‘Zootopia 2’ is good – incredibly good - Beverly Press & Park Labrea NewsBeverly Press & Park Labrea News

Are you worried about Disney? Wondering if the House of Mouse lost it? To be fair, no single studio is at fault for the latest wave of middling entries, but Disney and its Jedi, Pixar and super friends always seemed to rise above, at least for a time.

Then came Covid. Then came Disney+ micro series, like “Zootopia+,” which didn’t really serve a purpose. It’s enough to make anyone wonder what on Earth is going on with those creatives.

Enter “Zootopia 2.” It is good. Very good. Incredibly good. The kind of good that makes you believe nature is healing, that the theater-going experience doesn’t need to feel like a gamble. This is what sequels should be: made with love, care and an eye towards the future, not the past. A nod to what has occurred without derailing an original story.

Officers Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) have a lot to prove. Thus far, their partnership remains a challenge. Can a bunny and a reformed fox continue to make Zootopia a better place, or are they one-hit wonders?

Doubt continues, even as they suspect a snake has been smuggled into Zootopia. That’s a problem since all armless slithering creatures aren’t permitted on the mainland. The unlikely buddy-cop pair embark on a new mission that transports them through unseen parts of Zootopia’s many artificial climates that cater to most mammals (key term, mammals).

Too many sequels are drunk on the nostalgia of the original film’s success. So much so that throwbacks, flashbacks and reprisals prevent the present story from doing anything new, emotionally or in the plot itself. (I’m looking at you “Wicked: For Good.”)

Somehow “Zootopia 2” finds proper balance, winking at the first film without sacrificing the present story. Plenty of familiar faces stop by (why spoil any of them), but the main plot is never thrown off by these brief, but cleanly engraved moments.

Call these crowd pleasers fan service if you must, but “Zootopia 2” should serve as a guide for what mass audiences want. And oh boy do folks want this film, which grossed more than $500 million in less than a week. It’s a deserved win.

Writer and co-director Jared Bush takes great care to get the story right with clever jokes, inside references and the little things that make these anthropomorphic characters feel human.

More than anything, “Zootopia 2” is funny. Remember classic Pixar: humor for kids and adults? That tried-and-true method makes this one an all-ages film.

Top that with another storyline that invites discussion about contemporary issues. Themes like race, prejudice and power glitter the film without preaching. But they are most definitely there and asking for deeper consideration.

As expected, the animation is top tier. We finally have a worthy competitor for “KPop Demon Hunters” at the 2026 Oscars. Either win would be exciting. And for that matter, Shakira’s song “Zoo” rivals “Try Everything” from the first film.

That’s a theme. In every way, “Zootopia 2” is on par with the first entry, maybe even better in some ways. It’s definitely funnier and wonderfully builds on the emerging lore of this animal planet.

And it figures out how to introduce new faces. Unlike “Moana 2,” which drops three unwanted newbies into a story that should solely focus on the original duo, these additions make sense and enrich the story. This is especially the case with Gary (Ke Huy Quan from “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Goonies”), a pit viper on the run, and Nibbles Maplestick (comedian Fortune Feimster), a beaver who podcasts about conspiracy theories.

This is what Disney does when it operates on peak capacity: build on an original story and create another equally original one. Maybe we don’t have to wait another nine years for something just as good.