Zootopia+ TV Series Review

In the rapidly developing Zootopia, life goes on as usual: the sloth Blitz proposes to his beloved, Judy’s parents save their youngest daughter who was on the train, and the police station workers take part in an analogue of America’s Got Talent.

Zootopia is one of the best cartoons of the last decade, remembered for its well-developed world: through charismatic images, the authors reflected modern problems, creating caricatured situations. The cartoon was also impressive with detective intrigue: opposing predators and herbivores, the scriptwriters not only talked about the deceitfulness of the first acquaintance, but also articulated the problems of racism.

In 2020, at Disney Day, a full-fledged series based on the animated universe was announced, which was supposed to complement the events of the original tape. The format made it possible to penetrate in detail into the images of secondary characters, as well as to explore new corners of the metropolis.

The continuation of the tape in the form of an animated series can hardly be considered a full-fledged second part: this is indicated by the plus in the title, which symbolizes the concept of the show. Zootopia+ immerses viewers in the events of the first tape, resorting to the optics of minor characters: the series not only allows you to once again feel the atmosphere of your favorite cartoon, but also expands the original. A similar approach was used in other multi-series projects of the online service: the creators of Baymax! through short films, they explored the relationship between the robot and the inhabitants of the town, and in “Cars on the Road” small episodes were part of a common story.

The show was directed by promising Disney writers Trent Corry, who previously worked on the creation of the Frozen shorts, as well as Josie Trinidad, who worked on the script for the Ralph dilogy. The team of professionals was able to organically supplement the first part by creating diverse episodes. Each episode is made in a certain genre, which allows you not to get bored while watching: there is a musical about a robber, and new flirtations with The Godfather, and a comedy about Blitz’s trip to a restaurant.

However, unlike Baymax!, in which the last episode merged the plots into a common narrative, Zootopia+ consists of disjointed episodes, connected only by the mention of characters. At the same time, it is worth noting that most of the episodes complement each other extremely effectively: the authors focus on the importance of family values, postulating that each animal also needs to have someone close under its paw.

A big disappointment for the fans will be that the creators paid little attention to the main characters of the first part, Nick and Judy. Spectators who were expecting a full-fledged continuation of police adventures will receive only an episode with the workers of the station and a number of minute cameos of the title characters.

Zootopia+ is a set of short films that continue the original cartoon, which came out too late. This is a great option to get acquainted with the animated universe, but for most fans of the first part of the show is unlikely to be a revelation.