Nine years on, Disney's animated sequel Zootopia 2 celebrates even more diversity

Ginnifer Goodwin knows that she “cannot put a jigsaw puzzle together if all of my pieces are the same shape”, she said Nov 18 in a virtual press conference.

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(From far left) Actors Ke Huy Quan, Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman at the UK premiere of Zootopia 2 in London on Nov 23. PHOTO: AFP

(AFP)

The 47-year-old American actress, returning as bunny cop Judy Hopps in Zootopia 2, was explaining what the animated sequel is really getting at beneath all the slapstick chase scenes and talking-animal jokes.

“You need all of the pieces to be all different shapes in order to make a beautiful puzzle.”

Nine years after the original 2016 film topped US$1 billion worldwide, Zootopia 2 reunites the now world-famous bunny-fox duo also comprising Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) for another case - this time involving Gary (Ke Huy Quan), a poisonous pit viper who shows up in Zootopia for reasons nobody can quite figure out.

It is a long-awaited followup to a film that became one of Disney’s highest-grossing animated features and took home the 2017 Oscar for best animated feature.