Zootopia 2 Scores Impressive Rotten Tomatoes, Breaking Disney Streak

After keeping audiences waiting nearly a decade for the next proper installment in the franchise, Zootopia 2 has made its Rotten Tomatoes debut. The sequel to the Disney animated hit sees Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman returning as Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, whose time working with the Zootopia Police Department hits a rocky chapter as they must work to get through their personality differences as partners while also investigating a snake interfering with a key smuggling case.

Alongside Goodwin and Bateman, the Zootopia 2 cast features new and familiar voices, including Idris Elba as ZPD Chief Bogo, Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan as the mysterious Gary De’Snake and Patrick Warburton as new mayor Brian Winddancer, among many others. Having made its premiere at the El Capitan a couple of weeks before its wide release, early reactions to the film have been largely positive.

Now, a day ahead of the film’s release, Zootopia 2‘s debut Rotten Tomatoes score has been revealed. With 41 reviews calculated at the time of writing, the sequel holds a 93% approval rating from critics on the Tomatometerputting it just five points shy of its predecessor, which still holds a near-perfect 98% approval rating.

Beyond affirming to fans of the original film that it was largely worth the nine-year wait, Zootopia 2‘s Rotten Tomatoes debut actually comes as a really positive change of pace for the House of Mouse, as well it breaks their seven-year streak of Disney Animation sequels failing to net scores akin to the original.

The last time the studio truly had a simultaneous critical and commercial hit was that of Ralph Breaks the Internet, which narrowly beat out its Oscar-nominated predecessor by one pointwhich was in 2018. The years since have seen a gradual decline in critical and audience reception to their sequels, particularly 2024’s Moana 2which barely held on to its Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. See how Zootopia 2 compares to other Disney Animation sequels on Rotten Tomatoes in the chart below:

In addition to boding well for the studio’s other in-development sequels, like Frozen IIIthe fact that Zootopia 2 is resonating so well with critics could further bolster its chances at the box office. Debuting over the Thanksgiving weekend, it’s already projected to gross around $125 million, a $50 million increase from the first film, but with reviews also in its favor, it could go even further to become Disney Animation’s highest-grossing movie in years.

Release Date

November 26, 2025

Director

Byron Howard, Jared Bush

Writers

Jared Bush

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  Ginnifer Goodwin

  Judy Hopps (voice)

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  Jason Bateman

  Nick Wilde (voice)

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  You have Huy Quan

  Gary De’Snake (voice)

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  Jenny Slate

  Dawn Bellwether (voice)