Bush served as the original creator, writer, and co-director on the first film, and for this film, he has been promoted to writer, executive producer, and director.

▶︎ Review

✔️ Very satisfied!

I felt that Zootopia 2 was simply 'fun'. The visuals, the story content and pacing, the voice acting—everything was great. While watching, I even forgot to eat my snacks or drink my beverage.

This sense of presence and dynamism can only be experienced in a movie theater. I definitely want families, friends, and couples to enjoy it. It was a film perfect for the holiday season that can satisfy both adults and children.

Also, I felt that movies should be this easy to understand. During the film, I was able to enjoy it with my mind completely blank. I thought this feeling was the sense of realism and proof that I was able to empathize. There were zero parts that I felt were 'not good'.

Since the last movie I saw was 'Endless Scarlet', I couldn't help but feel that Endless Scarlet, when compared to it, Zootopia 2 was 'the best'. It reaffirmed that 'Endless Scarlet' had poor pacing 😅

In recent years, there have been many '2's among Disney movies. And it's rare to find a work that surpasses the '1'. Among them, Zootopia 2 either stands alongside the first one or, in fact, solidly surpasses the original.

✔️ A message without a sense of being forced

I received many messages from this film. Diversity (acknowledging and understanding differences with others), justice, teamwork (the importance of those around you and your companions), conveying honest feelings in words, and so on.

I felt that 'Wish' had political correctness that was extreme. On the other hand, although Zootopia 2 had a strong sense of diversity, I didn't feel any strange messages being forced upon me.

In the final part of the story, various animals (including reptiles) have a friendly party at a snake's house, and at the outdoor festival where pop star Gazelle sings, the scene where a wide variety of characters are dancing happily is a masterpiece! Watching it made me feel excited. I felt that that scene says it all.

✔️ A worldview you can easily empathize with

The worldview of only animals felt natural. While there is no end to the small details you could nitpick, thanks to the well-crafted script and charming characters, there wasn't even room to feel any discomfort, and I was able to enjoy it smoothly.

Milton and the other lynxes, who are the founding family of Zootopia, plot to expand their territory and take away the places where animals living by the water and reptiles live. The script, which is based on the nature of animals to expand their territory, is also interesting.

The narrative structure is beautiful, with adventure, tears, and friendship. The carrot-shaped pen with a recording function, which was broken once, gets repaired, and the plot even ties up loose ends from the previous film, such as Nick's line, "I like you, partner" being recorded on it.

✔️ Visual beauty that we take for granted

We take it for granted, but the visual beauty was amazing. The fluffy fur of the animals is so realistic that you just want to reach out and pet them.

Compared to the recently watched "Endless Scarlet", I witnessed the gap in endless technology (even though the genres are different).

✔️ The songs are Zoo-perb!

Just like the first movie, the songs were excellent! I have a personal rule that "if a work has good songs, the content is also good" (like in "Coco").

In this film, "Zoo" sung by Shakira" was an upbeat song that I never got tired of hearing, no matter how many times I listened to it. It's also great that there isn't a single line of preachy lyrics.

✔️ Charming characters and voice actors

None of the voice actors felt out of place. Aya Ueto, who plays the rabbit police officer Judy, is a perfect fit for the role. Her slightly lisping tone gave the impression of a fresh, rookie police officer struggling with all her might.

My child said, "The goat (meaning Gazelle), rabbit, fox, lynx woman, Nick, dancers, and police officers were good," and "The part where the idol is singing is super cute." This suggests that the characters were full of charm and the songs were also good (I strongly agree).

My favorite characters are Nick the fox and Nibbles the beaver (voiced by Noriko Eguchi). Nibbles is the kind of joker that always appears in Disney movies. In addition to playing a good role in providing contrast to the story, he also had many important scenes where he helped the characters in danger.

Disney has a rule that "one of the allies is a villain" (like King Magnifico in "Wish"). In this film, I was thinking, "Haha... the horse mayor looks like a villain from the start..."

In the end, the villains were not Wind Dancer the horse, but the lynx gang (Milton and Pawbert). I was completely taken in by the clever script. In the end, Wind Dancer was a good guy (lol).

✔️ If you don't say it, it won't be conveyed

Even if you think it, it won't be conveyed unless you say it out loud, and in an honest way at that.

Judy the rabbit rushes forward, dragging Nick the fox along, because she wants those around her to recognize her achievements, thinking, "I've always dreamed of this kind of undercover operation!" On the other hand, Nick takes a safer approach with a gesture that looks like he has no motivation, saying, "I'll do it my way from here on out."

Nick says, "Who cares about the case?" and "Sometimes things just can't be changed," while Judy argues, "To make the world a better place, you have to have the courage to do something." They disagree, and a rift begins to form as they think, "maybe the two of us are just too different".

In reality, Nick was worried about Judy, and his true feelings were, "You shouldn't die for a case like this" and "I don't want to lose you".

After that, Judy and Nick make up, and the scene where they hug brought a tear to my eye. Nick says, "It doesn't matter at all that you and I are different," "I was bad at expressing my feelings," and "you are the greatest treasure in my life," and Judy replies, "I should have said it too," and "Nick is the most important person to me" as they speak their true feelings and share them.

Judy, who had the motto of "making the world a better place," changes the object of her purpose to someone close to her, saying, "It's okay, it's for Gary." I thought this was also influenced by the change in her emotions as she realized Nick was someone precious.

I took the scene at the end of the story where Nick speaks to himself as the author's specific message.

There were various messages in the work, but the one that stuck in my head and hit home was "the importance of communicating what you are thinking." This is something conveyed by many works, including "Evangelion" and "5 Centimeters per Second."

Because of that, I could really understand Nick's cynical feelings (that might be the number one reason I could empathize with the work). Some people might see themselves in Judy, who is strong-willed and sometimes spins her wheels.

✔️ Full of humor, smiling from start to finish

The Disney-esque humor is alive and well, and there were many parts that made me laugh. I especially found the scene funny where the mole Doug Moldedebra (voiced by Hideo Kojima) uses a tiny computer, and the cheetah Clawhauser (voiced by Shigeo Takahashi) struggles to operate it and deal with the bot identification system (lol).

✔️ Others

• Is the maze in the snowy country a parody of "The Shining"? I wonder if it's common to have such facilities in snowy regions in America?

• In the movie, there was a round mini shoulder bag with the UNIQLO logo (it's deeply moving that Japan's UNIQLO has become the world's UNIQLO). There were other shining little details, such as a polar bear drinking Coca-Cola.

• At the very end of the credits, there was a scene hinting at 'Zootopia 3'. It seems the next one will be about 'birds'. If you use animals as a theme, the story ideas are endless, aren't they?

• When I got home, I checked gazelles in the encyclopedia with my child (my child thought gazelles were goats). It was killing two birds with one stone, as they also learned about animals.

▶︎ Summary

What did you think? The visuals, music, characters, and story were all excellent. With themes like diversity that didn't sound preachy and the importance of expressing feelings honestly, the message was clear and convincing. Thank you for making me feel so happy at the end of the year!

▶︎ Trailers that caught my eye

When I finished watching 'Toy Story 4', I thought, 'Please stop messing around with Toy Story unnecessarily...' In '5', a device like an iPad appears.

As a parent, I often struggle with how to handle iPads. In this modern age, what kind of perspective will Toy Story offer? Given the theme, I'm interested, even if I want to forget about '4' for a moment (lol).

▶︎ Today's Movie Meal