This article contains spoilers for “Zootopia 2”. Proceed at your own risk!
The long-awaited return of the billion-dollar anthropomorphic House of Mouse franchise, “Zootopia 2,” is a refreshing reminder of what Disney Animation is capable of and an all-time great Disney sequel. The story feels a little more mature this time around, but the pun-filled comedy that audiences loved in the first film is even more on display here. At one point, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) is sitting at home aimlessly browsing a streaming service like Disney+, and the posters are all clear references to famous works. There’s the musical “Ham-ilton,” the action thriller “Die Hero: Die Herder,” the sci-fi animated series “Futurllama,” the charming “Piggity Falls” (as in “Gravy Falls”), a menacing xenomorph egg for the movie “PLATYPUS,” and the action thriller “The Neighbor 2,” with Zootopia Mayor Brian Winddancer (Patrick Warburton) resembling Chuck Norris. on the cover of “Invasion USA”
Disney movies also like to sneak in Easter eggs from some of their best films, like “Zootopia 2” making a brief reference to “Ratatouille” by revealing that a lion leader was being controlled by a rat under his toque the whole time. To make it even funnier, the animal displaying the lion is a raccoon, making it a double reference to “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and Raccacoonie (the film that won “Zootopia 2” star Ke Huy Quan his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor). Actors who provided their voices for films like “Moana” and “Encanto” have small appearances, as do pun-worthy performances like Michael J. Fox as a fox named Michael J. and Australian conservationist and “Dancing With the Stars” winner Robert Irwin, voicing an Australian koala named Robert Furwin.
There are far too many Easter eggs to count in a movie like “Zootopia 2,” but there were two completely out-of-left-field references to not-so-family-friendly horror films that you won’t believe made their way into the animated adventure.
Zootopia 2 pays homage to The Silence of the Lambs
When we last saw Dawn Bellwether (Jenny Slate), the corrupt government official behind the devastating prey supremacist conspiracy at the heart of “Zootopia,” she and her accomplices had been brought to justice, and she was serving a harsh sentence for her fur crimes. In “Zootopia 2”, Nick and Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) walk through Zootopia Prison when they think they have found a safe exit, only for a light to turn on in a cell behind them to reveal Bellweather in his prison jumpsuit, kept in a custom-made, single-occupant prison cell with bulletproof glass as the front wall instead of traditional prison bars. This is exactly the type of custom cell built for Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs.” (Note: The photo of the scene is not yet available, so you will have to see it for yourself in theaters.)
Make no mistake, this reference is intentional, as Slate delivered its best impression of Dr. Lecter in the face of the people who had previously put a stop to his villainous plans. But the homage is even smarter when you think about the parallels between “The Silence of the Lambs” and the first “Zootopia” film, with Judy Hopps playing an equally underrated rookie like Clarice Starling. And then, of course, there’s the fact that Bellweather is a sheep. Get it? A sheep… making… the silence of lambs. Yeah, you understand.
Zootopia has its own version of The Shining’s hedge maze
However, no Easter egg made me laugh harder than when it was revealed that there is a frosty hedge maze in Tundratown that appears identical to the maze outside the Overlook Hotel in “The Shining.” After Pawbert Lynxley (Andy Samberg) double-crosses Judy and Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan), there’s a noisy chase that takes them through Tundratown and straight into the maze. Not only is Pawbert crouching in pursuit, looking like Jack Torrance after the Overlook’s sickness has taken him completely, hobbling after his wife and son, but they also tracked down the actual music from Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” to make sure everyone with good taste knows it’s a deliberate reference. (This also tickles me because Wendy tells Jack that she’s going to “take Danny to Sidewinder in the Snow Cat” when she escapes from her crazy husband, and Pawbert Lynxley is… A LITERAL SNOW CAT!)
Pixar has already spent years making nods to “The Shining” in the “Toy Story” franchise, but seeing such a blatant reference – right down to the musical sting – in a Disney animated film in 2025 was an absolute delight. The best movies for all ages are ones that provide plenty of moments for adults watching to laugh at something that flies completely over the heads of younger viewers, and “Zootopia 2” really went above and beyond to provide that. Since kids who weren’t even in middle school when the first movie came out are now legally of drinking age, these references are a great way to build loyalty among audiences who grew up with the franchise’s return.
“Zootopia 2” is now in theaters.
