.

Snakes have always had a bad press. I mean always as well, it’s right there in Genesis 3 v 14 where God himself, literally two days after he’s just created them, condemns all snakes for their involvement in the whole eating of the forbidden fruit fiasco. This is immediately before he then curses all women to suffer pains in childbirth. 

Don’t worry though, because Zootropolis 2 is here to fix it (not the childbirth thing sadly, the ophiophobia). It might be that the intention is to address prejudice more widely but unlike the first Zootropolis movie, the metaphor is worn much more lightly this time. The initial film, released in 2016 one year after the start of the first Trump presidency, was clearly making a statement about fascist attitudes, political hate mongering and the benefits of multiculturalism. This one though seems to just be saying that we should not be so negative toward reptiles. I’m not sure why it all feels more surface this time; perhaps it is because it is less of a surprise (I could not quite believe I was watching a Disney cartoon that was so demonstrably addressing contemporary world issues nine years ago) but I think it is because they are now more focused on just giving us a fun adventure to enjoy as a family.

.

.

The good news is that in this respect they have really delivered. The characterisation is not as strong, another reason why perhaps it doesn’t go as deep, but the story is strong and the world building still tremendous. 

It is so great to see Disney Animation Studios turning out good movies, especially when their recent output has been a bit patchy and while the live action wing of the company seems so intent on replacing all that the organisation built it’s reputation on. It is wonderful that it has been so rewarded with this currently being the second highest grossing film of the year (pushing the new Lilo & Stitch to third). Whether this will be one for the ages remains to be seen but it is doing what it needs to do right now and that is good.

.

.

In terms of its modernity and the legacy it may enjoy, this is the third Disney animation to strongly lean on cinematic intertextuality and the first I would suggest to get it right. Aladdin did this in 1992 when they let Robin Williams loose with the voice work on the genie and animated the images to match. This gave us references to Robert DeNiro and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but also Arsenio Hall, William F. Buckley Jr, Rodney Dangerfield, Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson which made the whole thing US centric and now awkwardly dated. Then there was Wish which being released in the studios centenary deliberately riffed on much of the classic back catalogue. These are admittedly much loved films but a lot of them are very old and it did feel a bit self aggrandising. Zootropolis 2 on the other hand pays homage to movies as varied as Ratatouille and Babe to The Shining and Silence of the Lambs which I think will still work in a few years time. There are nods to this studio’s own filmography again but they are subtle or background so they don’t feel laboured. It’s all fun and this film fan got a kick out of it. 

So, whether or not this challenges genuine Biblical doctrine or governmental distortions of Christian values, the return of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde is a great time at the movies and that is all was really required of it. Let’s hope the next one doesn’t go to the birds.

.