reviously, ambitious rabbit police officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and smalltime street fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) stopped a devious plan by a top city official. After their unlikely success, Nick joins the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD) himself, so now they’re partners. But they’re still quite unorthodox, often going ahead of other veteran detectives to crash the scene of crimes, hoping to nab suspects, unaided and unauthorized and in direct violation of their superior’s orders. It all leads to comedy and action, but limited consequences; in a more sensible scenario, death and other casualties would be extensive.

“You two tore up half the city!” Like in a cartoon version of “Lethal Weapon,” Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) has to go on a loud tirade, castigating his star officers and sentencing them to dysfunctional partner therapy sessions (after only one week of their official partnership). Aside from professional help, they really just need a new case to smooth out the kinks; or is it possible that they’re simply too different to get along (essentially summed up as optimism versus pessimism and strict professionalism versus a pert, happy-go-lucky mantra)? As it turns out, a fresh mystery and conspiracy are indeed afoot, involving the Lynxley dynasty, responsible for creating a weather wall system that allows neighboring towns to have multiple climates simultaneously, as well as the return of feared reptiles to the city, who have long since been banished.

Once again, Judy is no-nonsense and focused on constant investigating, while Nick cracks jokes and doesn’t bother to take anything seriously. It’s fine for a formulaic comedy, but it doesn’t contribute much to originality; it’s perhaps the most generic of law enforcement combinations and setups, even when it’s inserted into a computer-animated children’s picture. The premise gets somewhat more complicated with influential, corrupt figures; villains who might not be villains; and a frame-job, but all of the additives are also conspicuously routine when it comes to cops-n-robbers storylines. “I’d rather chew off my own arm.”

The strong point is again the character designs, which are still thoroughly amusing, making the most of extremely exaggerated, cute imagery and highly contrasting pairings of various animals. Formerly unseen species receive the same, visually hysterical treatment. But a couple of the personas are actually annoying, grating on the ears and delivering unusually juvenile jokes and puns. Interestingly, the voice cast is extensive, featuring what seems to be an unnecessary number of celebrities, considering that many roles are only onscreen for a few minutes – including Shakira, Andy Samberg, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, David Strathairn, Patrick Warburton, Danny Trejo, Bonnie Hunt, Stephanie Beatriz, Wilmer Valderrama, Jean Reno, Macaulay Culkin, Alan Tudyk, John Leguizamo, Jenny Slate, Josh Gad, Tommy Chong, and other notable names.

As the mystery unfolds, offering up minimal surprises – and eventually explained via a flashback that merely visualizes the entire treasonous scheme and the precise solution – it becomes evident that the runtime is much too long. Despite a handful of decent gags and spoofs, along with a twist or two toward the end (and some moments of adventure that are nicely emotional even if geographically nonsensical and far too convenient), the story tends to hurt itself by dwelling so much on its themes of compatible differences and loving, faithful partnerships (plus an “Animal Farm” nod) that it ignores thematic continuity and creativity. The methods in which characters go from one location to another or from one scene to the next are oftentimes completely absurd, unreal to the point that all excitement is lost. Still, it’s a fitting sequel, well orchestrated for fans and younger audiences (it’s perhaps quite late, waiting nearly a decade after the original), even if it’s not as engaging or timely or unique as before.

– Mike Massie