9 years after the first movie made $1 billion, Zootopia 2 debuts to near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

Zootopia 2 (or Zootropolis 2, depending on where you are in the world) is a hit with the critics.

Disney's new animated sequel, which comes nine years after the first movie, has debuted to a near-perfect score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 77 reviews (although it has yet to beat the original film's impressive 98%).

Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin return to voice Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, a fox and rabbit cop duo. This time around, they're going undercover to investigate Zootopia's new resident, Gary De'Snake (Ke Huy Quan).

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It's got big shoes to fill: 2016's Zootopia was a runaway hit, winning Best Animated Feature at the Oscars and making over $1 billion at the box office against a budget of $150 million. For the most part, though, critics seem to think it's matched, if not surpassed, the quality of the first film.

The Independent writes that Zootopia 2 is "a sequel that not only justifies itself, but arguably improves on its predecessor. Really, it’s the same film but better, while The Hollywood Reporter thinks it's "more than worth the lengthy wait, knocking it out of the park with its dazzling visuals, sophisticated humor and doses of genuine emotion."

"It’s got the kind of heart that has too long seemed to be missing from other Disney animated offerings," reads IndieWire's review. "There’s a weight to the messaging of the film. There’s real care behind the bond between Nick and Judy."

Meanwhile, Slant writes that "Zootopia 2 provides plenty of food for thought for its young audience, making a more expansive statement on the dangers of intolerance than the first film, and without sacrificing any of its charm, humor, or visual ingenuity along the way."

It's not all positivity, though. According to the Guardian, "it’s the kind of movie you put on an iPad to keep the children quiet on a long plane or train journey; nothing wrong with that of course, but the heart and soul are lacking."

Zootopia 2 is out now in US theaters and arrives in UK cinemas on November 28. For more, check out our guide to the rest of this year's biggest movie release dates.