'Zootopia 2' review: delightful follow-up to original

"Whoa, fox and bunny," an anteater says on seeing the red-furred Nick Wilde and fuzzy-tailed Judy Hopps in "Zootopia 2." Even in this animated, anthropomorphic world, where predators and prey live in peace, some barriers have yet to be broken. And the anteater, voiced by John Leguizamo, can’t let it go: "Are they …?" he wonders aloud, like a fuzzy Archie Bunker.

Good news for fans of Disney’s "Zootopia": The sequel is a fine follow-up, if not quite the equal, to that very funny film from 2016. Nine years of toxic politics later, "Zootopia 2” is understandably less interested in skewering political correctness and toying with stereotypes, two things that the made the first film such an unexpected hoot. But thanks to its terrific voice cast and zippy direction from Jared Bush (who also wrote the screenplay) and Byron Howard, the movie delivers a satisfying combination of laughs, family-friendly thrills and a new, not-so-subtle note of romance.

If you’d forgotten that Zootopia was only for mammals, this film will remind you. Rabbit cop Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her newly appointed partner, Wilde (Jason Bateman, perfectly cast as a former street-hustling fox) are on the trail of Gary De’ Snake (Ke Huy Quan), who has stolen one of the founding documents of Zootopia. Also interested in getting back that document: The prominent Lynxley family, including patriarch Milton (David Strathairn) and the bumbling heir Pawbert (Andy Samberg). This plot isn’t any more solid than last time, but it doesn’t need to be: We’re here for the loopy characters (Fortune Feimster as a conspiracy theorist beaver named Nibbles Maplestick) and for the endless animal jokes (folks watch EweTube and search Zoogle).

The movie’s best idea is to nudge its way toward a romcom. Time and again, Hopps and Wilde are forced into reluctant coupledom: They pose as proud parents to sneak past a security guard, don formal wear to crash a gala ball (and what a lovely turn Michael Giacchino’s score takes when they get a gander at each other) and investigate a decrepit inn called The Honeymoon Suite. When this so-not-a-couple finally reaches a breaking point, Hopps can barely get the words out: "I think maybe we are different," she whispers. It’s a wrenching moment, the kind that animated films (non-Disney ones, at least) rarely muster.

At this rate, there’s no reason our two leads couldn’t sustain a kinda-sorta relationship for years. Sam and Diane on "Cheers," Ross and Rachel on "Friends," Kermit and Miss Piggy in the Muppetverse — why not Hopps and Wilde? Let’s hope "Zootopia 3” (with a bird as its focus, as a post-credits clips suggests) doesn’t take another nine years to arrive.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com