Zootopia 2

Back in 2016, Disney delighted audiences with the animated hit Zootopia. Nine years later they’ve released the sequel Zootopia 2 just in time for the holiday season. Loving the original and wanting to hit the theaters before they’re overrun with young kids on break, I headed to my fave theater to see if the return of two of the three original writers/directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard and the bulk of the main cast could catch lightning in a bottle once again.

Lightning does indeed strike twice here but isn’t as finely targeted. 

Zootopia 2 is fun and enjoyable for sure overall, but I found myself struggling a bit to get into it for the first third of the film. The story doesn't grab you from the jump and struggles to find its footing figuring out how to expand the relationship between Judy and Nick and the world of Zootopia itself.  The story falls flat here. The pacing of the front third of the film is frankly clunky. The characters don’t completely mesh, the writers seem lost on how to get the ball rolling, incorporate the new with the original and it’s more of challenge to sink your teeth into and be invested in the story. 

Some of the new notable actors lending their voice talents in addition to the original cast members are Patrick Warburton, David Strathairn, Ke Huy Quan, Andy Samberg, Macaulay Culkin, Quinta Brunson, Fortune Feimster, and Danny Trejo just to name a few. All great in their own right, however, this may be where Z2 goes off the rails a bit. Having the same running time of an hour forty-eight minutes but adding so many voices both figuratively and literally becomes unwieldy. You feel cheated with some characters and underwhelmed with others.

Fortunately, once Zootopia 2 does find its footing and starts firing on all cylinders the ride does pay off in the back 2/3 of the film.

Tons of pop culture references. Great animation with attention to detail and eye-popping color. Nice world building. Solid soundtrack. Action and humor.

Zootopia 2 works well as a sequel and is definitely worth a viewing. The storytelling isn’t as strong as the original and the emotional weight/core of the film is more lackluster; it does pay off in the end. And yes, there is a small bonus scene after the final credits roll so stick around for that. It's another nice throwback as well as gives an idea where the franchise will go next.

Zootopia 2 gets a 6.5 from me.

#Zootopia2

Wicked: For Good

Oh chile, it’s been a minute for sure.

But as the 2025 movie season winds to a close and the film studios take advantage of the holidays being upon us, I once again found myself heading to my local movie theater. This time around it was to take in the Wicked: for Good the second half of last years’ movie version of Wicked. Given that I wasn’t one of the many completely blown away by the first film (I did enjoy it but was also disappointed) I went in more out of curiosity in how things were going to tie together with both the first half of the film and the original Wizard of Oz than anything else. So, with free ticket in hand, snacks successfully smuggled and surprised by the mostly empty parking lot and just under half full theater I took in the first matinee of the day.

Again, let me take a moment to mention I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the stage production of Wicked, so I went into Wicked: for Good with no knowledge of what would happen in part two, only suppositions, of what was going to unfold. I enjoyed Wicked: for Good: slightly more than Wicked.

WfG’s darker tonal shift definitely spoke to me more. This probably says more about me than the actual film. One of the sticking points for me the first time around was Ariana Grande’s performance not resonating with me. She came off to me as rather artificial/shallow and I never really got into it when she was on the screen. An issue I didn’t have here. Yay! The depth I felt was lacking is present and I wasn't distracted or disinterested this go 'round. Ditto for Jonathan Bailey. Jeff Goldblum’s wizard being more integral also brought joy. Once again, Cynthia Erivo slays and delivers a riveting performance across the board.

Another pro this time around is the films’ running time of 2 hours 17 minutes. Without the bloat I didn’t feel the film dragged unnecessarily with padded fluff to justify the splitting the movie in two. The pacing felt good and I never lost interest or got restless. It was easier to remain invested in the story from start to finish. The music soared and delivered. There are apparently two new added songs, but I can't tell you what they are. Nice callbacks to the first film make for nice connective tissue. The sets and costuming dazzle.

A few things remain that I have questions about/feel got glossed over (mainly with Tin Man and Cowardly Lion) and I still feel a bit of a disconnect, but all told I enjoyed Wicked: for Good and feel it was worth the trip to the theater to see.

Wicked: for Good gets an 8 from me.

#WickedForGood